How to Print on Washi Tape

I have been so impressed with the beautiful choices in Washi Tape and the simple yet elegant projects completed with it. Surprisingly, I didn't own any and hadn't experimented with it. But I knew it was only a matter of the right project and the right color before I took the plunge. The project was my assorted labeled jars in my laundry room. I had to correct a design fail. And I happened with a package of beautifully colored Washi Tape at Michael's. Together they were a project in waiting. Yesterday, I put them together, and after a little experimenting, I developed a method for using my laser printer to print directly on Washi Tape.

These containers are up-cycled Skippy Peanut Butter Jars. I always saved them because they are clear plastic and have wide mouths. Perfect for organizing and I use them in many places. Too bad we switched to all natural peanut butter (it's the sugar thing) because it comes in glass jars.

I built a drop shelf below the cabinets in my renovated laundry room. They are sized perfectly for these containers and I made labels for them as the very first project with my Silhouette Cameo back in November. There was a learning curve with the Silhouette and finally I just made simple lables. Design-wise, they are not my best work but more annoying was that they kept falling off the jars. The paper was too thick and didn't like the bend.

A re-do was needed. And I saw the following as I was roaming the aisles of Michael's with a 50% off coupon in my pocket. The colors were perfect for my laundry room and so it came home with me.

I wanted to print the labels directly on the Washi Tape and I didn't find any instructions on how to do it. I thought that if I put it on a shiny paper and ran it through the printer it would peel off. It took several experiments. I learned that the inkjet ink just bubbled up on the tape and I couldn't feed discarded Silhouette mat protective sheets through the laser printer. But I did find a procedure, that worked. It involves print twice on the same paper and requires care.

I used  Hammerill Color Laser Gloss Paper (32lb) as a base. It has a very glossy surface yet can be printed on by a laser printer.

I created a document on my computer with the labels I wanted for the jars, one label per line. I played around with fonts and sizes looking for the correct combination. When I was satisfied I printed that document on the laser gloss paper first marking the corner that was on top and fed into the printer first. I did this to make it easier to figure out how to feed this same paper through the laser printer again. I used the manual feed tray. You can see the X in the corner. I didn't do this for the first experiment and I printed the second print backwards!

I applied a strip of Washi tape OVER the printed word on the glossy paper and again placed it in the manual feed tray.

I printed exactly the same document a second time. The print appeared on top of the Washi tape. Although the registration wasn't perfect it was close enough (within 1/16").

I printed only one line for this photo. I could have put tape on all 5 lines to feed through but I was still testing and didn't have enough tape to make mistakes.

The part that requires care is next. After you have printed on the tape, you peel it off the glossy paper. The tape does separate from the paper fairly easily but the tape also has a tendency to tear. Go slowly and evenly watching for tears to start on the edges. If they do, stop and help the edge along.

Apply the tape with printed label onto the jar. The Washi Tape did curl from the peeling but it uncurls quite easily.

Use the various colors to create a pattern.

Mine was a simple weave in the corner.

I also took the time to spray paint the lids of the Skippy jars to match.

Simple yet effective......

And much better than the original labels!

Has anyone else developed a technique for printing on Washi Tape?

Previous posts of Interest

• I Always Save.....
• Laundry Room Reveal: Extras and Creative Storage
• Silhouette Learning - Jar Labels

©2013 AshbeeDesign, Marji Roy

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