SB: Printer Ink

trayletha

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Joined
May 14, 2002
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I'm new to scrapbooking and would like to use my computer for printing pictures and words- two questions

1. Do I need (and is there any such thing as) acid free ink for my printer?

2. Should I/Can I print on my pages or should I print on another sheet of paper and glue it to my page ? Also should the "other" paper be "scrapbook" paper too?

Thank you so much- I've learned tons of stuff on here - and I just found this area tonight. :D
 
Check with your printer ink manufacturer to see if your printer's ink is photo safe. Each one is different. The biggest problem I have had is water solubility. Many printer inks are highly water soluble.
With that said. I always use a separate piece of paper, other then my page. I also keep my journaling in a word document so if it starts to fade or a better ink comes along, I can redo it easily.
 
I did some research about 6 months ago about this. Since it was 6 months ago, it could be out of date now, but here goes.

The only inkjet printer on the market that printed archival quality (the ink met archival requirements - lightfast for 200 years or something like that) was an Epson and cost $800 - $900. And the replacement ink YOW!!! The other ones make no claims on archival quality ink - whether they are photo safe or not. I have an HP I use. Laser printers, since it uses a different process, are typically archival quality if I understand correctly. So for black printing that is a good thing if you have access. For color it would be great, but color lasers are VERY expensive, and not many people have access to them. If you do I am very envious!!!

There are a LOT of papers that are photo papers, but not all are archival quality, even though they may be acid-free. HP papers for example say they are acid free, but are not necessarily archival since they do not necessarily have ph less than 7.0. I know that Creative Memories has specific Inkjet and laser papers that meet the requirements.

However, I have also used some of their regular papers (not the specific ones for printers) and cardstocks to print onto. I have also printed on other papers. In those cases I mount what I have printed onto onto either other paper that is safe, or ensure that the questionable paper is not touching any photos.

Since I have an HP inkjet and am not about to shell out that much money for an archival quality one I make sure I keep the photos on a CD just in case. We have several important pictures (duaghters first days in hospital) that are only digital.
 












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