Knowledge Base > After Print Care

• Will Desert Varnish spray affect the look of the printed image? The spray is 100% invisible and has no sheen whatsoever. There are sprays on the market that do this, but we decided it was better to leave the visible look of the print as-is. 
   
• How soon after printing can I use Desert Varnish spray? You can technically spray a print within 15 minutes after the print comes out of the printer, however I would wait a day. Pigment inks have a glycol that needs to evaporate 100%, and 99% of it is gone within a few minutes of printing. It is that last 1% that I would like to be sure about. The spray dries very very quickly, like 20 minutes. I would print, let sit for a day, spray, package up later that day. That means one day after your print is printed.
   
• How long should I wait after printing to frame the print? Since many of the prints that end up on Moab papers end up framed and in a gallery, we tend to work closely with framers.  One issue that continues to pop up is outgassing, and we'd like to take this opportunity to describe what it is and what you can do to prevent it from happening to you.

  Outgassing is something that all fine art printers should consider when images are to be framed behind glass. Outgassing is the term used to describe the evaporation of solvents left behind after printing with an inkjet printer. This outgassing can create a fog on the inside of the glazing (glass) of a frame. Outgassing can be properly managed in the following steps:

  1) After printing, let your print sit out to dry for at least 10 minutes.

  2) After the short drying period, you can place a sheet of bond paper over the print for at least 24 hours to accelerate the absorption of solvents.

  3) After 24 hours you can remove the paper from over your printed image.

  4) You can use just about any paper to accelerate this outgassing, as long as the paper is chemically stable (non-acidic). Newspaper is a definitely no-no.

  If you do not have any extra paper around, you can always let the outgassing take its normal course, and we recommend at least 7 days before framing the printed image.

  As a final preservation measure, we recommend you mat your image with Rising Museum Board, a 100% cotton matboard used by every major museum.  Why?  Because since you've spent countless hours choosing your printer, selecting your favorite Moab paper and producing your image, using high-quality conservation materials during the framing process if just as important.