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J. Clarke
 
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Prometheus wrote:

On Thu, 14 Oct 2004 19:41:41 -0000, (Ron Bean)
wrote:


(Gary DeWitt) writes:

If you all want a custom ruler, made up any way you want and rollable,
you can create your own in Illustrator or other apropriate program,
burn to disc and give it to a film house, who will output your file to
film as a positive (black marks on clear film) for a reasonable cost.
Much less than the precision metal rulers, and equally as accurate.


Have you tried this recently?

Very few printing companies use film anymore. It's all
direct-to-plate now-- works like a laserprinter, but puts out an
aluminum printing plate instead of film or paper. A few companies
can still generate film, but it's dying out fast.


You may be right, but you can always print them out on transparency
film at home. (At least, last time I checked you could) No doubt an
average Kinko's would have some kind of printable plastic, though not
necessarily film.


Staples, OfficeMax, etc all have transparency film for inkjet and laser
printers that is intended for use with overhead projectors. Make sure that
the one you get lists your printer as compatible--there are some variations
in coating with the inkjet films that make a difference in how the ink
takes. Just check after you print and make sure that it's actually
accurate--some printers leave a little to be desired in the linearity
department and the dimensions aren't always exactly what you thought they
would be either.

A good stainless steel ruler will last forever (unless it gets
stolen), so it's a good investment. If you can't find exactly
what you want, a bit of time with Google probably will.


Agreed. I like steel rulers- the aluminum ones I'm not so fond of,
after bending a couple, but the steel ones are nice.


--
--John
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(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)