Pigment Inks and 2-Sided / Book Printing Double sided inkjet papers are a great way to produce great looking brochures, books, portfolios, and much more.  However, 2-sided printing with your Epson UltraChrome or other pigment inkjet printer has its pitfalls.  Why the Problem? When pigment inks dry, they leave a thin layer of ink dust on the surface or matte and cotton watercolor inkjet papers from pretty much any manufacturer.  Pigment inks do not fully sink into the coating of these papers.  Whatever is left on top of the sheet can be scuffed, smudged, or transferred to other sheets of paper.  This does not happen with glossy or satin photo papers.

What does this mean for 2-sided printers? 

Be careful what paper you pick for a 2-sided project and do some tests before making many copies.  Again, its not where the paper comes from – it’s the type of paper being used that compounds the problem.  Don’t let your favorite paper vendor try and convince otherwise.

If ink transfer occurs, you can see a light impression of the photo or text from the opposite page transferred to the opposing sheet. Blacks and very dark colors are much more likely to transfer.

Minimizing the Problem

** It’s probably worse to have a photo facing a blank page because ink transfer will be more obvious. 

** If possible, line up the facing photos as close as possible.  Transfer from photo to photo will be less obvious.

** If a photo does face a blank page, pick a photo with light tones and colors

** Use 1-sided photo or satin papers for your books.  2-sided resin coated satin and gloss are available from some companies, but pricing is very high and really not economic for most book projects.