We've been receiving some inquiries from people about outgassing their prints prior to framing, with one in particular asking about what to do with the new Slickrock Metallic Silver.
Outgassing is a reality of inkjet printing. If you plan to frame your image behind glass, then it's necessary to allow the print to gas out otherwise a 'fog' could appear on the back side of the glass.
The amount of time needed for outgassing depends on ink load, ink type, coating type, absorptivity of the coating and paper, and ink quantity (light vs dark). The glycerin and glycol used to keep the pigment particles in the suspension in the ink, and to keep the ink from clogging the head, take a longer time to evaporate than the time we accept as drytime.
This is not only true of RC photo papers. Because RC papers have a PE layer (plastic layer) that limits the amount of ink that can be absorbed into the paper itself, they do require longer outgassing time than a matte coated fine art paper with no barrier.
What about our new Slickrock Metallic Silver 300? Most (all) of the true-metallic inkjet papers on the market are not instant dry. They use a swellable coating that keeps the ink on the surface. That is why you need a solvent spray to lock in the ink with those other papers…the coating does not really absorb the ink.
Our new Moab Slickrock Metallic Silver is a game-changing product. It uses a microporous coating that is designed to quickly move the ink away from the surface, thus creating the illusion of instant dry. There is no metallic like this in the industry. People are going to have to throw away everything they think they know about metallic and its poor dry time.
How do you properly outgas your prints? Check out this excellent article for some pointers.