Waterproof Paper

[Ken Thompson]

Used the last of my National Geographic Adventure Paper. What waterproof paper for inkjet pinter are you liking? Anyone try Puffin Paper? For printing maps. Legal, letter, A4 sizes all work for me.

[BlackHatGuy]

I’ve used the WeatherJet waterproof paper from Rite in the Rain. Great stuff.

[Bri W]

Rite in the Rain!!! My favorite!! I don’t use it for backpacking or maps or anything (although that’s a good idea), but I print my  nurse brains on it because I always get mysterious fluids on them at work. :) it might be on the heavier side though, bc it has a waxy texture IMO.

[Philip Tschersich]

“Rite in the Rain” (JL Darling corp) makes two kinds of paper: regular Rite in the Rain and Duracopy. Duracopy is truly waterproof. It’s basically coated (to accept inkjet ink or laser toner) plastic. Their regular water resistant paper will degrade in wet environments. Duracopy is awesome stuff.

[Matthew / BPL]

Hmmmm I wonder how this stuff works in a color laserprinter… Anyone tried it?

http://www.riteintherain.com/white-standard

[BlackHatGuy]

Ken, can send you a couple of sheets of what I have to try if you like, just let me know.

[Bob Moulder]

+1 Rite in the Rain WeatherJet…….  awesome stuff.

[David Thomas]

There’s bulk Aqua Seal secret sauce that you paint onto normal paper that’s been written on with pencil, sharpie, xeroxed or laser printed (maybe by other means, too, but I’ve done all those and it works). You let it dry – takes an an hour or two on a clothes line or wire rack – and it’s good to go.  I did that with maps and charts for a week of sea kayaking in Baja.  A week on the kayak deck and in my PFD pocket later, they were a little ragged, but still useable.  I’d simply laid guidebooks on the office copier, enlarged/reduced them as I wished and printed them onto the usual 18-pound printer paper.

$12.95 at REI

https://www.rei.com/product/609319/map-seal-liquid-aquaseal-8-oz

I’ve been using mine for over 20 years and it’s still working.

I’ve heard that Thompson’s Water Seal (in a gallon can at the paint store for applying to your wood deck or siding) also works, but I haven’t tried it.  It would be cheaper per ounce.

[Ken Thompson]

David, old school for sure. I’m done painting paper. Thompson’s water seal is the same.

Thanks to all. I’ve got myself sorted.

Matthew, laser and copier waterproof paper are available too.

[Barry Foster]

All the waterproof papers are good. The problem is inkjet printer ink is not waterproof thus rendering the whole concept useless. Unless you just want to write handwritten notes etc then a ballpoint pen works great as does a pencil

[Bob Moulder]

All the waterproof papers are good. The problem is inkjet printer ink is not waterproof thus rendering the whole concept useless. Unless you just want to write handwritten notes etc then a ballpoint pen works great as does a pencil

This is simply and totally incorrect.

Photos below of a map printed on Rite-In-The-Rain Weatherjet (Inkjet) printed with an Epson printer… using a mix of Epson and off-brand refill inks, BTW. I’ve been using this paper for quite some time and it is nothing short of amazing, the stuff of unicorns and fairy dust. Not only is it waterproof, it is extremely abrasion and tear resistant. And when it does get wet, it retains these characteristics and it also dries out quickly.

 

 

 

 

[Kattt]

^^^^ I am impressed!

Will the Rite-in-the-rain work with most inkjet printers?

[Bob Moulder]

It says “designed for ink jet printers” on the box so I assume it should work with all of them.

My Epson printer is a rather old 300R, so nothing special.

I would also add, reference to Philip T comment above, that this stuff has been extremely durable for me. Perhaps they changed the formulation over the years, however.

[BlackHatGuy]

Recent purchase has been quite durable for me as well.

Yes, it’ll work on all inkjets (or should anyway). Of course, a print will look better from some than others, depending on the quality of the printer.

@Bob, what paper setting do you use on your printer when printing on the paper?

[Bob Moulder]

Doug, the best settings for me have been Plain Paper, Photo quality, which on my printer outputs at 720 dpi.

If you have an image editing program it is also helpful to experiment with the resolution of your original jpeg or pdf, whether derived from a scan or caltopo. Caltopo outputs (“Print to PDF”) at 72 dpi and it does wonders to convert to something like 400 dpi and fiddle with unsharp mask a bit in order to tweak it.

[Barry Foster]

Well you are lucky with your ink, my Rite in the Rain paper is very tough, but if I rub a damp finger across any of the print it instantly smears.  I have a hp all in one printer and a Epson 2200 both with the same result. My inks are oem, obviously your inks are waterproof which is a good thing, can you let me know the brand? Have you tried rubbing the ink with a damp finger?

[Bob Moulder]

My inks are Epson and the retreads from inkfarm.

Wet finger? No problem… You can rub them under running water and there is no effect on the ink.

Make sure the paper you’re using is specified for inkjet. Rite-in-the-rain also makes a paper for laser printers and another for copiers and they do not work with inkjet printers. I suspect this is the problem. I got some of the copier paper from REI at very cheap clearance price just to test, and the results match what you describe…. it’s a ‘no go’.

[Author]

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