I gave National Geographic's waterproof map paper the kayak test last weekend. I printed an overview and a detail map of the area I was going to on my Epson Stylus Photo 750 using National Geographic's TOPO! program, and carried the maps under bungee cords on the foredeck of my kayak, where they were almost constantly wet with fresh water under sunny skies. When printing, I selected "Photo Quality Ink Jet Paper" in the Epson driver. The maps held up pretty well through 16 hours of paddling. Though the paper can be printed on either side, don't be tempted to print on both sides, because there is some image print-through. There is also some image transfer, though only of the black ink, resulting in ghost images of each map appearing on the one under it. There is also some bleeding of the black ink, but not enough to make the text unreadable (This problem with the black ink might not occur with other printers or if less ink is used.) The other colors appear quite sharp and stable, though possibly slightly faded. The paper also absorbs fly spots, however. One concern I had was abrasion resistance. I tried to remove some ink by scratching the surface of a wet map with my fingernail, with no obvious result but a shinier surface where I scratched. Conclusion: If you can ignore the problem with the black ink, this paper works great. Even with the bleeding, the map is still highly usable after two days. One way to minimize the black ink bleed problem might be to select "360 dpi Ink Jet Paper" in the Epson driver, though this also could affect the other colors. Unfortunately, the paper comes with no instruction sheet of recommended settings. Chuck Holst *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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