Distressed/Damaged Zink Photos

I have been printing a lot of images on 2x3 Zink paper recently. I remember from

years ago when the Polaroid POGO first came out there was a video about how to

distress/alter the Zink prints. I decided to give it a go. I used household ammonia.

I used an eyedropper to put a few drops on the paper then spread it around with my

finger. The ammonia begins to eat through the top layer. You can sort of control the

destruction by running water on the photo. Be careful - the force of the water could

wash off more than you meant. You can also just dab the photo with a paper towel to

mop off the extra ammonia. I let the photos dry over night and then spray with

acrylic spray. Sometimes I use kamar varnish spray which is a little more glossy.

Examples below.

Review: Photo Printing on Wassau White Metallic Cardstock

I purchased some Wassau white metallic cardstock from Office Depot a while back. I thought I would try printing photos using the paper on my Canon inkjet printer. The plain paper sparkles in the light on the print side. The reverse side does not have the metallic finish.

The first two items I printed were dark and while the glistening effect is nice, the contrast is low and these prints were not anything special. Next I printed a lighter less contrasty print of a butterfly (shown below). I thought it came out pretty good. You will not get highly saturated contrasty prints with this paper. You will get a shimmering dreamy image that is suitable for use in some situations.

I set my printer up for medium glossy. I did not adjust any of the other settings. You might get more contrast by upping the saturation (increasing the ink levels). I didn't try this. For certain images and applications this paper is worth a try.

I searched for the Wassau metallic paper online and really couldn't find much on it. It appears that Wassau sold it's specialty paper division to an investment firm in June, 2013. I don't know when and how the paper will be marketed now.

Scan of image printed on Wassau Metallic paper