glossy paper & fading ink

[tjika]

Hi all,

recently I've been practicing making a brayered sunset. My brayering is getting better but I've run into a problem.

After about a day, the colors fade and just aren't pretty anymore. I keep them out of the sun.
I've tried several inks. Stampin up, adirondack and distress ink. they all faded. I used them on glossy paper from ranger and on gloss coated paper (not photo paper, for laser printers)

On regular card stock the colors remain true but not smooth and the colors don't blend well.

is the coating I'm using the wrong one?

help please.

[KatarinaM]

I remember this happening on glossy paper too. I think it is the coating on the paper that absorbs a lot of the ink over time eventually leaving them a bit duller than original. Maybe you could spray it with a fixative (Krylon workable fixative for example) or a spray sealer. I don't use glossy paper anymore so I'm not too sure.

[justwritedesigns]

Almost any dye based ink will fade on glossy paper over time and with exposure to light. It does help considerably if you spray it with a permanent spray fixative when you're finished. Since you're using glossy c/s, I'd recommend the glossy fixative. If you're using matte c/s, the fading is usually negligible but you could spray it w/ the matte fixative. You should be able to find these at Michael's.

The coating on glossy paper does not allow the dye ink to saturate the paper. It sits on top, unlike matte c/s which allow the ink to soak in. That's also the same reason pigment inks won't dry on glossy.

[tjika]

Well, I can understand fading over time. but this happens almost overnight. i would be embarrassed to give them to anyone.
I'll have a look for some type of fixative. I don't live in the US so no Michaels here.

I've also asked a friend of my mom if she had any whisper white cardstock, as people seem to get good results on that.

[UnderstandBlue]

Whisper White does work great - any smooth finish non glossy does. The ticket for getting smooth blending is to use NO pressure on the brayer at all. I took a class from Michelle Zindorf and that tip has changed my relationship with my brayer! Barely hold the handle and just steer it without pressing. Go over it several times to get a gradient.

I don't use glossy cardstock for exactly this reason, and her technique works beautifully on smooth white cardstock.

[cat_woman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Understandblue

Whisper White does work great - any smooth finish non glossy does. The ticket for getting smooth blending is to use NO pressure on the brayer at all. I took a class from Michelle Zindorf and that tip has changed my relationship with my brayer! Barely hold the handle and just steer it without pressing. Go over it several times to get a gradient.

I don't use glossy cardstock for exactly this reason, and her technique works beautifully on smooth white cardstock.

I just learned something. I've always pushed down on my brayer. I'll have to try it with a light hand next time.

[luckygal]

Lydia gave a good tip about brayering using smooth cardstock. However, if you want to use what you have left of the glossy cardstock for brayering, I recommend coating the image with a glossy finish clear acrylic spray sealer as soon as you are done with your image. The sealer prevents the colors from that overnight fading and returns the glossy appearance of the paper that can become dulled from the ink. I like using the Krylon Triple Thick Crystal Clear Glaze, which can be found at most craft stores. I have some images which I either sponged or brayered onto glossy cardstock several years ago that have not faded due to putting the spray sealer on the cardstock.