With all the amazing printing technology available at our finger tips, at low cost and with super high quality, we still regularly get asked if and how one can write on the paper with a pen.

Whether you can use a pen on an inkjet coated paper depends on the type of pen and the type of paper.  In all cases, you will find that felt tips will be depleted quicker than when used on ordinary paper because of the high absorption property of the inkjet coating.

Ball Point Pens

• Matt Paper – Both sides
• Cast Coated Photo Paper – On both sides
• Real Photo Paper (Microporous) – Good on the printing side but may not work well on the reverse
• Transfer Paper – Can be used as part of the transferred image and will remain on the shirt after transferring
• Stickers – Printing side only

Water Based (dry wipe) Felt Tips

• Matt Paper – Ok on both sides
• Cast Coated Photo Paper – Ok on both sides
• Real Photo Paper (Microporous)  – Ok on the printing side  but WILLL NOT DRY on the back of the paper
• Transfer Paper – Can be used as part of the transferred image and will remain on the shirt after transferring
• Stickers – Printing side only but water resistance might be reduced

*Note that due to the high absorption rate of inkjet coated paper, felt tips will not last a long as when used on ordinary paper.

Permanent Markers

• Matt Paper – Ok on both sides
• Cast Coated Photo Paper – Ok on both sides
• Real Photo Paper (Microporous) – Ok on both sides.  When printed on the back, it might take a few seconds to dry completely as there are no absorption properties on that side of the paper.
• Transfer Paper – Can be used as part of the transferred image and will remain on the shirt after transferring
• Stickers – Printing side only with good water resistance

If you use pens on paper for artistic effect show us and share your work on our crafts forum.  It will both satisfy our curiosity and will give you a show case for your work ideas, viewed by thousands of our users monthly.

Photo Papers are extremely versatile and used to print high quality images for a wide range of applications from photo printing and reproduction to be used in photo albums to image rich greetings cards. Because they are used in many ways, photo paper comes in different sizes to cater for the precise needs of the user. Selecting the correct photo paper size is essential for the success of your project as well, a mean to avoid waste.

‘Photo Paper’ includes number of different coatings for high-resolution printing in various sizes that are designed to receive wet ink in a controlled manner to prevent the ink from spreading, smudging and enhance the image to provide a high quality photograph. The receiving layer (most commonly microporous or cast coated) will not only keep the ink from running, but will also help absorb relatively large quantities of liquid ink without saturating the paper. Printing images of good quality on normal printer paper (bond paper of 80g to 90g) will cause the ink to penetrate the non-coated layer and lead to poor results.

Photo paper is available in a number of sizes to accommodate the various applications for which is designed. The most popular in order of size are:

10cm x 15cm – Also known as 4×6” these are often referred to as photo cards. They are used to print images often for the purpose of insertion in a photo album without the need to cut the image. Printing in such an economical way will reduce waste.  This size is a standard photo lab size and is the smallest so albums are designed for it

13cm x 18cm – Slightly bigger than the previous size they are also referred to as 5×7”. These are once again used for the purpose of photo album creation without the need to cut the coated material and waste money. This size is a standard photo lab size and is one size up from the 10x15cm so albums are designed for it

A5 – These are half the size of an A4 sheet that most people are familiar with and larger than the previous size. Often used for invitation cards, A5 will then fold into an A6 size.

A4 – These are the most common photo paper size used for a wide range of application from a large photograph to greetings cards, to presentations, brochure creation and image printing. An A4 sheet is double the size of the previous A5 sheet.

A3 – These are twice the size of an A4 sheet and used for professional work, as they require a printer that can accommodate an A3 print. A3 photo paper is used in many ways from calendar creation to presentation and image/photograph printing.

A3 Plus – These are often referred to as A3+ or oversized A3. Their actual size can vary depending on the manufacturer, however the popular size is 330mm x 483mm. This is used mostly for graphic designers, professional printer to have a proof print so you can get the A3 printed in full after trimming the edges. It requires an A3+ printer as a regular A3 size printer won’t accept this paper.

In the case of home users, the most popular choices are 10cm x 15cm, 13cm x 18cm, A5 and A4. If you are considering printing an A3 media, first ensure that your printer can accept this size.

Finally, make sure that in your printer’s driver you set the size correctly as per the paper loaded. All printers these days have 10x15cm, 13x18cm, A5, A4 sizes available to select. In the case of  A3 and A3+ make sure your printer is suitable.

(Or, When was the last time you changed the white ink cartridge in your printer?)*

Inkjet transfer paper is used to transfer images or text onto a wide range of suitable fabrics. Often used on t-shirts, it is commonly referred to as t-shirt paper. The product is available for light or dark fabrics and so it is not always clear whether your fabric falls under the dark or light categories and which one will suit your project better.

The Difference Between The Two

(or Is my garment light coloured or dark colour)

Ink relies on a white background to be visible and produce accurate colour reproduction.  If you replace the white background with something dark, ink becomes translucent and on black backgrounds, it is totally invisible.

So if you are going to print a white t shirt you clearly require the light transfer paper.

If the colour of the shirt is other than white, but not too dark (pink, yellow, light blue etc) the light transfer paper can still be used with some images.  Black text and dark graphics will still work well.  If however the image is also light in colour and contains pastel coloured images, the colour of the shirt will start mixing with the colour of the image producing results different than what appears on the paper.

The decision of which paper to use on garments other than white lies in the combination of the colour of the shirt and the colour of the image.  In general terms, a dark image works on light coloured shirts but a light image will only work well on white.

When using coloured garments, in order to guarantee the image appearing on the garment exactly in the same colours as appears on the paper, you need to use the dark transfer paper when printing dark garments.

It works by transferring the white background together with the image.  When transferring an image printed on the dark transfer paper, the image on the garment will look EXACTLY as it appears on the paper, INCLUDING all the white edges and spaces in between the image.  As a result of this, images which are suitable for use with the dark transfer paper on dark garments are limited by design and should be either block images or ones that can be cut around to remove the unnecessary white areas.

You could also design an image with a solid background or try to match the background of the image with the colour of the shirt to solve the limitation of the dark transfer paper.

Both papers can be printed on an ordinary inkjet printer with ordinary inks.  They are transferred with the aid of a domestic Iron or heat press and will work on a wide variety of substrates and garments.  The packs contain all you need to achieve great results

*And yes, you were right.  There is no white ink in the printer, hence the two different transfer papers.

Transfer paper allows you to print images and text on most fabrics and other suitable surfaces using an ordinary inkjet printer.  It is available in A4 and A3 sizes.

Transfer paper for Inkjet is designed for use with ordinary Inkjet printers, although the question of which type of ink should be used often creates confusion.

Most types of Inkjet printers and inks would work with the transfer paper. You do not need to change anything or modify your printer in anyway.  If you have an inkjet printer at home or have access to one, it will work.

As the secret to the transfer process lies in the paper rather than the ink there is no preference as to which printer or which ink you use.  If the process is done correctly (the pack will contain all you need with clear instructions) the printed garment is going to be fully washable and durable.

You can use compatibles or originals and the result will be very similar.  Because the shirt is not a flat, shiny surface, image resolution is less important and any ink system will give great results.

There is a small benefit of using pigmented inks rather than dye based if we consider the UV stability of the image in direct sunlight but as a garment like this is likely not be worn daily in direct sunlight, there is no real significance to using one type over another.

So yes, you have read it correctly.  Any ink and any inkjet printer will allow you to transfer a personalized image onto a shirt, at home, using equipment you probably have already.  It is as simple as that!  Really.

One of the most common mistakes when using transfer paper for white and light coloured fabrics is forgetting about reversing the text or image so that the artwork is readable from the front. Transfer paper is a versatile product that allows anyone with a working Inkjet printer and normal ink to create their own t-shirt design, pillowcases and even woodwork. The process is as simple as creating the desired design on a computer, printing it using an inkjet printer and and transferring it onto the suitable substrate.

When printing onto dark garments, using the dark transfer paper, the image should not be mirrored.

When the subject of reverse printing is neglected, the images will appear the wrong way around thereby causing frustration and waste of a perfectly good transfer paper. There are several methods to achieve a mirrored print using your printer’s own printing settings to available options in one of the many popular printing software.  As always, you will do well to firstly print your design on normal printer paper (uncoated paper that is!) so if you have made a mistake, you are not wasting expensive paper.

How To Reverse Text For Transfer Paper Printing:

Print settings – Most printers nowadays will offer the means to print in mirror or reverse mode. This option is normally found in the printer’s settings once you click on the print option and get the print dialog box.  (often one of the available paper types is T Shirt Paper which will flip the image automatically when printed).

MS Word – Microsoft Word is a popular choice for those who tend to print text as the choice of fonts and font size make it a prize tool. To reverse the image in MS Word simply create the words using WordArt then once the box with the text comes up, you can drag the left side all the way to the right until the text switches sides.

MS Paint –Paint is a popular choice for image manipulation in its basic form as it comes with Windows based machines. To create the desired effect, head to the Image tab and chose Flip/Rotate then use flip horizontal.

One of these three methods will allow you to reverse the image or text. No matter which option you’ve selected, print a test page first using normal paper.

If you are a professional photographer of a certain age, you know the answer to this already.  You can go to another page and come back for the next blog in a few days time.

To those of you who have tried printing on the back of a glossy photo only to discover that you have what amounts to a dirty pool of ink which does not dry, ever, read on.  All is about to be revealed.

Referring to a product “photo paper” covers a huge range of products that are designed to achieve a high resolution print when used in inkjet printers.  The original term however, refers to a paper which was used in wet process photography and hence was water proof.   Real photo paper has a plastic coating on both sides which prevents it from disintegrating when dunked in developer fluid.

But, you are an inkjet printer and how is this relevant?  The relevance is in the fact that we still use the very same real photo base paper for inkjet printing.  In addition to the plastic coating that the paper comes with from the mill, we add some additional coatings on the printing side to allow you to use it in inkjet printers.  The reverse side however does not have the inkjet coating and if you try to print on it….. see above.

Some of you will have had a different experience.  There are papers out there which are described as photo papers, satin and gloss as well as matt, which can be printed on the back with varying degrees of quality.

There are numerous types of glossy and satin paper that are not made with the real photo base paper as the base.  These are often described as instant dry and tend to have a lower gloss level and image quality.  The back of the paper is exposed and uncoated in any way which allows you to print on it with an inkjet printer.  They normally can take a medium resolution text and graphic print quite well and will behave on the back similarly to a normal uncoated office paper.

How can you tell one from another?

True photo base papers (these that cannot be printed on the back) are often described as real photo base, PE coated or professional.  Those that can be printed on the back are often described as instant dry or cast coated.  Neither of the above is a guarantee of accuracy as there are so many ways of describing a product.

You can always ask one of the sales reps or customer support people and they should know the answer.  Do that before you purchase to avoid costly returns charges and time wastage.

If you bought the paper and are unsure, and apart from trial and error, there are a couple of tricks you can use.

Take a highlighter pen or a dry wipe felt tip and make a small line on the back of the paper.  If it rubs off immediately, you cannot print on the back.  If it does not rub off, you can.  (remember that even if you can print, assuming this is not a double sided paper, you can only use low resolution text and graphics, it will not handle a full photo print).

You can obviously print on either side of paper that is sold as double sided.  Matt coated papers will give you a sharp result on the coated side and will take a low resolution print on the uncoated side if needed.

Happy Printing.

Inkjet printing papers have a special coating on the printing side that is designed to control the ink from spreading when it hits the paper and thus creating a blurred image.  There are a number of ways to determine which is the correct side.

Method 1 – Trial and Error

Print a sample – if it is rubbish, you have printed the wrong side, flip over and try again.

This is wasteful and time consuming so only use as a last resort.  To be more scientific, use method 2.

Method 2 – The Visual Test

The coating on inkjet printing paper is often slightly different in colour than the base paper itself.  The aim is to make the printing side as white as possible and if you compare both sides, one normally will be brighter and whiter than the other.

On matt coated paper, the printing side is likely to be smoother and slightly chalkier than the uncoated side.  It will also be a little whiter.

Photo base papers with a Satin or Glossy finish are quite easy to determine.  The uncoated side is likely to be matt or have a considerably lower shine than the printing side.

The most difficult to tell are the textured art papers which are very white on both sides.  There is a subtly difference on the coated side which is going to be a little smoother than the uncoated side.  You can sometimes also tell by running a fingernail across the surface. The coated side will catch a little whereas the uncoated side will appear to be a little smoother.

It almost goes without saying, double sided photo papers can be printed both sides.

Method 3 – The felt tip

Putting a small mark using a felt tip pen will also indicate which is the coated side.  If you mark the uncoated side, the mark will spread or smudge, if you hit the coated side, it will stay solid and sharp.  This is also a method which will destroy the sheets and should be used as a last resort but is quite effective.