Digital Photo Paper Question

For that type of material a laserjet printer is far more effective than an inkjet printer. Inkjets produce the least durable print possible.

Easier to find a pro lab that can produce what you need and upload the files to their server for printing. It will save you time and definitely save you money and your client will get a much better product.

For doing just that, I bought a few boxes of HP transparency film for HP inkjet printers, and found it not at all satisfactory. I took forever to dry, and tonality was limited, larger areas blotchy. I guess I was expecting something like a big Kodachrome, but that is not what I got.

I also bought a Tektronix color laser printer (about $7000) which did better on film than the inkjet, but still lacked the tonality of what I was getting with inkjet on paper, and tended to be more dense than inkjet on film.

For making transparencies, up to 8x10 or 8 1/2 x 11, we ultimately went to dye sublimation technology, which was costing about $3 per print 15 years ago. Then most of went through the printer were slide prentations usig two solid colors, three at the most, per slide.

My experience with stage lighting tells me that any of these technologies will fade pretty fast for where you are talking about using it. Even getting past "can the film handle the heat" we get into "can dye-based inks handle the light absorption?" Maybe you can print with pigments rather than dyes, but pigments may heat up faster. Incandescent lighting behinds the images just kind of scares me. All the big transparency murals in train stations and on subway cars and busses were backlighted with fluorescent lighting, in the days before LEDs.

Thanks for the input...while doing some research on YouTube I came across Modge Podge...for me, it appears this is an excellent route to take...don't know that I knew anything about this product...most interesting.

What you need is backlit transparency film which is typically used for advertising over a lightbox, such as for movie poster displays or restaurant menus, though these have been largely replaced by digital signage. Companies like Inkpress make sheets for inkjet printers which you may find at places at B&H Photo. Best to print in reverse image, on the matte side, so your photo displays correctly on the glossy side. Do a search for best pricing.

There is "Transparency" paper made for projection use of business presentations
And can be placed in Windows for a Stained Glass effect

But I don't think it will hold up in the situation your describing

Maybe with fluorescent lighting, but Not with the heat of incandescent lamps

There is a company that advertises they can transfer any photo to glass. I would do a google search using "glass photos" or "photos on glass" as the search.

mikeleblanc413 wrote:
I have a client who would like her images printed on a paper which would allow light to shine through the image. Specifically, she has overhead lights in a restaurant and wants to be able to put the printed image between the light bulb and the cover. The covers are traditional and about 11 inches square. Since the bulbs generate some heat, any paper/film/etc would need to be somewhat heat resistant. I print on an Epson 2200. THANKS!

I would suggest going to FM.com forums for "serious" photo information. Fred Miranda is FM.
bumpy