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I bought "PVC Inkjet Printable ID Cards" and the special printer tray. I have just the right printer already (Epson RX580). Epson has the particular type of ink best for these cards. It was a huge headache to set up the cards so they print correctly, and it's a lot of work to print just one, but the printed cards look absolutely amazing! They also stink. They have a "PVC plastic chemical odor", kind of like a very strong "New Car Smell".

 

I have washed the card with soap & water, and the ink did not budge, it won't wash off. Now to test it in caches! This could be great for replacement Travel Bugs. Print whatever you like, punch a hole in it, attach an item, send it off. This sure beats laminating a piece of paper.

 

Here's my first prototype card. It's a "Cache Inspection". :anicute:

 

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Those are awesome Kunarion! Now that you have the system set up, is it still a huge headache to make them? I could see a side business here for you :)

One thing I enjoy about printing my own stuff is I can print just one of a design, no extra cost. So I'm open to suggestions, and will be having fun printing various Swag and tags. Plus they can be cut to smaller shapes. Companies even make a guitar pick punch for credit cards -- print cards, punch 3 picks (or so) out of it! I wonder if I can punch a kind of plastic "coin...?"

 

I think I've got it mostly figured out. The printer isn't pulling the tray in, so I'm pretty sure the rollers have dry rotted or whatever (and new all-in-one printers are about half what this one cost).

 

I think my issues, printing 1/4" off, ink blotches, and the tray not feeding properly, are all due to this printer being worn out from use/abuse. The new printers have wifi and all. Turns out, there's a whole line of Epson printers that use the ID tray (it's the same size & form as the standard DVD tray that these printers use), so I'm eyeing a more modern printer. After that, watch for cards to turn up in caches. :laughing:

Edited by kunarion
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Here's a Geocaching License. I've printed seven decent "Inspection" cards, and two of these "License" cards. As long as the printer is only used for cards and I change no settings, I have a pretty OK process to print them. There's still a lot of manual work, and timing is everything. It's like working with an extremely finicky robot. :anicute:

 

I tested some pens, and the only one that's no good for signing them is the Pilot G-2 (I guess most any rollerball ink pen). Even ballpoint pen is fine, it isn't washing off.

 

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While researching a "license", for comparison I decided to look up the fun "novelty licenses" that people can buy (License To Be Grumpy, or whatever silly ones are out there), and I discovered that even using "funny novelty license" as a search phrase, I get only the counterfeit ID sites that sell fake IDs to crooks. The joke ones aren't available anymore. Of course, I didn't notice this effect til after going to the office store and asking which printers can print ID Cards. The employees there knew what I'm really buying this stuff for! Geocaching? They doubt it! :anicute:

Edited by kunarion
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Now that I've got a decent manufacturing process, I'm having a blast making cards! Now I have a little variety. I'll be going to a Mega Event this fall, and don't have tradeable swag coin tags or whatever, but maybe these cards will be good as trade items. Some people will get a cool door prize, and I could use a little bargaining chip :anibad:.

 

Unlike the wallet cards or cache cards, this one is in view on a lanyard. It has the "Rome" style of the Event (which is in Rome, Georgia). People could put this tag on a backpack or car mirror, wherever they like.

 

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I found out that these cards must be "sealed" after printing. There's a special UV spray coat for inkjet prints which makes the print much more durable. It dries almost immediately. I previously tried two kinds of craft spray, and although it can be applied very thick, that was much harder to work with.

Edited by kunarion
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Here are some Cache Card files, with plain text that you may edit for your own projects.

 

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If you take something to keep from a Geocache, put something back that's worth just as much. Even if you have to do so several caches later, always replace the value with value. It's worth the amount you'd take to part with it.

 

If you know what happened to any long-lost Travel Bug or Geocoin, please make a note on its page. Dont rely on email. Things get lost. All we

want to know is what happened to it. Log it at www.geocaching.com.

 

Geocaching is a game played by adventure seekers with a GPS device. We locate containers called Geocaches outdoors, then share our experiences online. If you have a device that has GPS, and access to the Internet, you have all you need to start Geocaching. It's easy and free.

Log onto www.geocaching.com to check for caches in your area.

 

I will:

- Be safe

- Observe all laws & rules of the area

- Respect property rights and seek permission

- Avoid causing disruptions or public alarm

- Minimize impact on the environment

- Be considerate of others

- Protect the integrity of the game pieces

Edited by kunarion
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I'm good with all but #1. Sometimes, there are 'cache trees' that just have to be climbed free style!

That's from the "Geocacher's Creed", and the full line is "Not endanger myself or others". To me, it seemed like a good plan, even if there's a tree :anibad:. You can omit "Be safe" on your printouts if you prefer, that's why I provided the plain text, so it's easy to edit.

Edited by kunarion
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Sometimes, they're in less than ideal spots for the gear one brings along. I doubt many of us bring OSHA approved tree climbing gear, so we gotta do what we gotta do. This one was only about 5' from the top of the tree!

 

One thing I really like about that one card is the suggestion related to "If you know what happened to ..." and adding a log entry. So often, any email address at gc.com turns out to be outdated, and the trackable owner doesn't get the message.

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Edited by ecanderson
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I doubt many of us bring OSHA approved tree climbing gear, so we gotta do what we gotta do.

The reason I compacted all of the Geocaching Creed points was due to space limitations. Adding qualifiers would fill the card and kind of defeat the purpose :anicute:. But I hope people would consider their actions and Geocache safely. This may not require the approval of a government safety official. If one is good at climbing trees, they already know if they can tackle any given tree without harming themselves or others. Just on principal, I didn't want to delete any parts of the Geocachers Creed just because some people won't agree to some parts. Just get rid of the "Be Safe" part if it's aggravating you. :anibad:

 

So often, any email address at gc.com turns out to be outdated, and the trackable owner doesn't get the message.

Sometimes they do, and it's the TO (due to Spam filtering or any number of things) who doesn't get the replies. And the respondent is getting more and more frustrated by the TO's increasingly gruff messages :rolleyes:.

Edited by kunarion
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these are slick. how much do you charge for the Id's?

Glad you like them! I'm still just leaving them as Swag in caches, or will donate one or two as door prizes at local Events that will take them :anicute:. I'm not selling the cards.

 

Looking at the thread, I see I've been pretty negligent in posting designs, so here are some more. I've added some of my new "Geocaching Logo" ideas to these. All the logos are sure to catch on! :P

 

5b9f63df-ccc3-4e07-a22f-2dc1d2af426d.jpg

 

When I ordered more cards, and the new ones are odorless. The original ones had a plastic chemical smell (which went away after the UV coating was applied). These new ones are also boxed nicely.

Edited by kunarion
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these are slick. how much do you charge for the Id's?

Glad you like them! I'm still just leaving them as Swag in caches, or will donate one or two as door prizes at local Events that will take them :anicute:. I'm not selling the cards.

 

Looking at the thread, I see I've been pretty negligent in posting designs, so here are some more. I've added some of my new "Geocaching Logo" ideas to these. All the logos are sure to catch on! :P

 

5b9f63df-ccc3-4e07-a22f-2dc1d2af426d.jpg

 

When I ordered more cards, and the new ones are odorless. The original ones had a plastic chemical smell (which went away after the UV coating was applied). These new ones are also boxed nicely.

 

They do look really nice. Hopefully I can find a cache with one in it, Well done.

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a4795b1b-81fd-4af8-a94d-ba7affe52005.jpg

 

More swag/sig items. There's a particular local "monkey" themed cache that I think the monkey cards will go well with. For the others, I have a suspicion that I may venture into Newnan, GA, in a couple of weeks for a few caches. Newnan is where a lot of the Walking Dead scenes are filmed. So these cards are zombie licenses. But on the back, there's still a ROT-13 decoder. May be handy at times. The "permit number" could be a cacher's personal tracking number if they like, and there's a spot for the cacher's name on the back, too. The key chains also have the decoder on the back.

Edited by kunarion
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a4795b1b-81fd-4af8-a94d-ba7affe52005.jpg

 

More swag/sig items. There's a particular local "monkey" themed cache that I think the monkey cards will go well with. For the others, I have a suspicion that I may venture into Newnan, GA, in a couple of weeks for a few caches. Newnan is where a lot of the Walking Dead scenes are filmed. So these cards are zombie licenses. But on the back, there's still a ROT-13 decoder. May be handy at times. The "permit number" could be a cacher's personal tracking number if they like, and there's a spot for the cacher's name on the back, too. The key chains also have the decoder on the back.

 

thats sweet!

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these are slick. how much do you charge for the Id's?

Glad you like them! I'm still just leaving them as Swag in caches, or will donate one or two as door prizes at local Events that will take them :anicute:. I'm not selling the cards.

 

Looking at the thread, I see I've been pretty negligent in posting designs, so here are some more. I've added some of my new "Geocaching Logo" ideas to these. All the logos are sure to catch on! :P

 

5b9f63df-ccc3-4e07-a22f-2dc1d2af426d.jpg

 

When I ordered more cards, and the new ones are odorless. The original ones had a plastic chemical smell (which went away after the UV coating was applied). These new ones are also boxed nicely.

 

If you ever decide to sell these cards "licenses" I would be very interested in buying some from you. I love leaving unique swag in the caches I find.

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