Photo Ink??

richardj · Post by **richardj** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 2:37 pm

At a wake for my neighbor, they had several photos which were PC reproduced.

It started to drizzile and the inks started to run.

A guy at an Office Max said that all printer inks will run when exposed to moisture.

What good is that??

I've not done photo printing-but now someone wants me to reproduce some wedding pics.

Is there a special ink or paper to use so that the ink doesn't run??

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rovingcowboy · Post by **rovingcowboy** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 4:07 pm

Photo Ink is mostly just a jet black ink that is not made by making a darker green ink but is made with squid ink. and is a little bit water proof. but that is the black only. and it is not always made with real squid ink.

lexmark makes some that is photo ink or black water resitant ink.

they also take a little longer to dry.

the paper would be clossy coated kodak paper.

but that also takes time to dry.

so you need to adjust your printer to use photo ink and to allow for a longer time between printing of multiple photos so they have time to dry before the next one falls in the paper tray on top and smears it.

after you get it printed you can then put it behind glass which should be done anyway,.

but you might also find some newer papers that will have the ink soak through the plastic to the paper. that is what i think the glossy coated paper does.

but they might have improved on it in the last 3 years since i bought any. ( i buy in bulk its cheaper that way )

there is really not any cheap home printer that will do good photos though your going to need a expensive printer epson had the best one the last time i seen a printer round up on call for help in spring of 2004,

and we just got a epson with a camera preview area, and a cdrom disk printer.

they are very high on the dpi now. up to around 1500 by 1450 or so.

good luck.

even my ball ink and pen set ink was not water proof?

well the jet black ink was. but that was squid ink also.

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Red Squirrel · Post by **Red Squirrel** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 4:28 pm

Your best bet is a good color lazerjet printer. Better quality, cheaper (in the long run - it will do more then 10 pages per refill LOL) and the toner stays on paper forever, pretty much.

I don't think you can get glossy paper for a lazerjet though since the gloss would melt, but I may be wrong.

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richardj · Post by **richardj** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 4:51 pm

Thats all fine------------but-

Assuming I stay with my current printer-a HP all in one 1200

Are you saying then that there is no way to prevent them from streaking from moisture?

If that's the case --why would anyone waste there time as I can go to Wallgreens & get prints for 29 cents.

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rovingcowboy · Post by **rovingcowboy** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 5:27 pm

they have higher dpi printers for the photos there.

but they use kodak paper and ink also. which you can do just get the kodak paper glossy. and get the photo ink. like i said that is mainly jet black and will help with making it water resitant but nothing not even walgreens will be proof.

i think those big photo processors have some sort of clear coat they can put on the photo also which i am not sure what it is called.?

but you can get the same type of coating in plastic and then put it in a frame behind glass it will not be noticed that there is a plastic coat on it.

that would make it water proof but ruin the photo in 60 years? if it lasts that long

some are saying at the testing labs that printed photos are not lasting more then 30 years before they need reprinted. where the ones chemicaly processed last up to 150 years.

so how long do you want it to last?

i really think you should get the non glossy coating which will keep it easier to see the image but most like shiny wedding photos?

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richardj · Post by **richardj** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 5:49 pm

Well-

The problem is that these are not going to be framed --but copys given to relatives. Plus I'm not going to buy special ink (can't afford it)

The reason I'm going to do it is that Wallgreens won't reproduce them because the wedding photog has a copyright on them-and he wants $5.00 PER PIC

which is INSANE>

Because I was talking to an Office Max or Office Depot guy about making one of those magnetic signs for my truck said the first rain will wash the ink right off.

There must be an answer here as so many people are doing their own printing.

Imagine showing your prints at the table & someone spills a drink

ALL GONE!

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Red Squirrel · Post by **Red Squirrel** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 7:45 pm

Maybe you could wax them? Not sure how well that would go though, maybe the wax itself would ruin it.

But for the copyright issue, scan it, remove the copyright then print it and bring it right away to get copies done.

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Death · Post by **Death** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 8:42 pm

For your printer, I don't think there are any special photo inks available. I know that the photo printers they make now have a special type of pigment ink which is more fade resistant and vibrant in color than older ink cartridges. If you want your pictures to last, you could possible try laminating them. Not quite sure how it will turn out, but the laminant should be able to seal the ink between the paper and the plastic. Best bet would be to get them professionally developped at a photo place. Walmart seem to have very low pricing for photo development. There are probably many places that will give you high quality prints for cheap.

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richardj · Post by **richardj** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 10:04 pm

Red Squirrel wrote: Maybe you could wax them? Not sure how well that would go though, maybe the wax itself would ruin it.

But for the copyright issue, scan it, remove the copyright then print it and bring it right away to get copies done.

doh -Yeah- I didn't think about that.

Thanks

But if I find an answer for the runny ink I'll post it

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richardj · Post by **richardj** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 2:08 pm

I found this on a photo site

Photo printing at home is a waste of time.

LAMINATION

The ink used in inkjet plotters is alcohol or waterbased. A sweaty palm will streak it completely(except for special waterproof media like banner vinyl). We normally heat encapsulate the output (hot-roll laminate both sides with a heat sealed edge) immediately to avoid moisture or fingerprint handling damage. We strongly recommend against handling unlaminated inkjet without wearing photo gloves. Sneeze on it and it's gone!

Once laminated, the output is very robust and can even stand up to rain. However, three to six months of direct sunlight will severely bleach many normal inkjet colors.

UV resistant laminates and pigmented inks are now available that substantially lengthen useful injket life. They require more testing before realistic guarantees can be made. However, we think as much as two years with minimal fading is possible even in adverse positions recieving day long direct sunlight.

Our regular laminate is either gloss or luster (matte) finished.

Gloss laminate really makes the colors pop and enhances the photographic effect.
Gloss laminate does produce reflections and may not be suitable in a highly spot lit booth.
Luster laminate somewhat tones down the color and does not produce as much reflection.
In addition we offer a dry erase surface laminate for posters or adhesive backed film that may be then mounted to any substrate.

USING FINISHED INKJET

Laminated or unlaminated, the inkjet output may be rolled for shipping or storage. Velcro, magnetic strips or two sided tape can be applied to the back for fastening to a display. It may also be laminated to a variety of substrates as required. These include Coroplast, Sintra, Plexi, Foamcore, Posterboard and Lexan.

THE SPECIFICS OF DIGITAL INKJET

Newer computer design programs allow fast creation of full color, easily changeable designs. Your possibilities for utilizing situation specific, one or short run output has exploded. Several systems have been developed to provide such output. The most cost effective is inkjet technology.

Inkjet plotters produce rich, vibrant colors for type, drawn artwork or photographs. From a normal display-viewing distance, the look is that of a color photo.

1200 Dots Per(DPI) Inch Inkjet printing produced with the right quality inks, media, high resotution input, superior RIPs and expeienced operators produces photo quality results. This technology evolved from plotters used in the CAD world. Roll media is used, so length of output is ruled by the computer capacity and software driving the plotter. Sizes presently are up to 60 inches in width by approximately 100 feet maximum length.

Output from modern Inkjet Graphics Plotters is true four color and can be made to a variety of materials, then be laminated or mounted for display. Resolution is up to 1200 DPI. From a few feet it normally will appear as continuous tone of photographic quality. Photos captured with high resolution drum scans appear with excellent detail and quality. Lower resolution flatbed scans, photo CD and even jpeg files produce very acceptable display quality results, particularly for larger sizes to be viewed from more than 5-10' distance. Colors are rich, fully saturated and vibrant. The overall quality of 1200 DPI Inkjet exceeds Electrostatic sinificantly. From longer distances the resolution difference between Inkjet and Electrostatic is less, but electrostatic colors are just not as rich & vibrant.

This is the highest quality/value for money choice until the number of pieces required reaches a level where screen printing becomes cost effective.

The standard inks used in Inkjet plotters will not resist direct sunlight (UV) for more than a few weeks. Newer UV resistant inks can resist sun for six months up to one year or with pigmented inks more than a year, depending on how the output is finished and mounted.

Large billboard or mural size displays can be achieved by paneling 60" wide strips of inkjet output thereby creating giant wall size, near photographic quality backdrops.

Inkjet output can also be laminated or mounted to a variety of other materials for application to trade show booths, store displays or other special purposes.

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