OfficeMax photopaper melting to iron?

[Mich27]

Ok .. never had this happen before.

Switching to photopaper from magazine glossy to see if i get a better transfer.  Printing with laser printer onto glossy side of paper.  Glossy side down on iron clad and after 10 - 15 sec. I lift the iron and the paper is melting onto the iron's surface?  wtf? Am I missing something here?

[defaced]

I have had this happen with other paper.  I have used a regular sheet of paper between the photo paper and the iron to remedy the problem, but I was never successful with photo paper as a whole, so I'm not sure this is the best solution. 

[John Lyons]

The key is to find a paper that is...er, papery on the back so the water soaks in well
and your iron does not stick to it. Using a sheet of paper on the back of the photo paper
works well as mentioned above. A pain but...

[Mark Hammer]

Waaaaaaaaayyyyyyy back when people used 5-1/4"  'floppy' diskettes to store data, it was common to find what were termed "single-sided" and "double-sided" diskettes.  Doubles had, you guessed it, twice the storage capacity of singles.  But here was the catch: "singles" already were doubles; they just didn't have both sides guaranteed/quality-checked.  However, you could buy a little hole punch to convert a single to a double.  You see, what allowed the disk drive to know that there might be data on the other side was a hole in the corner, through which an LED/phototransistor arrangement gave the go-ahead to the drive to look there.  Punch the hole, and bob's your uncle.  The other side wasn't guaranteed, but I personally never ran into an instance where the unguaranteed side behaved less erratically than the guaranteed one.

When it comes to photo paper, it would seem that there is no real standard for paper feed mechanisms, hence no assurance that the person who feeds the paper into the printer will have the "right" side facing up, ready to accept toner or jetted ink.  So a number of companies seem to be producing "double-sided" paper.  In a sense, it's "idiot-proof" paper that lets you just stick it in and know that whatever comes out will be as acceptable as the printer can produce.

What this means for us is that the heat-sensitive emulsion we want to pull away from the paper backing is on both sides.  Ideally, the emulsion should be on one side, such that your iron is rubbing up against wood fibers and nothing more.

The insurance is pretty simple.  Just stick a piece of normal paper between the iron and the photopaper so that the heat is transferred, but the emulsion doesn't melt and stick to the iron.  I find it always pays to either know the paper, or else open the package to confirm that one side is MUCH shinier than the other.  Small differences i side-shininess might be a result of "double-sided" paper, while big gleaming noticeable differences are a sign that the paper is indeed every bit as single-sided as you think.

[alparent]

I use parchment paper (for cooking). It will not burn and transfer heat much better then ordinary paper.

[Mark Hammer]

Good recommendation, but one missing detail.

Do you mean you print directly on parchment paper, or you place it between the iron and whatever the pattern is printed on?

[therecordingart]

Bumping an old thread....

You use parchment paper in place of photo or magazine paper?

[deadastronaut]

i have yet to try that 'sticker'  'label' backing shiny stuff...but it looks cool, and i read somewhere on here that its reusable too...

never thought of parchment 'cooking' stuff'  but it would have to be well taped down to stop any slippage, smudging etc..but i do that anyway....but yeah probably would be ok..and reusable too as well i guess...

[alparent]

Put the parchment between the photo-paper and iron.

Got the idea when I was making melf together bids with my son. http://www.eksuccessbrands.com/perlerbeads/creative/4-easy-steps.htm

[Mark Hammer]

You can also buy teflon in sheet form from specialty places.  I used to use the stuff 40 years ago with my dad, when he was heat-sealing plastic sheeting with a soldering iron.  Place it between the iron and paper.  Although parchment paper is probably a lot cheaper and thinner.

[boogietone]

Backing paper from Avery labels works great.

[boogietone]

Currently using "Name badge labels" #5153.