Hi,

I press a debossed rectangular indentation into paper (to create a frame for art on prints) in an etching press (hand crank) and am getting black specks/dots and residue after sending it through the etching press. They can smudge when trying to remove them. One person suggested it is a reaction of the pressing of the paper/chemicals in the paper. Is this even possible? It is 100% cotton rag, micro-porous, matte textured, one-sided printable (which goes through a printer for the artwork later), no OBAs present, reverse side = light inkjet coating. It is 315 gsm and 21 mil thick.

I have tried putting a piece of plain paper on top of the paper while pressing and it has *maybe* helped. It is hard to tell.

Any information on if this is possible or what might be going on is appreciated!

Hi Karen,

What paper are you using? There wouldn't be a chemical reaction especially one that would immediately appear after printing. Sounds like debris from the press.

Legion

Thanks for your quick response! It's a Palo Duro Etching paper. The debris shows up after pressing, not really after printing much, but maybe some. It could be "leftover" though. Can there ever be a reaction like this from any paper, ever? With really high pressure?

Highly unlikely there would ever be a reaction, but as this is not a paper we produce we cannot speak to the chemical composition of the paper and it's reaction to the inks you're using. We're pretty confident that you're seeing leftover residue from the press.

Thank you for the information and your time!