Storing inkjets prints

[Darin Boville]

I've searched and googled and here are my questions:

1) What are the right boxes to store my inkjet prints in? I know about the expensive Archival Methods type stuff ($27 for a 17x22 box!) but do I really need something that expensive? It seems like most boos are made from acid-free paper nowadays. The cost of materials can't be *that* high. I would keep them in the boxes they came in but the paper I use (Ilford Gold Silk) has flimsy boxes.

2) Inkjet prints are surprisingly fragile, especially to surface damage. Shouldn't I be interleaving these somehow for storage purposes? What to use?

3) Oh, that smell! If I open a box of prints that I have stored for a while I can still smell the solvent. Hmmmm. How long should I leave the print sour before storing them, to let the solvent stuff evaporate? Does this issue impact how I should store ink jets?

--Darin

[Greg Lockrey]

I use acetate bags I get from Clear Bags and store loose in a drawer in one of those print file cabinets. Ink jets are water base, there is no solvent. Must be the pigment your smelling.... I never noticed it.

[Darin Boville]

>>.... I never noticed it.<<

You're kidding me! I have to open the door to the deck to get fresh air in when I'm doing heavy duty printing. Clear bags is a good idea...

--Darin

[Jim Michael]

Water based doesn't mean there aren't solutes included for things like keeping nozzles from drying out. Could be glycols, formaldehyde, etc. Folks seem to equate lack of VOCs with 'safe' but not necessarily so.

[jeroldharter]

I keep mind on the dashboard of my truck.

[Ken Lee]

I printed and framed a set of photos for a show a while back, a few weeks before the show. When the images were hung, I was shocked to see a sort of "negative" on the underside of the glass on every photo. It was out-gassing from the injket ink.

One framer I consulted, told me that he sometimes dries the prints with a hair dryer (gently of course) to speed up the out-gassing process before framing.

I can smell the solvents when printing. They're not like house paint, but it's there.

[Greg Lockrey]

>>.... I never noticed it.<<

You're kidding me! I have to open the door to the deck to get fresh air in when I'm doing heavy duty printing. Clear bags is a good idea...

--Darin

I run 3 9600's either I have a perpetual cold or I just can't smell anymore :)

[Nathan Potter]

Good question. I wonder about storage also. I'm beginning to make some inkjets that are worth keeping.

So I have mounted them with archival paper tabs on foamcore board for rigidity then placed them each in a polypro clear 17 X 22 + size envelope (from Print File). Then they are stacked and stored vertically. Prints are dried in air for minimum 4 days prior to enveloping.

Seems like this should be OK but maybe not for the purest among us. Dunno.
I have recently delivered to a few customers this way, where they desire to have the framing done.

Nate Potter, Austin TX.

[Greg Lockrey]

It could be the coating on the paper you use.... I use strictly Epson papers. Seriously never noticed any odor. I even have some ink in old film canisters to use for touch up work and they have a very slight odor.... hint of formaldehyde I would guess.

[Sideshow Bob]

I think it is called "out gassing" (print farts?). What I heard is you should stack the prints with brown paper in between each for a few days or use a hair dryer or mounting press.

Gale

[false_Aesthetic]

I've searched and googled and here are my questions:

3) Oh, that smell! If I open a box of prints that I have stored for a while I can still smell the solvent. Hmmmm. How long should I leave the print sour before storing them, to let the solvent stuff evaporate? Does this issue impact how I should store ink jets?



That's outgassing. I think its ethylene glycol (someone correct me if I'm wrong). I've seen prints that have been framed anywhere from ~8hours after printing to 3 days continue to outgas bad enough to put a haze on the inside of the glass . . . how they were stored prior to framing is something I don't know and didn't think to ask.

Regardless, I believe Epson says to use some sort've interleaving blotter paper between prints to allow for the gasses to vent. This makes no sense to me so I just tacked them to the homasote in the studio for 4 days.

At BlackPoint, we used Glassine as a barrier between prints.

FWIW, if you're noticing scratches on the paper you might check to see if the paper is rubbing on the inside of the printer somewhere. We found that our 11880 and 9800 spooled paper a little too loose and ended up scratching it before it got close to the print head.

[Frank Petronio]

I remember going to commercial printers and getting dizzy from the smell, but the pressmen couldn't smell a thing... of course they acted like they've been huffing glue for years too.

Seems silly to put them in plastic bags if they are outgassing, although four days should be enough for most of it to get out.

I just leave them out on flat surfaces and pray the f-ing cats don't walk on them. Then those expensive archival boxes are home. I should use interleaving but I don't move the boxes around much so there isn't much rubbing.

I used to ship small prints between foamcore and only had one Post Office ding but now I send them in boxes, damn the expense, it's the right way to do it. I just raised my prices and have a stack of boxes ready to use.

[uphereinmytree]

I don't notice any smells from an epson 9800 and epson enhanced matte paper, but other papers produce smells. It may be chemical interaction with certain papers. My favorite interleaving is cotton rag tissue paper. It may even act as sponge for fumes. I too wish the archival boxes weren't so expensive, but photo paper boxes are acidic. I've even made some boxes from cotton rag mat scraps and linen tape.

[PAllen]

We use the Crystal Clear Polypropylene bags from ClearBags that others here have also recommended. They are acid free, affordable, and do the job they were intended to do, i.e. protecting prints from dust, scratches, and fingerprints. If you are stacking prints in a box for storage these are the bags you want. I personally don't like the ones with the flap and the adhesive strip because the face of the print could accidentally touch the adhesive.

For boxes University Products has some very good options. Nothing fancy, acid free, and affordable. http://www.universityproducts.com/cart.php?m=product_list&c=692&primary=1&parentId=1266&navTree[]=1266&navTree[]=1460&navTree[]=692
or
http://www.universityproducts.com/cart.php?m=product_list&c=718&primary=1&parentId=1266&navTree[]=1266&navTree[]=1460&navTree[]=718

Out-gassing happens mostly with RC papers in the first 24 hrs after printing. We place sheets of plain paper over top of prints for the first 24hrs. to absorb the solvents. You will know if its a problem with a specific inkjet paper because the paper you lay over top will wrinkle a bit after 24 hrs. Epson has a good document on it which I will attach here.

Best,
Patrick Allen
http://www.KenAllenStudios.com

[Brian Ellis]

1. I bought a bunch of boxes from Light Impressions back when they were a decent outfit. I don't remember what they cost but it wasn't anything like $27 per box.

2. I use interleaving paper, I forget where I bought it.

3.I've never noticed an odor. But then my sense of smell was probably ruined for good by the stink of stop and fix back in the old days when I printed in a fume room.

[Darin Boville]

For boxes University Products has some very good options.

Good lead on cheaper boxes. Thanks. Sadly they don't offer anything in 17x22 size--have to buy 20x24. Not the end of the world but why don't storage product people make sizes that are more common in the digital age?

--Darin

[James Hilton]

Out-gassing comes from the wetting agent glycol used in almost all ink as well as water in the ink sets.

The absorbent coating receives the ink and this layer is usually next to some sort of barrier layer. Water and glycol can be trapped next to the barrier layer, and it can start to out-gas (evaporate) and condense on the inside of the glass in a frame. This will happen if the print is framed before it has had a chance to fully dry.

To stop this from happening you need to dry the print fully before framing. You can do this by allowing the print to rest in the open for 30 minutes. Then carefully placing a piece of plain copy paper on top of it for 24 hours. This paper will absorb the glycol, moisture and any solvents coming out of the ink, and speed up the drying process. After 24 hours check the plain paper to see if it looks wavy or not. If it does it means the paper is still absorbing moisture - place another sheet on top and leave another 24 hours. When the plain paper is flat and not wavy the print is ready to be framed.

Alternatively leave for 3 to 5 days in a dry environment if you don’t want anything to touch the surface of the print.

[Michael Graves]

I don't know how the newer inks are, but back when I was selling printers for a living, the plug for public consumption was "instant dry", but the fine print in the support manuals said to let prints sit for at least two hours before storing.

[Darin Boville]

I just placed an order for archival boxes from Dick Blick. Better price then I've seen elsewhere + free shipping (a big deal with big boxes).

--Darin