Today I decided to take a little time out and do some water testing on some of the samples I’ve so far printed using Digital Grounds.

Digital Grounds Sample Set

In the Digital Grounds Sample Kit is included a small tub each of Gel Topcoat (semi-gloss) and Gel Topcoat (gloss) so I thought I’d give them a try out to see how waterproof they really were.

What I know

I already know that the prints using my Epson with Durabrite inks are water resistant simply due to the nature of the inks and after applying a small amount of water with a foam paintbrush, this is confirmed. There was no indication that the colors even slightly smudged on any of the treated or untreated areas.

I also know that the dye-based colors from my Lexmark do run on untreated fabric.

I used the sample printed on the pfd cotton fabric and tested the dye-based sample with both water and the Gel Topcoats. The results are interesting.

Testing with water

I painted on a small amount of water using a foam paintbrush and the inks did in fact run quite readily and significantly on the untreated section, but they only ran slightly on the treated sections.

I also *soaked* a couple of sections of treated fabric with water and initially there was no reaction, but after 10 or 15 minutes it became clear that the ink was running as shown in the photo below. The section on the right was treated with white matte which didn’t run so badly, but the section on the left was treated with non-porous and had significant color run.

Using Gel Topcoats

Similar results occurred using the Gel Topcoats. The ink ran significantly on the untreated section of fabric and only minimally on the treated sections.

In the photo below, the section on the right hand side is untreated; the section on the left hand side is treated with Digital Ground for Non-porous Surfaces. You can easily see how much ink ran on the non-treated area as opposed to the amount of ink that ran on the treated section – big difference. Also it’s worth noting that the color that ran the worst was the red.

I did a test also on the side edge which was treated with Digital Ground Clear Gloss (for porous surfaces) and you can see there is in fact no color run except a tiny amount of the red.

The Gel Topcoats when dried, were in fact water resistant but the finishes were both quite glossy. I also tested the topcoats on some “fabric paper” and the results was not so glossy at all; in fact you could barely even notice the gloss so I guess the finish will depend on the type of surface you apply it to.

Conclusion

All in all interesting test results, particularly if you use a dye-based ink printer. The conclusions would be that a small amount of water drip on treated prints without a topcoat may not have a significant effect, but a good soaking certainly will. Prints that have a good topcoat sealer applied should not experience any color run. This of course will depend on the type of sealer you use. The Gel Topcoats appear to seal completely, but other sealers may not. Always a good idea to do a test first.

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