I have never seen a ghost. I thought I did, a few times. One time was when a blurry finger showed up in a picture from the last flight of my military flying career. Another was a priceless moment with grandparents when I had inadvertently smudged the lens with my finger by grabbing the camera improperly. And another, which I will expound upon, was when I hurriedly framed a picture for a local restaurant where I display my photos monthly. For those three cases, I excitedly tried to contact some kind of ghost series on TV for proof ghosts existed. Luckily, my wife caught me before I embarrassed myself. But I digress.
Ghosting, or “out-gassing.” (No, I won’t go there!)
Photographers are finding they can get more satisfying, but more costly, results printing their own photos, primarily using ink jet printers. Some printer inks are pigment based (best) and most are dye based. Dye based inks are getting very good for their fade resistance, but still trail pigment inks, or at least that’s what my secret informants tell me. But that is another exciting episode. Out-gassing, ghosting, or a foggy image inside the frame glass, may occur with either type of ink print (most prevalent on glossy photo paper) that has not been properly dried or cured. This may also happen with inks and paper that are “instant drying.” It is true even when the photo is properly matted, due to the residual trapped gasses. My informants tell me that matte, fine art, watercolor or cotton rag-type papers absorb residual gas and don’t have the phenomenon.
To hasten the drying, do not use a hair dryer. It will shorten the longevity of your prints and may scare the dog. To properly speed up the drying or curing process, you can perform the following steps for ghost busting:
- Let the new print rest on a flat surface for at least 15 minutes.
- Then place plain (cheap) paper on top of the print for 24 hours. It will absorb the ghosts. You may stack, if you wish, with a new sheet of plain paper between each photo.
- If the plain paper is wavy after 24 hours, indicating moisture or continued out-gassing, repeat the steps with new plain paper and let sit for another 24 hours before framing. If not wavy, commence with your happy framing.
If you have previously summoned ghosts from improper drying, remove the glass and clean it with water or a dry cloth and use the above procedure for your photo while the glass is drying. Solvents are not recommended for cleaning the photo side of glass. If you launder your drying cloth, don't use fabric softeners. They will cause streaking or more ghosting.
You can find a more detailed discussion on Epson.com
