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So... can you shove a 5.25 floppy through a laser/LED printer?
Alex Eisenhut:
After viewing this video
https://youtu.be/NEvowFxNEvw
I learned that there was such a thing as a Chromadisk. Of course I know this was printed *before* the whole folding and welding of the jacket.
So naturally I wonder about printing on a white or light gray jacketed 5.25" with a laser printer. Mine can print on thicker cardstock and has a straight paper path if I shove it in the rear (of the printer, of course.)
Anyone ever tried such foolishness?
ataradov:
If you have a straight path, it should be possible. They sell thin white plastic sheets for printing on laser printers. No idea of the type of the plastic though . And even simple transparent sheets for overhead displays are still a thing and printers have no issues with them.
There is no chance it would work with any mechanism that requires bending.
The heat might be an issue too, but the plastic is quite thick, so it might not get to the actual disc in a short print time.
Psi:
Just be careful putting plastic through a laser printer unless you're sure it's intended for laser printing.
I've seen what happens when you put a inkjet transparency sheets through a laser printer. It usually does not end well.
YMMV but sometimes it melts onto the rollers on its way through the fuser and makes one hell of a mess.
I'm not saying don't do it, just be aware of the risks.
A second-hand laser printer is cheap and a much better plan than trying it on the $20k office printer :)
Haenk:
This will not work, the fuser is hot enough to melt plastic (toner is essential small particel plastic), so it will melt your toner *and* the floppy casing.
If you have a straight line printer to spare, it is possible to remove the fuser unit, so only the toner is attached to the casing, then iron it on with a piece of paper inbetween (so you don't mess up your iron).
The toner is only sticking by charge, so it is easily wiped away, aka destroying the print. Might be worth a try though.
But.
There are "flatbed printers with multisurface UV cured ink" readily availabe, which are widely used in the industry. These certainly will work on a floppy.
Alex Eisenhut:
I'm more worried about the surface texture of a floppy disk jacket... do I risk it? I don't know. This is a cold weather rainy day project. I think I'll try ruining my printer later this year.
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