The proper handling of prints is an important step in insuring optimal print quality and longevity. It is critical to not only pay special attention to how prints are treated after they are made, but also how the paper is treated prior to printing. There are several important steps you should take, and things you should know, to keep your images looking great.

Storage / Handling Of Paper

How you handle an unprinted sheet of paper is perhaps more important then how you handle a printed one. Once the ink has bonded to the paper, there isn’t much that can affect it, however, there are a whole host of issues that can prevent bonding, causing prints to rapidly fade and deteriorate over time. The most critical aspect of paper health is the storage of it. It is important to inspect the condition of the box and the location of which the paper is being stored in, as this will usually be a good indication of the condition of the paper inside. Try to purchase paper from a photo supply store that has a good track record and sells their stock on hand quickly. Paper that has been sitting around on a shelf for years probably isn’t in as good a health as one that has been recently produced. Almost all packages of fine art paper will have a date of production on it, try to find it and select the most recently made box you can find.

Once you manage to find a good box, don’t open it until you’re ready to use it. Keeping the package as sealed as possible will insure that it comes into contact with as few contaminants as possible. Contaminants can include anything from oil from your skin, to dust in the air, to even the effects of light and UV rays. Insure that the package is stored in a cool dry place, within the specified humidity and temperature range of the paper. Try to lay the paper flat, as opposed to on its side, as this can cause bowing, which can later cause feed and print problems.

Great care should be taken when it comes time to print that the print surface of the paper does not come into contact with anything. Print surfaces, especially luster and glossy, are easily scratched and scuffed, which will directly affect the print quality, not just at that location, but for the entire sheet (print head picks up loose pieces of fiber and drags them along). Use a pair of white cotton gloves to handle all paper and move directly from packaging to printer, without any delay. It is best to load just one sheet of paper at a time, to minimize the rubbing between sheets and any damage that may occur from the possible loading of the previous sheet.

Drying

Just because a print is dry to the touch does not mean that it is in fact dry. The inks used in many day modern printers give off a small but detectable amount of gas as they finalize their bond to the paper. This emission of gas, called outgassing, is directly responsible for hazing that can be seen behind many framed prints if they are framed too soon after printing. It is important to allow a print sufficient time to dry before storing or framing. Once the print is finished being produced, lay a sheet of glassine or similar compound above the printed surface, to protect from contaminates and damage. Glassine is an archival tissue paper like substance that is used to interlay between archival documents  to protect and help stabilize them. Depending on the paper, it may take anywhere from one day to a week for the print to fully dry. RC papers (anything with a sheen to it) usually take longer then matte papers to fully outgas.

Storage / Display

Ultraviolet (UV) light can cause just as much damage to a print as it can to your skin. Due to the wavelength of UV light, it is extremely high in energy, causing it to penetrate and alter chemical compounds at a higher rate then would visible light, such as an x-ray would. Because of this, it is important to prevent contact of UV light to your prints. Mounting prints behind UV blocked glass (called glazing) is the preferred method of protection. This not only protects from UV light, but helps buffer humidity and temperature changes, as well as protect from any contaminants, either airborne or physical in nature. Plexiglass usually has a lesser UV blockage rating, and is considered a cheaper but inferior choice. It is also possible to directly coat a print with a spay of sorts. This method has several drawbacks, including increased complexity, lesser degree of protection, and the fact that it comes into direct contact with your print, negatively affecting the integrity of the paper and ink. It is important to keep exposure of any kind (glue, tape, sprays, adhesives, etc) to a minimum, as these can all negatively effect print life, regardless of their quality.

If the print is not to be displayed, storage in a archival quality enclosure is best. Itoya makes a comprehensive lineup of archival quality portfolios which can be used to safely store prints for extended periods of time. Be careful with untested brands, as many times the plastics found in them can cause print degradation due to chemical interactions. Place printed materials under similar conditions as unprinted materials, paying close attention to humidity and temperature.

While companies often report their ink and paper combinations having a life expectancy in the order of hundreds of years, the numbers have all been obtained during testing, simulating ideal conditions. Real world print life is largely known, due to the rather untested nature of media, but should last a lifetime if properly maintained.