Ink smudges on my 4 bar envelopes!

[So_happy]

I''m printing my own wedding invitations and the actual invitations print just fine. It''s the envelopes that are making me want to tear my hair out. I''ve already blown thru 20 of them trying to troubleshoot and before I give up and just use labels, I thought I''d ask you all if you have any tips for me.

My formatting comes out perfect every time so it''s not my layout/set up. Everything is centered, straight, looks real nice in fact. It''s the darn ink lines, smudges, dots that appear somewhere on the envelope (sometimes slight most times significant) that are the problem.

Here''s what we "tested":

Possible problem: Small size of envelope? Cut plain paper to match size of envelope and ran those through and they came out smudge free.
Possible problem: Weight of envelope? Cut much heavier 80lb paper to match size of env. and they also came out smudge free.
Possible problem: Dirty mechanisms inside printer? Ran regualar ole 8.5 x 11 paper thru and no smudgies either.
Possible problem: The fact that its an evelope, period? Ran regular business sized env thru. Mockingly fine

What else can I try? I even called Papersource to see if they had heard of this issue with thier 4bar env''s but they hadn''t. Or at least the woman on the phone hadn''t. I already need to replenish my supply of envelopes no matter which way I go (labels or no) so that''s a given. Can''t control that. But I''d like know that I''ve tried all options before buying those labels AND additional envelopes.

Any ideas?

 

[lehcarm]

So_happy, I have never had a problem like this, but I can think of one reason you might be getting the smudges. Could it be because some parts of the envelope are thicker than others? (Like where it is folded there are more than two layers) Your printer might not be able to decide how thick the paper is, since it changes over the course of the envelope. What paper type setting are you using? My printer has an envelope setting, maybe that would help. Otherwise, you could try setting it to a thicker setting?

It sucks that you are going through your extra envelopes so fast! Hopefully you get it figured out.

The 4-bar envelopes that I am planning to use for my RSVP cards are navy blue, so printing on them isn''t an option. Instead I am going to buy a personalized address stamp and I am going to use silver ink. Hopefully they will turn out. Would something like this be an option for you? It might look more professional than an address label, and still give the effect of printing.

 

[So_happy]

Your stamp idea is a good possibility Where are you getting yours made?

I just tried telling the printer it was printing on heavier material but the smudge still remains

Thank you for that idea, though......I hadn''t tried that!

 

[jcrow]

hum, maybe the type of paper?
i would try different paper settings. sometimes playing around with those does the trick.

 

[So_happy]

Jcrow~ I''ve tried a few types of paper settings already but my problem is that I have to actually use one of the actual envelopes to test it out because the smudge does not show up on any other kind of paper that I might use

to test the theory. I''ve used 4 already telling the printer it is printing on greeting cards and even matte photo paper. No luck.

I designed a custom rubber stamp and it will only cost $12 but I''m even hesitant to do that. I really wanted to use my printer to do this dang it!!

I guess I should count my blessings that my invitations will be glorious

even if my envelopes will be either smudged

or labeled-up

or stamped

.

Maybe I could reorder a larger sized set of envelopes? Seeing as though I''ll need to reorder anyway

maybe I should go one or two sizes up? My issue here seems to have something to do with the variable weight intrinsic in an envelope AND it''s small size. Since envelopes in general have always printed fine in this printer, perhaps I need it to be a bit larger and then the place where the smudge is occruring won''t come in contact with the smudge-inducing part of the printer anymore?? Did that make ANY sense??

 

[sarie_j]

My envelopes were bright red - I wanted something a little different - and kind of felt like waxpaper - I was a little horrified about printing on them. My FI picked them out, and god love him it was the only thing he picked out so I didn''t have the heart to tell him no. They smudged like crazy, and just like you nothing else in the world came out with smudges except them. I finally started running them through 1 at a time and they came out beautifully - I''m even getting some of the response cards back and still no smudgies after going through the mail -- I''m not sure why, but that worked for me so you may want to try it if you haven''t already

 

[ladyciel]

So Happy,

While you troubleshoot, maybe you can keep from wasting any more envelopes by resusing the messed up ones? Use a pencil to circle the existing smudges so you can tell new ones from the old.

As for getting it to work, I''m really not sure. Have you checked with the company that makes the printer? Maybe they can offer a suggestion.

Good Luck!!

 

[enbcfsobe]

So sorry you are having this problem! If you have really had it, try using clear address labels (Avery and other suppliers make them) instead of the regular white ones. They can be run through your printer just like regular white sticky labels, but it looks much more like a printed-on envelope and you can still see the lovely color.

 

[lehcarm]

Date: 4/9/2007 1:53:58 PM
Author: So_happy
Your stamp idea is a good possibility Where are you getting yours made?


I just tried telling the printer it was printing on heavier material but the smudge still remains

Thank you for that idea, though......I hadn''t tried that!

I haven''t ordered it yet because I am still deciding if I want to use my address or my parents. This morning, I found this site:


http://sos.shop4stamps.com/StorefrontComms.asp?hidprodid=123&hidprodnum=HSWW-LI&proddesc=IDEAL+WALNUT+HAND+STAMPS+FOR+USE+WITH+SEPARATE+STAMP+PAD&hidcatid=8&hidind=0

I''m looking at the 1.25"x3" stamp for $12.99. To me, it sounds pretty cheap. It''s harder to find a non-self-inking stamp than you would think. Good luck!

 

[FireGoddess]

I just printed on matte, clear labels. They disappear into the envelope when you apply them.

 

[neatfreak]

So_Happy, have you tried using a laser printer? I don''t know if a friend has one you could try, but we just switched and they don''t smudge AT ALL. I don''t know how expensive a new set of envelopes is but we got our B&W laser printer from Staples for $70 after a rebate. It''s awesome because it doesn''t use the same printing process so it doesn''t smudge ever.

Might be worth a try if your envelopes are expensive. Printer could always be returned if it didn''t work I''m sure.

 

[So_happy]

Date: 4/9/2007 4:57:57 PM
Author: sarie_j
My envelopes were bright red - I wanted something a little different - and kind of felt like waxpaper - I was a little horrified about printing on them. My FI picked them out, and god love him it was the only thing he picked out so I didn''t have the heart to tell him no. They smudged like crazy, and just like you nothing else in the world came out with smudges except them. I finally started running them through 1 at a time and they came out beautifully - I''m even getting some of the response cards back and still no smudgies after going through the mail -- I''m not sure why, but that worked for me so you may want to try it if you haven''t already

Yeah, we tried one at a time but it didn''t help

Thank you anyway

 

[So_happy]

Date: 4/9/2007 5:14:51 PM
Author: ladyciel
So Happy,

While you troubleshoot, maybe you can keep from wasting any more envelopes by resusing the messed up ones? Use a pencil to circle the existing smudges so you can tell new ones from the old.

As for getting it to work, I''m really not sure. Have you checked with the company that makes the printer? Maybe they can offer a suggestion.

Good Luck!!

I can''t believe I didn''t think of this on my own

. I will most certainly keep this in mind during future trials!!! Thank you so much

 

[jcrow]

i''d also try calling around for quick print shops. see if they could print them for you. it shouldn''t be too pricey since you''re providing the envelope and artwork.

 

[cpster]

Did you try rotating your setup by 90 degrees so that you can feed your envelopes through the long way? Or are you already doing this? What kind of printer are you using?

I did mine on a laser printer and remember that I had to rotate my setup by 90 degrees to get the RSVP envelopes to come out right. I think for the paper type I did the setup like in word and just printed as manual feed paper. I didn''t set the paper source as an evelope.