How much does shrink plastic shrink?

Question

I want to make a charm that is no bigger than 2 inches, but I don't know how small to make the original picture.

Also, my printer settings doesn't have "Transparencies" and I lightened the color to 50%.

Will the setting T- shirt transfers work?

Thanks

Answer 1

I once read in a craft book that shrink plastic can shrink up to 15%.

Answer 2

Most shrink plastics shrink approximately 60% or a little less (to about 40-45% of their original size), but I think they shrink slightly more in one direction (grain) than the other --that may not matter to you though.  You can test that by shrinking a test piece, or by making a "shrink plastic ruler"... for instructions, see this page:

http://glassattic.com/polymer/MISC.htm

(...click on the category called "Shrinking" Plastics...)

I don't think using a T-shirt transfers setting would do anything about lightening the image you're printing-- in fact, it may increase the color saturation.

Again, you might try a test piece with the image lightened by various amounts to see which looks the way you want.

HTH,

Diane B.