Attached Link: Fractal clings

I wanted to share something with all of you that I think is rather cool. A couple of months ago I had an idea to have one of my fractals printed onto window cling material so I could use it as a kind of "stained glass" topper for the patio doors leading out to the backyard.

At about that time, Leighton Jones, owner/operator of Floating Point Digital Images (www.fpdimages.com) posted a notice to the UF list in regard to having our fractals printed up on a variety of mediums. One of the perks he offers is that we can simply send him the UF parameter file and he will render it on site at the resolution required for whatever size we request. I'm sure some of you will recall that message to the UF list. Anyway, I emailed Leighton and asked him about the possiblility of having my "Even Julias Get The Blues" printed onto window clings... but with a bit of a twist. I wanted two images... one for the top of each patio door... with the second one printed as a mirrored image of the first, because it seemed to me that the vines in that fractal would make for a neat archway effect if installed in that way.

Leighton went above and beyond the call of duty to print these for me. He is extremely helpful, enthusiastic and a delight to do business with. I found his rates to be more than reasonable... and he ships the finished product for free. Not only that, but his business is based in Calgary, Alberta... so the fees are in Canadian funds and there is no sales tax in that province. Ya can't beat that with a stick! lol!

I'm really thrilled with the way the clings look... and it's neat that people coming into the dining room do a double take and then start asking questions... ;) The cling stuff requires no framing or glue or anything else... just slap them on any glass surface and you're good to go. They can be peeled off in a second and re-used pretty much endlessly. Just to clarify, though, they don't look exactly like stained glass pieces... the vinyl is very thin and could never take the place of colored glass... but when the sun shines through them, they are pretty darn kewl to see!

Sorry for the long note... I'm just rather geeked at the outcome of this printing endeavor and wanted ya'll to see how it looks. :) Hugs! Helen

what a great idea, and the end result is superb. when I saw 'clings' I thought you meant the small circles we have over here to stick on patio windows when they are closed to stop folk bumping into them, but yours are wonderful. love the way you have reflected the mirror image. Brilliant!

Cool stuff, Helen - got a picture you can attach so we can see? Rick

Hey, Rick... :)

The first part of my post has a link to the picture I took... didn't know how else to do things. Hope you can see the link. Thanks so much! :) Helen

Way cool, Helen! I've always loved that image, and the window clings are a perfect way to show it off! Double the fun!!!

Those turned out wonderful Helen! Are they guaranteed to stay on the glass and not lose their "clingability" for x number of years? Are there size limitations? Your glass looks pretty large, and yet he is able to render these without any problem? That sounds like quite a deal.

I am interrested to hear abour the printing method. I have an idea to use some of my images on a transparent cover to a lamp, but don't know what material to choose. I have a color laser printer, and have considdered OH material, but I guess it would give bleeched colors. never thought of transparent sticky material. Do you think it is anything I can do on my printer?

Attached Link: http://www.fpdimages.com/category.asp?ID=109

I like this idea - they look really good - I've got patio doors that are just crying out for this treatment!!

Very very nice results. I'm impressed. I've got a window which need something like this on the top pane of glass. Thanks for showing how this turned out.

Hi again... :)

Thanks to all of you for checking out my "cling thing" project... ;)

Maria... the clings stay put until you peel them off. They can be wiped clean of dust with a wet sponge when it's time to clean the door glass. Static cling holds them on, but you'll get even better results (clearer from both sides of the glass) if you wet the window first using a solution of water and a few drops of mild liquid soap. You can then smoosh (sorry to get technical... lol!) the clings around until they're in the perfect position. Then you take a rubber squeegee (or, as Leighton suggested, a credit card with a couple of layers of masking tape over one edge so you won't scratch the artwork) and squish out all of the water/soap solution. That way there are no trapped air bubbles.

The plotter used to print the clings is capable of 29" in height... but almost unlimited in width. Or the other way around, depending on the orientation you'll be using.

Gunsan... I'm thinking the OH material might work better for you as a lamp shade because it's a little more rigid than the vinyl cling stock... but I may be wrong. As far as using the vinyl clings in your own printer... I've never seen it sold anywhere... and especially not in single sheets.

Thanks again, all... :) Hugs! Helen

Very nice! I've been intrigued by the idea of printing fractals on some kind of transparent material for a while; I think they'd work well on skylights too :)

"Hey, Rick... :) The first part of my post has a link to the picture I took... didn't know how else to do things. Hope you can see the link. Thanks so much! :) Helen" LOL!! Sheesh - I'm still looking for the bright orange links against black that I had set up under the old system....what a dork.... :-) They look cool! BTW - what's all that weird white stuff on the ground????? Ya never see beach sand THAT white down here.... :-)

Absolutely beautiful, Helen. I can imagine guests taking another look at it. Yvonne

Helen, this is an awesome idea and I will look into it. your doors are beautiful