Help on Inkjet Printing on ToughPrint Paper

[+Big84]

Hi All,
A while back I purchased some ToughPrint waterproof Paper on Amazon but never go around to using it.... Until last week.

I am in the process of building a cache and finally found a use for the paper.

 

Here Is my issue: 
I have a HP Envy 5020 Ink jet Printer ( Other Brands are Available lol)  I printed out a little note "Congratulations, you've found it! Intentionally or not!...." etc, etc

I left the page for about a week but then had to fold it in half as it wouldn't fit in the cache. I opened the page to find that my ink had smudged. Where it hadn't smudged I gently rubbed the page and got a nice black finger :-( 

Can anybody offer any advice on this. I did have my settings on draft so it wouldn't use as much ink.

 

Thanks

Big84

[+lee737]

I had the same problem with some Rite in the Rain paper - inkjet printing just never dried, it seemed to just not penetrate the paper. I needed to laser print on it..... 

[+Big84]

Is there anything I could spray onto the page that wont turn dodgy after being left in a cold cache over winter?

[+VAVAPAM]

2 hours ago, Big84 said:

Can anybody offer any advice on this. I did have my settings on draft so it wouldn't use as much ink.

 

I had a pack of Rite in the Rain letter sized paper.  It doesn't do well with inkjet, either.  Not sure where you're located, but office services might be your best bet.

 

I created my design, using as much of the paper as possible, printed it on regular copy paper, then took it to OfficeMax and had them print it on my [RITR] paper.  IIRC, it cost me a little over $0.25 per page, full color.

[+VAVAPAM]

2 hours ago, Big84 said:

Is there anything I could spray onto the page that wont turn dodgy after being left in a cold cache over winter?

 

Laser printed has lasted through wind, rain, sleet, snow, and freezing temps.

By the time you do all these extra gymnastics of ink amounts & purchases, I think you'd be better off just getting it laser copied.

Edited November 2, 2019 by VAVAPAM
opinionated add

[+kunarion]

3 hours ago, Big84 said:

Hi All,
A while back I purchased some ToughPrint waterproof Paper on Amazon but never go around to using it.... Until last week.

I am in the process of building a cache and finally found a use for the paper.

 

Here Is my issue: 
I have a HP Envy 5020 Ink jet Printer ( Other Brands are Available lol)  I printed out a little note "Congratulations, you've found it! Intentionally or not!...." etc, etc

I left the page for about a week but then had to fold it in half as it wouldn't fit in the cache. I opened the page to find that my ink had smudged. Where it hadn't smudged I gently rubbed the page and got a nice black finger :-( 

Can anybody offer any advice on this. I did have my settings on draft so it wouldn't use as much ink.

 

Thanks

Big84

 

I have the same problem with my Brother printer and waterproof inkjet paper (National Geographic Map Paper).  It's not the "paper" it's the ink, which is a different formula on different brands, and likely even with different batches of ink.  It worked great on my old Epson printer, but black ink smears from my new printer.  The blank ink becomes a black powder that can be almost completely wiped off.  I'm fortunate that the other colors seem OK in my case.  So I simply don't print any of it black.  You should test to see if any plain dark color works OK.

 

"Waterproof paper" in my caches has been a waste for me.  I've had to change a wet, moldy, pen-bleeding "waterproof paper" as often as I change plain old paper.  Because of that and the smearing issue, that's what I'm using instead, just paper, printed any way I like.  The only reason I may use the Nat Geo paper is it has a classy feel to it.  Plus I have 2 boxes of it to use up.

 

For crafts that people won't have to write on, such as that cache note, you can try to seal the print with a couple coats of acrylic spray such as Krylon Matte Acrylic Clear Coating.  I use that on a lot of projects to help them last longer in caches.

 

Instead of folding a large cache note, consider a less wordy note.  I make my own note stickers (ordinary paper with craft sticker tape) and stick them inside a cache container lid or in the cache log.  For the small caches "Sign the log sheet and place the container where you found it.  www.geocaching.com" is about all anyone who's interested needs to read. 

 

 

[+ecanderson]

kunarion has it pretty much right, though the reason has yet to be explained.  MOST inkjet inks are water based.  Some brands offer optional non-water-based inks, and often only for black cartridges.  To be 'environmental' as they all themselves (an odd adjective standing by itself) they often use soy based black ink (no nasty VOCs that actually make it easier to get the ink to dry in a reasonable amount of time).  Whatever you use, it needs to be clearly called out as "Waterproof".  You'll find that works much better on media designed to handle the wet - and won't allow water based inks to penetrate.

 

[+SAR Charlie]

On 11/2/2019 at 10:57 AM, Big84 said:

Hi All,
A while back I purchased some ToughPrint waterproof Paper on Amazon but never go around to using it.... Until last week.

I am in the process of building a cache and finally found a use for the paper.

 

Here Is my issue: 
I have a HP Envy 5020 Ink jet Printer ( Other Brands are Available lol)  I printed out a little note "Congratulations, you've found it! Intentionally or not!...." etc, etc

I left the page for about a week but then had to fold it in half as it wouldn't fit in the cache. I opened the page to find that my ink had smudged. Where it hadn't smudged I gently rubbed the page and got a nice black finger :-( 

Can anybody offer any advice on this. I did have my settings on draft so it wouldn't use as much ink.

 

Thanks

Big84

Are you using Inkjet specific Toughprint or laser printer specific Toughprint?  I've had a few issues with smearing ink even on inkjet specific toughprint but it helps to let it completely dry in a warm environment first.  Toughprint with inkjet ink will definitely not withstand long term immersion or damp and then withstand rubbing or wiping the surface.  It will allow you to have a map that doesn't fall apart in the rain on one or two outings.

[+SAR Charlie]

On 11/2/2019 at 11:00 AM, lee737 said:

I had the same problem with some Rite in the Rain paper - inkjet printing just never dried, it seemed to just not penetrate the paper. I needed to laser print on it..... 

The Rite in the Rain printable paper is not designed for use with inkjets.  It's designed for use with laser printers, unlike Toughprint which have versions of their product for each type of printer.  It's much cheaper than Toughprint (currently £25 for 25 sheets, 100% more expensive than last year) but I would have to buy a laser printer to be able to use it..