Vinyl Play Mats

[Rurouni Benshin]

Hi everyone,

I'm wondering if any of you have had any experiences with making your own custom vinyl play mats for the game.  I recently went to Staples, and they do vinyl printings for approximately $38/mat (tax and shipping included) when printed in 36'' x 72'' increments.  I'm looking for some pictures that I can use for the mats, but they recommend photos close to at least 600 megapixels.  I'm confident I don't need a picture that big in size, but if any of you have any insight you'd like to share, it'd be very much appreciated.

And yes, I'm well aware of numerous sites out there that offer some really nice playmats at decent prices.  I'm trying this out in an effort to save money, and to do something fun for myself.

Also, if you know of any companies that could do custom vinyl banner printings, please share.  Thanks again!

[Shadowopal]

http://www.bannersonthecheap.com/?pcode=6635495A7458344E774E4549536932494F685A6E58413D3D&gclid=CjwKEAjw-vewBRDH1-b52Lig1hkSJACTPfVFpHG7sm-HzAcqmdDRzQ0eN8lA3PyLijRYufvfJmHrGRoCQkLw_wcB

This is the site I used. Can't beat the prices. But, Beware. You need really high DPI images for playmat size.

I know you said you aren't looking for companies that do mats. But, I get the AdeptiCon mats from Mats By Mars http://www.matsbymars.com/store/c2/36"x36"_Play_Mats.html

They do great work and are very affordable. Plus they will do custom mats. They are doing a few custom mats for  AdeptiCon that will have the Malifaux deployment and scoring lines on them. I highly recommend if you are going to put marking on the mats for deployment and scoring (and why wouldn't you?) that you go with Mats By Mars. They do a great job making them subtle so they don't stick out like a sore thumb during game play. But, when you need them for scoring purposes, they are easy to find. Well worth the money in my book Doing mats yourself you have to hope that you have made the scoring lines subtle enough and won't know until you get the mats. So, you better be happy with them. I used to print my own. But, it was too time consuming and I was never happy with the results. I found the money I saved to be better spent paying someone who knew what they were doing. Mario and Alex both play Malifaux a lot and in tournaments as well. So, they know what we as players and TO's need.

[solkan]

Before you balk at an image having 600 megapixels, keep in mind that 36" by 72" is 2592 square inches.  200,000 pixels per square inch is pretty mediocre for printing. 

My ink jet printer says it does does

Up to 600 x 600 dpi (mono) / up to 9600 x 2400 dpi (color)

which works out to between 3.6 to 20 megapixels per square inch.

That's why they say at least 600 megapixels.  It's going to look better if you have about ten or more times that.

 

[SuperFly TNT]

Free 200 dpi image that you can use for a game mat: http://www.toposolitario.com/workshop/index_tableros.html

 

 

[hippodruid]

Is Mats by Mars a company outside of the purely legal, tax-oriented definition?  I thought it was just Mario and Alex making the only mats you'll ever need for Malifaux.

[Rurouni Benshin]

Shadowopal, that site you provided looks like it's exactly what I need.  When I uploaded a sample image, it came out pretty clear on the "design" portion of the screen, but the image is only 44 Kb.  Do you think it'll print alright, even though it shows up clear from my point of view?

And thanks for the free image, SuperFly.  Worst case scenario, I can probably bring that to Staples and have them make a custom banner for me there.

Thanks again everyone!

[Shadowopal]

I am not a graphics person (which is why it takes me so long to do things). So,  probably not the right person to ask. I always use the highest dpi I can and pray.