Whether you’re printing a barcode onto timber that you’re stocking for landscapers, carpenters and builders or you’re in the business of printing a family photo onto timber slices, knowing how to get crisp colours and legible fonts is critical! A dod Inkjet printer is often the ideal solution, but proper use is important to achieve the quality that you and your customers require. In this guide, we’ve detailed all the basics that you need to know for printing onto timber with an inkjet, so that you can have the confidence needed to complete the task within your own workshop.

1. Choosing the timber  

The first step to achieving a crystal-clear print is to carefully select the perfect piece of timber. We recommend a flat, smooth surface, as any kind of rough texture will result in a less than ideal finished product. If the wood is pre-layered with another substance, such as a varnish, this can impact the transfer of the ink from the inkjet printer. We suggest preparing the wood by cleaning and sanding away any imperfections.

2. Designing the image 

Whether you’re printing a barcode, human-readable product information, or a cherished family photo, it’s important that you design the image carefully (we suggest keeping it as simple as possible, reducing the amount of things that can go wrong), before preparing and loading it into a software programme. This can be anything from Photoshop to Illustrator, as long as it’s a programme that you are comfortable with.

3. Printing in reverse 

Though this step sounds confusing, it is actually incredibly simple! You will be printing your design onto normal paper – but backward! This will be then transferred by the inkjet printer onto the wood, and if you fail to print a reversed image here, then it will be the results that are facing the wrong way!

4. Transferring the print 

Lastly, you’re now ready to transfer the print! Using some tape to hold the original print onto the timber to ensure it doesn’t move during the process, you will then brush a small amount of water onto the paper – this causes the ink to run, making the transferal easier. Now, using a blunt object can be used to rub the ink from the paper to the timber, before checking your results!

5. Troubleshooting any issues  

If your inkjet printer hasn’t returned the results you were hoping to see, there are a few common issues that may have caused these problems:

• If the image hasn’t transferred clearly, you can simply try again with added ink.
• If the message has been smudged, this may be because you have used too much water or used too much pressure during the process.

As you can see, printing onto timber with wood printers doesn’t have to be a difficult task – not when you understand the basics! Once you’ve learnt how to complete this process, you can scale it to the size you need; be it as a commercial business requiring barcoded timber slabs and beams to a boutique service offering bespoke printing services.

Though this guide covers the basics for printing onto wooden objects, it is critical that you take the time to read through the inkjet printer manufacturer’s directions and specifications, and undertake training if necessary, especially if you’re operating on a large scale.