The Kopykake 300xk projector directly enlarges your photos by 300% on the stand and 2500% off of it without needing the computer or any other device.
It makes enlarging your photos and outlining them easy so you can spend your time on your painting or craft.
Unlike the older projectors you don’t need a slide, just the photo, this makes it really easy and accessible to use.
The Kopykake 300xk projector is popular with both artists and crafters alike, in fact, it is also used by cake decorators for their cake designs.
How to Use a Kopykake Projector – It’s So Easy!
It is really easy to use and it saves a huge amount of time sketching and or tracing your pictures if you are using photos. This is a huge plus if you don’t want to mess around or spend time on the pre-sketches. Or if you are not great at sketching.
Just pop your picture in and switch it on. It is very bright so make sure it is off before entering or removing your pictures) Move until your picture is about the size you can then make sure it is focused.
It enlarges your photos to many different sizes You can go up to 300% of the size of your photo when the projector is on its stand. If you take it off the stand and put it so it is horizontal it can then enlarge your photos to over 2500%.
Find out more about the Kopykake 300 xk on Amazon
It isn’t very heavy which is great if you haven’t anywhere permanent to put it.
I put a few photos in it to give it a go, then did a bird outline in only a few minutes. Very impressed. Now I just have to find somewhere to put it so I can easily use it.
What I like is that you can draw on the flat surface, I notice some of the cheaper ones you seem to have to draw on the vertical.
It gets quite hot quite quickly so you can only use it for shorter sessions.
Why Use an Art Projector Anyway?
I find it saves time. I don’t always want to be drawing out the image and making sure I get it right. I just want to get straight in there and get started with painting. You don’t have to draw every single line and it takes a fraction of the time it otherwise would.
It is also helpful if you are putting together a compilation as you can see what it looks like as you go and make changes.
My Own Experiences with the Projector
This is what I wrote when I first got it in September last year.
“I am so excited. My new Kopykake art projector arrived yesterday and I got to try it out for the first time last night.
Ok, Ok, I know it is a bit lazy, but sometimes you just want the outline so you can start on your paintings and don’t want to go to all the trouble of sketching it yourself.”
So what Happened Next?
When I first started I couldn’t use it in the day but managed an outline at night then realised I had left the kitchen lights on (hmm doesn’t say much for my lights lol. I always said they were rubbish!!) OK, much better once I switched them off.
Then I did a few pictures then the excitement wore off and waiting for it to get dark became a pain. I start work quite early, so by the evening it was a case of, I need to do a picture nooo, I just can’t concentrate, too tired, lol. Consequently, the projector got left up and collecting dust and other items on the stand and not being used.
However, when you are using the projector to copy your photos it doesn’t have to be completely dark. If you have a more complicated picture you have to make sure it is quite dark to see the picture properly, so you can trace the outline.
Then, I decided that was silly and I was just wasting time. So what to do? So, I switched it on. Daytime, not a darkened room – nothing. It already had a photo in it. I was really surprised I could really see it. Kopykape say that you can use it like this but if it is too bright it is pale.
The other day I managed when it was raining heavily as my kitchen isn’t too bright anyway. But, I have also had to block off the two doors, the window doesn’t have any way of covering it so it is still fairly bright.
I think it will have to go upstairs in the bedroom where the watercolours are set up, so I can easily darken down the room.
So From Experience, What Do I Recommend?
I recommend putting the projector in a room where you can easily block out the light if you want to work during the day. Or shielding the white stand area(without actually touching the main box or blocking the air flow in any way as it gets very hot) so there is a shadow falling across the white area.
It (or at least mine) only takes 6×4 pictures. It does take larger but the image is only for about that amount.
It takes up a fair amount of height but can be broken down to pack away.
I think this is the basic version which is a little scary. I think of it as more the mid-range with a smaller one at about half the price and a more flexible one that does different angles and has a stronger light at over double the price.
The Kopykake 300xk Projector with Stand
It is certainly one of the better ones I have seen. And that you just need a photo makes it so easy to use. Although it does have it’s limitations of course as does anything. With no computer port, you do need to have a hard copy photo, something I don’t have much these days so I do have to get them printed. This is a minor issue and well worth the effort.
With so many free images ready and available online you are never short on things to draw if you are not a great photographer or can’t get to your needed image.
I get them done all at once then am free to draw the outlines when I am ready to.
That you can copy either facing down as the picture here or directly onto a vertical wall if you remove the projector from the stand gives good options.
I covered the basics on how to use a Kopykake projector, it is quite easy, just be careful with your lens and remember one side increases your picture while the other decreases it.