Printers and Ink
The processes in this book are designed so that you can do almost all of them on
your desktop printer but you can also scale up to larger formats. I use both Epson
and HP printers in my own studio and have found them to be excellent machines.
The key requirement is that they must use pigment (rather than dye) inks for the
processes to work. Check your manual or the manufacturer’s website to verify
this. Make sure that you use the actual brand-name ink cartridges. I’ve found that
replacement inks (especially the refills) may not produce reliable colors and may
vary the amount of ink laid down on the media.
Desktop Printers
Many (but not all) desktop photographic printers use pigment inks, while a num-
ber of all-in-one printers use dye inks. Check you printer specifications to deter-
mine which kind you have. One all-in-one printer that does use pigment inks is
the Epson NX420. This inexpensive printer uses the Durabrite inks. One cool thing
about this type of printer is that you don’t even need a computer—you can scan
photographs and then directly print them on the transfer film (Figure 3.1).
HINT: Most Epson printers don’t support printing directly on clear media
because the printer can’t see the clear film. Simply use some double-stick tape
(the kind that releases) to attach a white sheet of paper to the back of the film,
and only put one sheet in the printer at a time (Figure 3.2).
FIGURE 3.1 Using an all-in-one printer lets
you try these processes without needing a
computer.
FIGURE 3.2 Use a slip sheet so that Epson
printers will properly print on transfer film.