Has anyone tried using rice paper in a printer??

topic posted Fri, June 10, 2005 - 6:08 PM by  amy
I got this book from the library today that has some very cool ideas in it ("More making books by hand: exploring miniature books, alternative structures, and found objects" by Peter and Donna Thomas) and there's one I want to try RIGHT NOW but the only paper I have that's long enough to do what I want is rice paper which I bought for printmaking and I'm wondering if anyone has tried putting it in a printer, I'm kind of afraid it will just shred when the printer tries to grab hold of it and I dont' want it to get stuck in ther or I'd have tried it already.
posted by:
amy
offline amy
Portland
  • Impossible to say without seeing the paper (and what sort of printer you have), but...

    I've fed many hand-made papers of different base materials and different textures through different makes and models of ink-jet printers with very little trouble.

    If the texture is very uneven, the paper feed may skew. I've had success at nursing the process by feeding one sheet at a time and holding the page as it feeds with just enough tension to keep it straight. Though it's not likely, if it does tear anf get stuck, that would be a sad end for a beautiful paper, but it's not the end of the world for the printer. Patiently open the printer, one access hatch at a time, and pull out all visible bits of torn paper. Pull bits that are stuck between rollers about as hard as you would in a tug-of-war with a small puppy, not a full-grown rottweiler, to prevent damage to the printer.

    A couple of questions occur to me: Does it *crumble* rather than tear? That would make it a high risk proposition. Are the edges *very* uneven? That also would be a contra-indication, though to cause really bad paper feed problems the edges would need to wave in and out by about 1cm (1/2"). I've successfully used hand-made paper with a marked deckle edge of about 1/4".

    If the paper surafce is not smooth, the ink may skip, run, bleed... but I've never minded that. It adds to the textural complexity of the finished piece. Another thing that may happen is that "fluff" from the surface may clog the ink jets or build up in the paper feed path. I've found that running a sheet of plain white bond through every dozen pages or so (in extreme cases, every alternate page, but I'd probably use another print process for a paper with that much surface disintegration) cleans out the paper path and ink jet heads. (Print something trivial on it.)

    I've never tried a laser printer with other than "office" paper. Though I'd experiment given half a chance, I'd be mindful of possible heat distortion of the paper, and I wonder how well they handle non-standard page sizes.

    • thanks for all the info. It's actually very soft translucent paper with even cut edges and no grain and I'm using an epson stylus photo R200. Also it's on a roll so I'm thinking I'll have to cut it first unless I can find some way to support the roll and still allow it to turn.
      • The paper sounds gorgeous, and the project sounds do-able! 'sa pity to let yesterday's heat of the moment pass, but sometimes I find myself becoming even more fond of projects after a good tussle with the logistics...

        Thinking of roll feed mechanisms on large format printers, it occured to me that a paper towel (plastic wrap / kitchen foil) dispenser might do the trick. Don't know if sizes would be compatible...

        You might have to cut sheets anyway. The combination of your printer driver and your printing software might not allow you the option of leaving the paper in the printer feed path at the end of printing. You can test with ordinary paper by setting the page size in your software small (say photo size), and printing on a full size sheet. Does it print to the end of the print area and leave the paper for you to manually eject? (woo-hoo, you're on a roll! - pardon the pun) ... or feed the entire sheet through after printing? While you're experimenting, check the longest custom page size your software will allow...

        Best wishes!
        • I used to tape thin papers to another piece of standard paper, and run them through a printer or xerox machine... worked pretty well, especially if you do it smoothly, so no edges lift up...
          • What an excellent plan. Right now I'm trying to figure out how to (or if I can) take the paper feed thing off my printer and make it take a wider sheet because I didn't think to check until now but the rice paper roll is 11 inches wide. By the way I bought this roll at micheal's (sp?) arts and crafts (where I hate to but am forced to shop) for about sixteen bucks and it's very cool.

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