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Some companies sell what they call "waterproof
labels" for you to use in your inkjet or
laser printer. Vinyl is often
used for inkjet printing and polyester is used for laser printing. While
we agree that polyester laser labels are waterproof once printed,
we recognize that most of us do not have access
to a laser printer. So when discussing waterproof vinyl
inkjet labels - the term
waterproof might be a
bit misleading. Other companies refer to the same type of inkjet vinyl
labels as "water-resistant". This by far is the most honest description
of such a label when printed
on an inkjet printer. Regardless of how it's described, it's
typically the same material and therefore the key
to success is simply knowing how to work
with the waterproof / water-resistant
label material.
HOW
THEY WORK: Water-resistant (also referred to
as waterproof) vinyl label sheets manufactured for an inkjet printer
are top-coated with a substance that "locks in the ink". Therefore, it is
important to achieve a balanced ratio between ink used and
top-coating available for locking. If too much ink is used and
therefore, not enough top-coating is available to lock it
down, you will see some bleeding when in contact with water.
There are 3 things that can be done to solve this issue,
leaving you with a truley WATER-PROOF
label:
Adjust your
Printer Settings
- most printers have
advanced printer settings you can adjust for the different
media types you might put through the printer. When you hit
print, find the "paper type" or "media type" box and select
premium paper (or experiment with the many media settings
for best results)
- You can also turn down
your ink volume, too much ink being used can cause bleeding
to occur. When you hit 'print', select the advanced features
(you may have to look under different tabs to find this,
it's different on every printer) -under the 'advanced
settings, you should be able to turn down your ink volume
resulting is a better-quality waterproof
label.
Rinsing
- If you are printing using heavy
graphics, rinsing of your waterproof label sheet might be required. Print as usual and let
the ink set for several minutes. Then, simply rinse
sheet under cold water to wash away any "unlocked" ink that
is sitting above the top-coating - this will leave you with
a perfectly bleed-free and waterproof label
sheet.
Sealing
- You can also add your own
top-coating, giving it a bit of extra protection. This is especially
useful if you will be using the waterproof label as
a bumper sticker or some other outdoor use label. It is
also useful when you are needing waterproof labels for your line
of bath and body products. We recommend Krylon's Preserve It
(matte finish) spray on top-coating (available at your
local craft store). It will leave a chemical smell,
however, if you leave your waterproof labels sit in open air
for 48 hours, we have found the chemical smell to dissapate
and that it will not interfere with your scented bath and
body products.
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