Anyone successful printing Vellum with Epson 2200?

After trying to print on vellum with my epson 2200, I ended up

with a blurring mess with no detail retained on the paper. The

only changes I made while printing was to set the drying time

very high to 20 seconds. I was wondering if anyone has had any

success with printing on vellum. This particular vellum I'm using

is particularly thin... it was labelled inkjet vellum. It doesnt have a

brand name on the package. Any suggestions or possible

profiles would be VERY appreciated.... Thanks

This may be a long shot. Try printing on the other side of the paper, if you haven't already,

just in case you happened to choose the wrong side.

Inkjet Vellum as Ann mentioned is coated. On roll products the coating is on the outside of the roll. On "packs", the coating is usually the up side, but sometimes it is pasckaged wrong. Vellum for inkjet is made for engineering drawings, line drawings; usually blended for water based dye inkjet inks. It DOES NOT have the coating thick enough for full photo usage; with full ink coverage. Many times one must throw in a transfer function. Ie one "back off the ink" as we printers say.<br><br> Full tone images are many times done on engineering drawings to illustrate say old hardware, like AC units on a roof to be removed. These digital images are dropped into cad drawings and print full grey scale with old daizo/bluelines, or greyscale large format bond. Here I have used Dietzgen, Azon, Oce, and Universal inkjet vellum materials on 36" wide inkjet printers for a decade, almost two.. <BR><BR>For small stuff there is a large following with inkjet usage for wedding invitations etc. Try sending a lighter image to the vellum if the dark areas get all run together as one black tone. The industry standard for thin inkjet vellums was 17Lb; and now is mostly 16Lb vellum. The thicker stuff is mostly 20Lb stock. If you overload the vellum with too much ink; it is like painting a bath towel with a brush. The details flow together; it can take hours to dry when overloaded. A wrong ink to coating combo will also cause long drying times. In radical cases even weeks, even if forced dried under a box fan in a dry room!<BR><BR>An unbranded vellum can be also some of the new cheapie stuff that is NOT 100% vellum, but say 25% vellum, and 75% transbond like paper stock. Pure transbond is dirt cheap and has no vellum to it; and is just a thin paper with a transparentizer. True Vellum is made from rag stock, and is strong and very robust. The Crystaline brand of vellum is made from only new rags, and not old stuff. Some brands have premium watermarks too.

There is a product you might want to look into which you put onto your vellum before you

print (very easy --you just wipe it with the felt pouch).

 

Google: "The Perfect Printing Pouch"

 

It's even recommended by Epson! Here's what they said:

 

"Hot tip:

For any vellums you encounter which resist being printed, we recommend you try ?The

Perfect Printing Pouch.? It is a pouch filled with a formula of acid-free, talc-free, non-

toxic powders. Prior to printing, lightly tap the pouch over the area where you wish to

print to release the powder onto the vellum surface. The powder makes the ink adhere to

the paper and speeds drying. It works well on patterned, coated, and colored vellum as

well as on many glossy, textured, handmade and coated papers. We recommend that after

using the pouch, run a plain sheet of paper through your printer to remove any excess

powder from the inside of your printer. Available online at www.scraperfect.com or by

calling 866-644-4435.

~ Reprinted from the Epson Print Lab Series Booklet

?Scrapbook Projects, 2004?

 

If you don't want to use a Perfect Printing pouch, here are some suggestions which are

posed on the website-FAQs. There are potential drawbacks on each but the tips might

work for you.

 

TIP 1: Try printing on transparency setting as this puts out a lot less ink. ?

DRAWBACK: The printing will not be perfect, bold or crisp, and the ink may still dry slowly.

 

TIP 2: Use vellum made specifically for inkjet printers or office supply vellum which often

prints fairly well.

DRAWBACK: Inkjet vellum can only be made in plain pastels...no pearl, embossed, or

metallic coating. No sparkle! Also, inkjet vellum tends to be more expensive and still takes

a long time to dry.

 

TIP 3: Use the "right side" of the vellum. If you can find a less shiny side, use it.?

DRAWBACK: You will probably be frustrated trying to find that side and waste a good deal

of vellum in the process.

 

TIP 4: Don't use big, wide fonts as thinner lines won't show the resisting as much.

DRAWBACK: If you want big, bold fonts for your title, who wants to compromise?

 

TIP 5: Since the ink will smear when it's wet, don?t touch it until it is totally dry or use

embossing powder and a heat gun.

DRAWBACK: Waiting to use your vellum--sometimes for hours or days--can be a drag.?

And while embossing can be attractive, who wants to have to do this everytime you print

on vellum?

 

TIP 6: Buy markers specifically made for vellum and stamp ink specifically designed to

stick to more difficult surfaces

DRAWBACK: Buying additonal special inks and markers can be costly, and your storage

space may be limited.

 

TIP 7: Buy pre-printed vellum, transparency film, ribbon and twill tape.

DRAWBACK: Pre-printed supplies are expensive, aren?t personalized, and when you buy

packs of quotes, you may find some you love and throw away the rest (or forever store

them).

 

TIP 8: Buy inkjet transparency film for printing on.

DRAWBACK: Inkjet transparencies may not be acid-free and the ones that are may be

expensive and difficult to find. (While Polyester film, such as film negatives and ?write-on?

transparencies are acid free and archivally safe, most ink jet transparencies are treated

with acid to make the matte surface and are not acid free.?If archival safety is important to

you, make sure the inkjet film specifies archivally-safe.

 

TIP 9: Buy shrink plastic specifically made for inkjet printers or use sand paper to rough up

the surface so the ink adheres better.

DRAWBACK: Inkjet shrink plastic may be less commonly available and more expensive.

You may already have non-inkjet shrink plastic in your child?s supplies and while sanding

helps, the surface may still resist the ink.

 

TIP 10: Reserve mulberry paper, shiny holographic papers, cool acryllic-coated, flocked

papers, other specialty papers, clay and wood for backgrounds and embellishments and

don?t try to print on them.

DRAWBACK: Limiting your usage means you?ll have fewer opportunities to use these cool

materials.