Counter Collection Digital - Making Counters

[tvknight415]

I use Word, but use a light grey border - that way if I'm sloppy in the cutting it's not too noticeable.

I print on heavy cardstock. Then, I get two pieces of chipboard (report backer is what it's called at our office supply store), use spray adhesive to coat and glue the two sheets of chip together, then spray adhesive the cardstock printout on top of that. Use the spray adhesive on both sides that will be glued together for a stronger bond.

Use a straightedge cutter to make the lines clean.

Oh, and a tip when using word - scale the tiles so they are a bit less than 1-inch (I go to about 0.95" myself). That way, with the border, they will be about the right size.

 

[Pinotage]

Does anybody know if it would work to simply print them on paper, punch them out and them laminate them while spaced apart. One could then cut them out of the laminate. I'm just not sure if the laminate will seal or not, and if it will peel off.

Pinotage

 

[Festivus]

I don't think that will work because I think the laminate needs to stick to laminate, not paper.

 

[Henry]

I use CorelDRAW (Adobe Illustrator, Powerpoint, and MS Publisher would all work about as well), import, size/crop as needed, and then draw a second tiny white-filled box in front to the bottom right.

I keep meaning to pick up Counter Collection, but as I haven't yet, I use Google Image, Wotc's art gallery, and Claudio's gallery. This Christmas I'm thinking of making CCDig platinum (or whatever current version) on my family's "mandatory" list.

The greatest thing about counters is that players can write damage and conditions directly on the counters, and I don't have to keep as close of an eye on current stats for minis. When they do damage, I ask what the total damage to date is after each hit, and they write it on the sheet. Damage reduction and evergy resistance mysteries suffer, but it makes the combats go faster.

 

[Nine Hands]

I've been thinking about picking this up at some stage, but I wanted to make sure I could make counters from all the images first. Anybody have this or have ideas on how to make sturdy and cheap counters from the printed images? I've thoguht about printing those images I want onto adhesive paper and then sticking it onto 220 gsm paper before using a punch to punch it out, but not sure that'll work.

Thanks.

Pinotage

I use Word and print them out in a table on legal sized plain white paper. Then I walk over to Staples and pay a couple of bucks to have it laminated. Finally I cut out the squares and use them. I've been doing this for a while with my other games with loads of success.

 

[Nine Hands]

Does anybody know if it would work to simply print them on paper, punch them out and them laminate them while spaced apart. One could then cut them out of the laminate. I'm just not sure if the laminate will seal or not, and if it will peel off.

Pinotage

It doesn't peel off of my counters. I have basically a word document with 1 inch squares (thick bordered) and place the image in the square. There is also a section on the side for the name of the object. In my games they are used for mecha, so I put in the pilots name (if its a PC or important NPC), the units designation (if its an NPC) or the ships name (if its a starship). I also have some different sized ones too 1 inch x 2 inches for shuttles, 4 inches by 8 inches for ships, etc.

I even made up some 2 1/2 by 2 1/2 inch effects counters to help the players remember when they are wounded, etc. Eventually I'll make some double sided ones when I have some spare time.

The laminate is great since you can write on it with a marker and its pretty rugged.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

Microsoft Word and a laminator are my weapons of choice. I pick which counters I want and import them in to Word. I then resize them if required (CC Digital is great for when you want to advance a creature and need a bigger sized counter than normal). After that I print them out on normal A4 computer paper. Personally I recommend using a guillotine or some other straight-edged paper trimmer. It makes things a lot neater, easier and quicker. Once that is done, put them in a laminating pouch (spaced slightly apart), laminate them and cut them out. It takes a bit of time but they last much, much longer than paper or card. Plus you can write on them if you so desire.

It also helps if your wife is a kindergarten teacher so that you already own a laminator and a paper trimmer.

As Nine Hands said previously, and in my experience, the laminate will not peel off so long as you don't cut too close to the actual counter when you cut them out. I had to re-laminate a couple of the counters because of this mistake but I have learned from it.

Staffan, without having downloaded your file to see for myself, I don't know how happy Fiery Dragon would be about you putting some of their product up online for free. Personally I would check with them to see if they are ok with it.

Olaf the Stout

 

[countgray]

Use Clear Packing Tape For Easy Lamination

Clear packing tape makes a great laminate for counters. It does not peal off. It gives even regular paper a nice thickness, especially if you put it on both sides of the counter before you cut it out.

 

[countgray]

By the way, I have Fiery Dragon's digital counter collection, and I love it. I just use MSWord. Just paste the counter into a word document and bingo you have tokens.

I make a whole sheet of them for specific adventures.

If they need to be resized, just right click on the picture (in Word) and select format picture. Then use the size tab to make it whatever size you want. Two inches for large, 3 inches for huge, etc.

Another thing I have done is put two counters one on top of the other, use the edit picture function in word to flip and rotate the top picture upside down. Then, when you print it and cut it out, you can either make your counter double-sided, or you can leave a little tab at the top and bottom and fold it into a triangle shape, and tape it to a penny (for weight) and you have an instant stand-up mini.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

By the way, I have Fiery Dragon's digital counter collection, and I love it. I just use MSWord. Just paste the counter into a word document and bingo you have tokens.

I make a whole sheet of them for specific adventures.

If they need to be resized, just right click on the picture (in Word) and select format picture. Then use the size tab to make it whatever size you want. Two inches for large, 3 inches for huge, etc.

Another thing I have done is put two counters one on top of the other, use the edit picture function in word to flip and rotate the top picture upside down. Then, when you print it and cut it out, you can either make your counter double-sided, or you can leave a little tab at the top and bottom and fold it into a triangle shape, and tape it to a penny (for weight) and you have an instant stand-up mini.

Nice idea countgray! Personally I like mine as single sided though. If the thing that the counter represents has been taken out of the combat I just flip it over. That way you still know where they are located on the battlefield (in case that is important).

Olaf the Stout