I used my new computer printer to print a favorite photo yesterday and ran into a slight problem. Using my Epson C80 Color Stylus printer, I printed a full-color picture onto JetPrint Photo Premium Glossy paper. The picture turned out beautifully.
A few hours later, I placed the photo into a frame with a glass front. The next day, I noticed that some of the ink had come off the print and adhered to the glass. I removed the photo and the ink stayed on the glass, ruining the print. Before I replace the photo, I wonder if anyone has suggestions on preventing this problem. Is it a typical problem for computer printed pictures? Did I simply not wait long enough for the ink to dry? Is there a fixing agent I should spray on the picture? The paper was the second-most expensive photo paper at WalMart (the only choice for computer supplies in my small town). At $9.00 per package (plus ink), I don’t want to waste too many pictures experimenting.
Possibly. I have an Epson Stylus 820. I usually let the photo sit for a few hours before doing anything with it. I find that with the glossy paper, if you handle the picture too soon, it will smudge.
After several hundred digital photos and two Epson printers, I can say with confidence the following:
Don’t mess with any paper that wasn’t made by Epson. They make their paper perfectly tuned for their inks. You will notice that Epson ink sometimes beads up on non-Epson paper (e.g. Jet). Don’t waste your time with other papers.
If you can afford it, use the premium glossy photo paper. There is a night and day difference between using their photo paper and using their premium glossy paper.
Make sure you have set the driver to use the DPI you expect it to. I found that mine defaulted to 720DPI even though I was expecting 1440, and it did degrade the photos.
Thanks for the info. For my next attempt, I am letting the picture sit for about two days before framing it. I intended to use Epson paper, but the Wally-world didn’t have it. I noticed that the DPI tended to change without warning. I set it for Photo Glossy which also changed the quality to “highest” and speed to “lowest”.
I too have read/heard that you should only use the paper created by the manufacturer of your printer. I use the HP Premium Glossy Photo paper on my HP printer and I can handle the pictures immediately after printing with no smudging.
Also, you want to make sure you set up the printer so that it knows what type of paper it’s printing on. Usually in the print setup dialog is an option for the paper type.
My father was a commercial printer, and one of his machines would fire a jet of talcum powder to prevent the ink from smudging and/or running onto the back of the next sheet. Maybe a hairdryer and some baby powder would work on the same principle? I’m sure you’d look silly doing it, but it might work?