|
This article is one of more than 170 articles on digital imaging provided free by Image Science.
Read about How You Can Support Image Science. |
| How To Handle Inkjet Prints |
|
Article Details
Last Updated
3rd of October, 2011
|
|
Thank you for rating this answer.
|
Summary: This article discusses the handling of inkjet prints after they have been printed, either at Image Science or off your own printer. The below article is written about pigment ink inkjet prints, like the type we produce here.
Inkjet prints are amongst the most beautiful and versatile of prints. They can, however, be delicate things that need to be handled appropriately.
Jump To:
Spotting
An occasional problem on inkjet prints, sometimes not visible for quite some time after a print is made, and often mistakenly thought of as surface falking, is white dots. These appears when dust or fibres were on the paper surface when printed and later they fall off, leaving a small white dot of unprinted area underneath.
These are actually quite easy to spot - you can use any water based pigment - for example, old epson inkjet ink cartridges can be opened and the ink used on a brush, or you can simply use acrylics from an art store. Many people have used colour pencils/pens. The dots are generally very very small so you just need to get the tone roughly right and fill in the dot for the problem to become invisible. This is exactly how dust spots were dealt with in the days of traditional photographic printing as well.
The best method is to take a sheet of clear plastic and cut a small hole in it. Place this over the print surface to protect the rest of the print while you are working, and simply paint through the hole over the white dot.
TrimmingPrints, as they emerge from the inkjet printer, should not be thought of as completely finished products in general. In particular, pager centering can be imperfect, and while we might wish for better paper handling from the printers, the reality is most prints are not perfectly centered. The easiest solution is to simply leave more whitespace around the edges as what might bother the eye with a very small amount of whitespace (say 3mm on one side, 2mm on the other) simply isn't noticed when there's a good inch of whitespace around the print.
If you must go closer to the edges, then be prepared to do minor trimming post printing to get perfect centering and possibly to remove minor ink marks from the paper edge. A good quality rotary guillotine is the best thing to use for this sort of trimming. Vanbar sell the Rotatrims which are good, and Dahle trimmers (we got ours from Officeworks!) are excellent as well.
Do my prints need to be coated? What should I coat them with?
No, as a rule they don't need to be coated. Properly stored inkjet prints (i.e. framed or in acid free albums/storage) that are not handled on the image area should last a minimum of 75 or more years before visible fading occurs, and many of the archival substrates we offer here will indeed last far longer when stored properly.
But coating them can have benefits - it depends very much on what you're planning to do with the prints. It also depends greatly on the paper the print has been made on and the tones in the print - prints with deep shadows, and prints on soft cotton or baryta surface papers are more susceptible to scuffing and scratching, and therefore these prints probably should be coated. Fortunately, coating on these papers is generally easy to apply and invisible.
The best coating to use, and the only one to have been independently tested to be archival with inkjet prints, is Hahnemuhle Protective Spray. It's easy to apply and adds a significant level of protection. It certainly won't make your prints bullet proof, but acts as a sealant that helps protect your prints from light touches, and from other nasties that affect inkjet prints like atmospheric pollutants. Do not use this spray on very glossy or metallic prints - it will leave a visible result. But on semi-gloss papers and matte papers, it's generally invisible. Always test on a small sample first of course!
We do not recommend thicker coatings on paper prints - they simply don't look right in general. That said, some people have mentioned they use Renaissance Wax on their prints (on semi-gloss papers) and like the effect both visually and in terms of protection afforded - this wax has been around for decades and early inkjet prints coated this way show no signs of yellowing, but I am not aware of any hard data on this product used with inkjet prints.
Print Packaging (for sale etc)
Use our Clear Bags! These are as good as bags get - perfectly clear (far clearer than anything else on the Australian market and we've looked!). They are pre-sized to popular print sizes (with enough give to fit a print mounted on foamrcore as well) and can easily be made smaller as well with a simple fold down. They're also inexpensive.
If you're not going to use ClearBags, then make sure you source BOPP (biaxially oriented Polypropylene) bags, as these are archival and non damaging to prints - most other plastic bags are acidic and will harm your prints in the long term.
You can also use acid free tissue papers, available from any art store.
More on Rolling and Packaging Prints.
Print StorageProper storage for inkjet prints means one of three things - framed behind glass using archival acid free materials (in a sealed frame), or archivally mounted prints in an acid free album, or acid free print storage boxes. All of these minimise the exposure to light, acid and other nasties that affect inkjet prints - notably atmospheric pollutants like ozone.
The same care (as with bags) should be taken with any folders/boxes you might use -
most plastic folders are made from PVC and are very damaging to prints -
even if you use acid free plastic pockets, the PVC fumes waft in and
will yellow your prints in time. Get Polypropylene folders instead.
Boxes should be identified as archival as again, most aren't - made
from PVC, or if cardboard, using glues that emit harmful fumes.
|
| File Attachments |
|
No file attachments were found.
|
Loading... Please wait...
Print this page
Email this page
Post a comment
Subscribe
Remove Highlighting
Edit this Article
