How do I get ink-jet printing to stick on back of photograph? -

The ink just sits on surface and smears even after drying overnight. Is there something I could spray on paper to make it stick? Will laser ink stick? Photocopy machine ink?

The problem is, ink-jet ink is a fluid which has to quot;sinkquot; into the threads of the paper in order to stay. A photograph is made of a very flat paper with no threads, which cannot absorb ink-jet ink, so there is no way to get something printed on the back. You shouldn t try laser printer or photocopy machine either. They don t use ink, but toner. Toner is a pigmented powder, which gets baked in the laser printer/photocopy machine at very high temperatures. If you put your photograph into a laser printer or a photocopy machine, it will probably get destroyed by the high temperature. What I can suggest is: by some self-adhesive labels which are marked as Ink-jet printable. Print a label, and stick it to the back of the photograph. It will look the best if yot take a label bigger than the photograph and cut it so that it has the same size as the photograph. You can even get colored labels if you wish, they look good and are not expensive.

Ink jet is sprayed on and if the material is really glossy, it won t absorb. Unlike other printing methods, laser printers, where heat is applied to make the ink stick. The only heat bubble/ink jet recieves is to push the ink out of the nozzles. Heat isn t applied to make it stick to paper. An option is, if you can just let it sit there and when the water inside the ink evaporates, the ink will dried enough and stuck itself to the surface, possibly. That s of course if the ink even comes out correctly from the printer.

You need to have the Appropriate paper, OR, use a Photo Cartridge. What you need is a Fuser, if I understand you right. Usually the Fuser is notionally integrated with the Card. But Spraying on a Fuser has been Done, ever since around the age of the Daguerre-type

I used to have a similiar problem with an old epson printer. A work around is to set it the quality to photo, and the paper. It shouldnt matter what type of cartridges you use. Photo cartridges allow for finer detail. You can still print photos with normal ink. I got my old printer to work better, but in the end i sold up and bought a budget canon.....never looked back.