> I am not an absolute expert on printing technologies. However I have been
> in various levels of computer technical support for over 15 years. This
> leads me to a couple of disagreements with the original poster on what
> will and will not work.

> First and foremost, I am very skeptical, of the whole idea, of putting
> fiberglass through a printer. The thought of what might happen to your
> printer if the glass cloth started to unravel in the printer is enough to
> give me the heebee-geebees.

First, don't attempt this on someone else's machine. But if you cut the glass cleanly, handle it carefully, and make sure all loose edges are securely fastened down, the liklyhood of a problem is minimal.

> Second fiberglass does not strike me as a real good image substrate.
> Fiberglass has a very uneven surface. This could degrade the quality of
> the image. Also normally the glass disappears when wetted out. However
> when it is printed on the colored ink could show the weave after the glass
> has been wetted. Finally fiberglass can be stretched unevenly when it is
> wetted out. This would cause the image to be distorted.

Satin weave cloth is much smoother than most fabrics that are commonly run through copiers. (uneven surfaces are not the problem. Epson sells CANVAS cloth that they recommend to put through their printers. Quilters and sewers print on fabrics all the time) The image will come out fine. Except for color lasers, I do not suggest attempting color printing. For example, inkjet printing will not work on glass cloth, or any synthetic fabrics, for that matter.

Images PHOTOCOPIED on glass cloth will only become distorted if you are not careful in applying it. Actually, the fused toner stabilizes the cloth in the image area and keeps it from stretching.

> As far as what type of ink, dye, or toner to use, here are my thoughts. I
> put these items into three basic categories.

> Wax based Water based Granular Toner

> The Wax based color systems should be avoided at all costs. It is highly
> likely that they will interfere with the bonding of the epoxy. Wax based
> systems can be found in a lot of printers that lay color down from plastic
> sheets or ribbons. Some Techtronic printers use a waxy crayon like stick
> that it melts and sprays onto substrate. If you run your finger across a
> printed sheet of paper you can feel the raised almost sticky wax from
> these systems.

Right, don't use these.

> Water based inks are what you will find in most "ink jet" type
> printers from HP, Epson, and Cannon. The best way to test is run some
> water on a printed sheet. The ink should dissolve and run. I haven't
> tested these with, epoxy however they should work. They do fade with UV,
> so I would be careful with how I would use them. One thought would be to
> wet them out under your varnish coats rather than under the fiberglass.
> This would allow you to sand out the image when it fades beyond your
> liking.

As I have said, water based inks, used in inkjet printers will not work on fiberglass cloth. it will not absorb the ink. It does, however work on natural fiber fabrics, but that is a diferent issue, not related to kayak building.

> Granular toner from a black and white laser-printer is non-waxy, water
> resistant, and fad resistant. It should work well on tissue paper under
> fiberglass. I am not sure about the color based toners, they may be wax
> based.

laser printer and photocopier toners work well and fuse well on glass cloth.

> Don

Remember, my original post had nothing to do with "printing" on fiberglass cloth. I spoke only of "photocopying". And this does work..

Grant