How to Prevent Smudges and Bleeding when Using an Inkjet Printer

Look familiar? A decoupaged bird I made long ago that bled pink onto the wooden block.

Here's the conundrum: You love the convenience of inkjet printing your collage sheets at home, but hate that your images smudge when applying a decoupage-type glaze. Happily, there's several tricks you can use to seal your collage sheets and keep them looking crisp and beautiful. These tips were developed through trial and error on literally tens of thousands of test products by myself and several amazingly brilliant piddix customers who have agreed to share their trade secrets.

The core issue that causes smearing is that the ink used in most inkjet printers is water-based. If you put a drop of water on the print, it will run or bleed. Glazes such as Mod Podge and Diamond Glaze are also water-based (do you see where I'm going with this?). Thus, when you add these water-based glazes on top of your print, it can cause the images (especially the red colors) to bleed.

Most of the solutions to this issue revolve around two techniques. You can: 1. Add a water-resistant barrier between the ink and your glaze so they can't mix and thus bleed, or 2. Make your ink and paper as dry or fixed as possible before applying the glaze. Here are some specific ways to go about it:

1. Acrylic Spray Fixatives. After printing out your collage sheet, you can seal it with a permanent, matte acrylic spray fixative. Plaid Enterprises (the company that makes Mod Podge) recommends spraying one very light coat of fixative, waiting for it to dry, then spraying one additional coat. Read the specific instructions on the cans for drying time (normally 2-3 hours) and spray distance. You'll want to find a spray that is 1. permanent, 2. non-yellowing, 3. moisture-resistant. Examples include: Krylon Spray Finish; Folkart Clearcote Acrylic Sealer; Patricia Nimocks Clear Acrylic Sealer; and Print Guard Spray.

2. Polyurethane. Ryan of Littleput Books, who has sold tens of thousands of Scrabble Tile and Lucky Penny pendants, uses this process to coat her inkjet prints and has kindly agreed to share her secret. After printing the collage sheets with an inkjet printer, she brushes on several coats of a clear polyurethane with a foam brush, allowing for time between coats to dry. One benefit I've found to this process is you don't seem to get quite as many fumes as you do from the spray fixatives.

Butterfly Lucky Penny pendant by LittleputBooks.

3. Nail polish. In a quick fix (you know, when it's 2 am and you really need to finish that necklace for your friend's birthday) I've been pretty happy with one coat clear nail polish used as a sealer. You do run the risk of the polish yellowing over time. I made some pendants as gifts this way about year ago and they're still looking good, but I'd definitely try to avoid the super-cheap Wet-n-Wild-type brands.

4. Hairspray. Another good quick fix recommend to me by Laurie's Custom Thingz is hairspray. Laurie uses VO5 Extra Hold that came from her super-crafty Mother. Rumors around art schools say to use the cheapest aerosol can you can find, but expect that the images will yellow over time.

5. Freezer. I had never heard of this tip before Molly Smith wrote this super-sweet blog post and shared her secret for preventing smudges. Molly prints out her collage sheets and then puts them in her freezer for six to twelve hours before applying Mod Podge. I am quite excited to try this one myself. See below for how beautiful her prints turned out:
6. Oven. Another DIY trick for drying your prints is to put them in the oven at 250 degrees for five minutes, then let them cool off before applying glaze. This suggestion comes from Linda and is another one I haven't tried personally, but seems promising.

7. Drying Time. Most inkjet printers (especially ones under $100 or that come free with your computer) come standard with dye-based, water-based ink. According to Annie Howes, who is probably the most knowledgeable professional I know when it comes to this type of work, dye-based inkjet prints become more stable the longer they're allowed to dry. Annie says "My HP Photosmart Inkjet printer works great after two weeks on glossy non-fast-drying paper (fast drying paper has a film that can be troublesome)." The paper drying time varies by printer and paper brand and may take some trial and error to perfect. If you're making pigment-based inkjet prints, however, Annie has found you can speed up the whole process with only a 24-hour waiting period. Especially for making glass tile pendants, this "waiting" option will cause the most professional looking results since the various spray fixatives and varnishes mentioned above can stay tacky under the glass and never fully cure, resulting in a slightly fuzzy appearance.

Crisp & clear glass tile pendant by Annie Howes.

There are two more things to keep in mind. First, the type and quality of ink, printers, and paper can definitely affect how smudge-prone your print is. There's tons of information on matte vs glossy, paper weight, quality of printers, etc. that I may go into at a later point, but generally, the better the paper and printer, the better the results.

And finally, if all of this sealing just doesn't sound worth it to you, print with a laser printer. The printers at most print-shops (Office Depot, Staples, Kinkos, etc.) use toner, which essentially melts into the paper and creates a more permanent, water-resistant print that you shouldn't have to seal before adding glaze.

For any of you who've tried to fix or prevent the dreaded inkjet smudge, I've love to hear your suggestions (or horror stories). I am always so appreciative of the amazing piddix customers (like Annie, Molly, Laurie, and Ryan above) who help the rest of us by sharing their creativity and tips. And thanks also to the crafters who read this article. Some of the links on this page are affiliate links, so if you click through and purchase an item I'll get a small commission. Thank you!

Glass Magnets and Pendants the Easy Way

I'm going to start with a big ol' caveat. I'm a lazy crafter. If something requires sanding or stinking up my house with resin, I'll skip it. So this is a very, very simple process that I've developed over the years for making glass marble tiles, pendants and magnets. It may not be the best, but it is easy and fairly child-proof. To really make professional-looking glass tiles that hold up well, I highly recommend the tutorials and kits by Annie Howes.

Now, on to crafting....

For supplies you'll need:

1. Printed collage sheets. You can find printed collage sheets at any of these stores. Or if you want to print your own collage sheets I suggest using a nice, bright white cardstock to give it a little heft. Laser prints work great. Or if you'd prefer to print with an inkjet, it's best to seal your image first with something like clear nail polish, a Krylon spray fixative, or paint on a coat of clear polyurethane (thanks to littleput for the poly tip). If you don't seal the inkjet first you may get a bit of running in the pink colors, which may or may not be noticeable. The collage sheet used in this tutorial is Flora & Fauna by piddix.
   
2. Glaze. I use DG3, diamond glaze, or silicone gel in a tube from a hardware store. I've even used Elmer's glue and it's worked okay in a pinch.
   
3. Glass marbles. Quality ranges widely on glass marbles. They're easy to pick up at the dollar store or a craft store like Michaels. You'll end up with half a bag of cracked ones, but they're good for beginners. You can also find good quality commercial glass online, or splurge for the amazing handmade options, too.
   
4. Scissors.
   
5. Items for finishing or backing. These might include paint, felt, polymer clay, pretty cardstock, coins, magnets, glue-on bails. You'll also need a fairly strong glue if you want to attach them to magnets, metal or wood. I love gorilla glue and super-glue, but plenty of others work well, too. Just make sure they're made to adhere different surfaces (like glass to metal, for example).

Step 1: Add a pea-sized amount of glaze directly to the collage sheet (click photos to enlarge).

Step 2: Take your glass tile and place it directly on the image. Squish it down slightly and evenly so that any bubbles and a bit of the glaze are pushed out to the sides.
Step 3: Wait. This is always the hardest part. I'd suggest waiting at least an hour or two. But if five minutes is all your 3-year-old can stand, they'll still work okay. You'll just end up re-gluing some of the images or having torn edges, like the one below:

Step 4: Cut out your nice, adhered images.
My helper did the first rough cut and then let me do the finish work of getting nice and close to the edge. The trick is to cut close enough so the paper doesn't show from the front, but not cut so much that you leave part of the glass showing through.

Step 5: Seal the back of the image. For this batch we used some pearl-colored acrylic paint, being careful to cover the whole paper on the back while not painting the glass, then let them dry in a plastic egg tray. Another fun trick I've used in the past is to make custom bezels from polymer clay, bake them in the oven, then glue the clay bezel to the glass. There's a ton of other tips out there on backs and finishing, such as how to use glaze, fabric, stamping, etc., but since I haven't developed any of those techniques on my own I'll leave it to others to share their own creativity. Basically you just want to make sure that the paper on the back of the marble is protected in some way, but even if you just leave the paper as-is it should hold up decently.
Step 6: Finish up your tile by gluing on a magnet, thumbtack, or bail. This can be a great way to reuse those free business-card magnets that often get handed out. Or add a loop of ribbon to make an ornament. Bonus points if kiddos can hand these out as gifts while proudly proclaiming they made them all by themselves. Get creative and have fun.

Looking for Balance (in all the wrong places)

One of my lovely piddix customers wrote me today asking for advice on finding work/life balance. If only I had a good answer! While I am pretty good at "crying uncle" once I've reached a breaking point, achieving equilibrium before I reach it is a skill I am seriously lacking.

Since my last newsletter went out more than six weeks ago, I've worked mostly 16-hour days, staying up until 3 am most nights on the following:

1. A 70-item wholesale catalog of printed collage sheets. By Thanksgiving you'll be able to find printed piddix sheets in person if you live near Minneapolis and online for everyone else.

2. A free, 12-page pdf titled "Seven Tips for Etsy Success," published this morning on indiefixx.

3. A new, soon-to-be-released collaboration with Annie Howes.

4. Negotiation of several commercial contracts, including one that should land piddix images in Barnes & Nobles nationwide by late 2010.

And so much more...

Lucky for my sleep-deprived-brain, I dropped the collage sheet files off at the printers this week, so things are getting back to normal. But I still fear falling right back into the late-night routine the next time another large project comes up. Anyone out there have any tips to share that have worked for you? I'd love to hear them.

Putting on My Sunday Best

While scanning images from old books, I often get caught up in the text--reading about countries that no longer exist or fairy tales no longer told.

This past week I've been scanning the most amazing hand-colored engravings of 16th-19th century French Fashions. The hair and hat descriptions are the best (think Marie Antoinette):

"We find the "Cascade of Saint-Cloud" style, consisting of a cataract of powered ringlets falling from the top of the head, the 'kitchen garden' style, with bunches of vegetables hooked in to the side-curls, the 'rural' style, with landscapes representing a hill-side, windmills which actually turned, a meadow crossed by a silver stream, with a shepherdess tending her sheep, mountains, a forest with a sportsman and his dog in pursuit of game, and so and so..."

Here's a sneak peek. They'll be made into collage sheets for the shop soon, or find the large, full-sized images here.

It's Here. It's Here!

I always feel positively giddy picking up a new batch of CDs. The people at the local duplication house are just so nice, and I get a big box of goodies. Yea! I spent last night wrapping a big bunch of them in 1950s dictionary pages getting them ready to go out.

You can check out the new CD in my etsy store, or see all of the collage sheets that are on it here. It has some of my favorite and best-selling collage sheets (including pin-ups, postcards, Victorian Alice, and a ton of holidays). Plus, for the first week only, each CD comes with two free digital collage sheets sent via email so you can grab some of your favorites not on the CD.

And if you want to be notified of new CDs, coupons, free downloads and such, be sure to join my newsletter.

Grrrrr. Angry Easter Bunnies.

With hundreds and hundreds of vintage images, I'm often amazed by the odd themes and coincidences that show up as I collect them. For example, I have probably ten Victorian postcards that show how to find your future husband by looking into the mirror on Halloween. The specifics involve, alternately, snails, apples, candles or brushing your hair to make his face appear to you.

Similarly, animals dressed in human clothing seems to have been very popular at the turn-of-the-century. My favorite new, odd group that I'm come up with involves several really grumpy, angry, and slightly crazed rabbits. Not exactly the Easter Bunny I grew up with, but they make me laugh.