Inkjet printing both sides

OpaPiloot wrote:

"David J. Littleboy" wrote:

"Terry Pinnell" wrote:
Somewhat OT for both groups (I'd appreciate a pointer to a more
appropriate one), but I imagine there's some expertise on this subject
here.

I want to make a birthday card by folding a sheet of the A4 'Super
quality photo paper for inkjet printers' that I have at hand, bought
from WH Smith. But I find that on the non-glossy side I get a smeary
wet mess with all the 'paper type' settings I've tried. Plain, Matte -
Heavy, Photo, Premium Semi Gloss - even Inkjet Transparency! If the
ink will stay on a transparent sheet of plastic with that last option,
I'm darned if I can see why it won't do so on this stuff? Is it
deliberately 'waxed' or something?

It's probably deliberate. They want to sell you "double sided photo paper"
at outrageous prices. The Japanese fine print on my favorite Epson matte
photo paper says (loose translation) "Don't even think about trying to print
on the back side".

David J. Littleboy
Who named his printer "Ink-sucking pig"
Tokyo, Japan

Nonsense, paper is coated on one side to keep costs down.
There is double sided photopaper, e.g. Kodak Picture Pater CAT 807 7448,
which is reasonable priced.
You can also glue 2 sheets together.

Thanks both.

I suspect 2 glued sheets would be too hard to fold neatly.

--
Terry, East Grinstead, UK

"Burt" wrote:


"Terry Pinnell" wrote in message
.. .
Somewhat OT for both groups (I'd appreciate a pointer to a more
appropriate one), but I imagine there's some expertise on this subject
here.

I want to make a birthday card by folding a sheet of the A4 'Super
quality photo paper for inkjet printers' that I have at hand, bought
from WH Smith. But I find that on the non-glossy side I get a smeary
wet mess with all the 'paper type' settings I've tried. Plain, Matte -
Heavy, Photo, Premium Semi Gloss - even Inkjet Transparency! If the
ink will stay on a transparent sheet of plastic with that last option,
I'm darned if I can see why it won't do so on this stuff? Is it
deliberately 'waxed' or something?

--
Terry, East Grinstead, UK

I would guess that the back coating has a function - possibly to keep the
paper flat. Coating one side only may cause a different amount of moisture
absorption and warp the paper. I've used Epson Glossy Photo paper and
printed on both sides successfully. It does have a very faint logo repeat
pattern printed on the back side, but no one who has received these cards
noticed it at all. I currently use Staples Supreme Double Sided Matte paper
for printing two sided cards. Because it is a paper specifically coated for
receiving inkjet photo images, it looks quite good and is also a very decent
weight and stiffness for cards. Although glossy photo papers print a more
vivid photo, this matte paper is a close second best.


Thanks for all the replies. I have a fair stock of this glossy paper,
but looks like I'm not going to get anything printed on its back. (No
laser.) I'll try some of the alternative paper types at a later date,
but meanwhile I'm tackling the project on a couple of fronts.

1) Folding the sheet twice, which gets all images onto one side,
albeit smaller. Then using all four sections to the maximum.

2) Have glued some plain inkjet paper to back of the glossy, and will
try that with the 1-fold design.

--
Terry, East Grinstead, UK

Arthur Entlich wrote:

Some inkjet coatings, and the glossy are more likely, can be a type of
plastic that will melt with the heat of a laser printer fuser. Some
people have ruined their laser printer's fuser doing this, so beware!

I would expect any papers not suited to laser printing
to say so on the carton, although perhaps inadequately
emphasized as "Use only in inkjet printers" or some such.

Obviously, some inkjet paper coatings survive the heat,
but you need to be careful.

I've never had a problem doing it, but that could be just
the luck of the draw on the media. I do have some early
HP JetSeries stock that is clearly a plastic base, and
that I stuff I never fed to the LaserJet for this very reason.

Of course, if the OP doesn't own a laser printer, and
buys an old LaserJet cheaply on eBay, then not much
is at risk :-)

--
Regards, Bob Niland
http://www.access-one.com/rjn email4rjn AT yahoo DOT com
NOT speaking for any employer, client or Internet Service Provider.

Rita Berkowitz wrote:
rjn wrote:

But I find that on the non-glossy side I get a smeary
wet mess with all the 'paper type' settings I've tried.

I trick I've used to work around this: If you have access
to a laser printer, print the back side on that first,
then the color on the photo side.

Bob, please stop posting misinformation that can intentionally destroy

99% on the irony meter.

--
Ray Fischer

Terry Pinnell observed
Somewhat OT for both groups (I'd appreciate a pointer to a more
appropriate one), but I imagine there's some expertise on this subject
here.

I want to make a birthday card by folding a sheet of the A4 'Super
quality photo paper for inkjet printers' that I have at hand, bought
from WH Smith. But I find that on the non-glossy side I get a smeary
wet mess with all the 'paper type' settings I've tried. Plain, Matte -
Heavy, Photo, Premium Semi Gloss - even Inkjet Transparency! If the
ink will stay on a transparent sheet of plastic with that last option,
I'm darned if I can see why it won't do so on this stuff? Is it
deliberately 'waxed' or something?


My once favourite paper supplier (good deliver, reasonable prices)
recently blotted its copybook with me, by moving to the Channel Isles,
now the service is like other off shore companies.

However I have enjoyed the Think double sided matt paper for some years.
My last delivery was at increased price and the thickness (but not the
weight) has decreased. However, I still think the following may suit
you:-

http://www.choicestationery.co.uk/Product.asp?Prd=17342

Mike

[The reply-to address is valid for 30 days from this posting]
--
Michael J Davis

Some newsgroup contributors appear to have confused
the meaning of "discussion" with "digression".

Terry Pinnell wrote:
Somewhat OT for both groups (I'd appreciate a pointer to a more
appropriate one), but I imagine there's some expertise on this subject
here.

I want to make a birthday card by folding a sheet of the A4 'Super
quality photo paper for inkjet printers' that I have at hand, bought
from WH Smith. But I find that on the non-glossy side I get a smeary
wet mess with all the 'paper type' settings I've tried. Plain, Matte -
Heavy, Photo, Premium Semi Gloss - even Inkjet Transparency! If the
ink will stay on a transparent sheet of plastic with that last option,
I'm darned if I can see why it won't do so on this stuff? Is it
deliberately 'waxed' or something?

You don't mention what printer you are using. Some modern inkjet
printers are designed so that the ink and paper react chemically, and
you NEED to use the recommended papers in order to get the best results.
Using paper not designed to be printed on both sides can result in
poor results, as you have noted. I can only suggest that you print the
side that smears first, and give it some time (several minutes) to dry
before printing the other side. This may give acceptable results.

Paul Furman wrote:
Terry Pinnell wrote:
Somewhat OT for both groups (I'd appreciate a pointer to a more
appropriate one), but I imagine there's some expertise on this subject
here.

I want to make a birthday card by folding a sheet of the A4 'Super
quality photo paper for inkjet printers' that I have at hand, bought
from WH Smith. But I find that on the non-glossy side I get a smeary
wet mess with all the 'paper type' settings I've tried. Plain, Matte -
Heavy, Photo, Premium Semi Gloss - even Inkjet Transparency! If the
ink will stay on a transparent sheet of plastic with that last option,
I'm darned if I can see why it won't do so on this stuff? Is it
deliberately 'waxed' or something?

Use matte 'watercolor' paper instead. It's really nice stuff and there's
no coating to worry about.

My wife often prints cards on both sides, and we have found that Kodak
'Semi gloss' paper works well for two sided printing on our HP printers.
Other ink formulations may not work as well. Giving one side time to
dry before printing the other side is essential when using coated papers!

Ron Hunter wrote:

Terry Pinnell wrote:
Somewhat OT for both groups (I'd appreciate a pointer to a more
appropriate one), but I imagine there's some expertise on this subject
here.

I want to make a birthday card by folding a sheet of the A4 'Super
quality photo paper for inkjet printers' that I have at hand, bought
from WH Smith. But I find that on the non-glossy side I get a smeary
wet mess with all the 'paper type' settings I've tried. Plain, Matte -
Heavy, Photo, Premium Semi Gloss - even Inkjet Transparency! If the
ink will stay on a transparent sheet of plastic with that last option,
I'm darned if I can see why it won't do so on this stuff? Is it
deliberately 'waxed' or something?

You don't mention what printer you are using. Some modern inkjet
printers are designed so that the ink and paper react chemically, and
you NEED to use the recommended papers in order to get the best results.
Using paper not designed to be printed on both sides can result in
poor results, as you have noted. I can only suggest that you print the
side that smears first, and give it some time (several minutes) to dry
before printing the other side. This may give acceptable results.

Sorry, Ron, I meant to do so; it's an Epson C82.

But when I said 'smeary wet mess', I was being precise! Ink was
actually 'puddled' in several cases, with original image barely
recognisable. That's as it emerged from printer, so no question of
allowing it to dry.

--
Terry, East Grinstead, UK

It is the same problem if you are using an inkjet coated paper. It
isn't the ink that is the problem, it is the paper itself which is not
designed for heat.

In most cases the true matte surfaced inkjet paper (not semigloss or
pearl) does not melt when placed through a laser or photocopier, but
there are no guarantees. Most fully matte inkjet coatings are made of a
clay/ceramic which is not damaged by heat. In most cases, the inkjet
ink itself isn't the problem, so it may be better to print the ink side
first and then laser print, because the heat may somewhat disrupt the
inkjet coating in other ways than melting it.

There are some brands of glossy and semigloss inkjet papers which have a
special coating on the reverse side that is designed to accept black
inkjet for text only.

Also, if you print the card the right way and do a four way fold, if you
print the front and back in one direction, and the inside panels upside
down and fold it, you can print the whole card on one sheet on one side.
Using a full letter size (8.5" x 11" page, the card will end up folded
dimensions of 5.5" x 4.25" front surface with the two inside panels
being 5.5" x 8.5" total.

Art


MyVeryOwnSelf wrote:

I trick I've used to work around this: If you have access
to a laser printer, print the back side on that first,
then the color on the photo side.


Some inkjet coatings, and the glossy are more likely, can be a type of
plastic that will melt with the heat of a laser printer fuser. Some
people have ruined their laser printer's fuser doing this, so beware!

Obviously, some inkjet paper coatings survive the heat, but you need to
be careful.


Right, I've had problems with a laser printer after feeding a page that was
previously ink-jet-printed on the other side.

But what about the opposite? Is there any problem first printing one side
with a laser printer (or copier for that matter), then ink-jet-printing the
second side?

The coatings on the reverse side do have several potential functions.
As I mentioned, some are coated for text only, some at designed to
maintain dimensionally and prevent warping, as you mentioned, some have
a coating designed to allow better paper transport through the printer
with less slippage, some have codes to tell the printer the type of
paper so the proper driver profile is selected for that paper type, so
helps to maintain the integrity of the inks.

Art


Burt wrote:

"Terry Pinnell" wrote in message
...

Somewhat OT for both groups (I'd appreciate a pointer to a more
appropriate one), but I imagine there's some expertise on this subject
here.

I want to make a birthday card by folding a sheet of the A4 'Super
quality photo paper for inkjet printers' that I have at hand, bought
from WH Smith. But I find that on the non-glossy side I get a smeary
wet mess with all the 'paper type' settings I've tried. Plain, Matte -
Heavy, Photo, Premium Semi Gloss - even Inkjet Transparency! If the
ink will stay on a transparent sheet of plastic with that last option,
I'm darned if I can see why it won't do so on this stuff? Is it
deliberately 'waxed' or something?

--
Terry, East Grinstead, UK


I would guess that the back coating has a function - possibly to keep the
paper flat. Coating one side only may cause a different amount of moisture
absorption and warp the paper. I've used Epson Glossy Photo paper and
printed on both sides successfully. It does have a very faint logo repeat
pattern printed on the back side, but no one who has received these cards
noticed it at all. I currently use Staples Supreme Double Sided Matte paper
for printing two sided cards. Because it is a paper specifically coated for
receiving inkjet photo images, it looks quite good and is also a very decent
weight and stiffness for cards. Although glossy photo papers print a more
vivid photo, this matte paper is a close second best.