[Bill C.]

My old color inkjet printer finally bit the dust so this time I decided to buy a Brother laser printer that only prints in black and white. This printer uses a toner cartridge, that is supposed to be good for something like 7K to 12K prints, which makes it a lot cheaper to operate. The downside -- no color printing.

I could have e-mailed to my local office supply store the photo-shopped image of the toy shop front (downloaded from the internet) I wanted for my upcoming Christmas display, but decided to print it on index card weight paper using my new laser printer. When my granddaughter visits she likes to do watercolors so I borrowed her set of paints and hand-colored my storefront. Then I glued it onto black foam board -- quick, easy, and inexpensive.

 

[Bill C.]

Today I fooled around with the black and white laser printer a little more. The challenge was to create a larger store front about 16 inches across. So I imported the image to my photo shop program, added some items in the store windows, and shopped some brick work on the facade. When it was time to print, I cropped the left side and printed it, then cropped the right side and printed it, using card stock for the job.

Both sides were pasted together on black foam board then cut out using what I call a wallpaper knife -- one of those with points you break off every so often. Then it came time to add color to the black and white image. This time I used tempera paint, much diluted to make a thin wash, put on with an artist's brush.

Any one recognize the name of the department store from movie fame?

 

[Robert]

Creative. They look fun. I did not recognize the store name. It rang a bell, but I had to search it. Nice choice.

 

[Bill C.]

Robert, I BELIEVE you know the answer!

I'll be adding some little Christmas wreaths to the front that I got at the dollar store. This will give it a 3-dimensional look and a little more color.

 

[Bill C.]

Went to the dollar store today and picked up some cheapo bling for my store fronts. Won;t be long now until I lay down some white felt to represent snow on my Christmas loop.

 

[tommy98466]

A friend of mine is looking to buy a Brother black & white printer. What model did you buy and do you like it?

 

[Bill C.]

Tommy, it is an HL-L2395DW. It was easy to put into service and so far has operated well. I bought it at Best Buy. I connected mine via cable, which was an extra to buy.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/brother-hl-l2395dw-wireless-black-and-white-all-in-one-laser-printer-gray/6130100.p?skuId=6130100