Cheap enhancement of printed photos

The cheap printers does his work very well, but the printed photos are very sensitive:
any droplet of water ruins them.

The "photo" paper to print photos is very expensive. The normal paper provides regular results.

I used normal 75g A4 paper for this try. My printer is a HP multifunction 1200 series.

Step 1 The recipe

You can protect them very fastly, easily and cheaply.

You need:
-An iron whith temperature control
-a stearin or paraffin candle
-a casserole or pot

Comments

[cope07]

 Another (admittedly more expensive option) is to use some clear artist's fixative.  It can give you matter or gloss prints that are protected and they are not soaked in wax.  It is still probably a cheaper solution that photo paper

[rimar2000]

Yes, the clear artist's fixative is quite expensive, and photo papel too.

[kstruve]

A cheap alternative to artist's fixative is a can of cheap aerosol hairspray. I used to use it in art classes. It works just as well as fixative but you can get it for a couple bucks a can.

[rimar2000]

That is a very good info, thanks.

[Louise542]

I really like this idea! I, too, have printed pictures on regular paper - because photo paper IS expensive - and I've been disappointed with the results, BUT this sounds like it would really enhance the quality of the printed photos. Thank you for the Instructable!

[rimar2000]

Yes, this procedure enhance the prints, but you do'nt wait magic. You can also soak the paper in melted wax, and perhaps get better results, but this is more laborious.