After a good deal of experimentation with mixed-media-transfer I cannot but conclude there’s no substitute to using Xerox photocopies instead of inkjet printouts. Not only the Xerox transfer is more stable and therefore you have more control over it (which can also be a bad thing if you like the unexpected) but also the transfer is guarantee to last longer than an inkjet transfer will. The problem with the ink is that it has a shorter life span and sadly it does not handle water very well, so just a little bit of moisture can do great harm to your masterpiece.
Honestly, I’m not that happy about these findings mainly because I very much rather using inkjet printouts as I can print out whatever I want on the fly, and that’s how I prefer working, without extra planning. But it is what it is.
Anyway, the main reason I’m writing about mixed-media-transfer yet again, is that I would like to recommend that if you are interested in doing image transfers, do consider the mixed-media thing. I myself like it very much because of the special appearance of the end result and because it involves the therapeutic process of tearing, assembling and pasting. I often use found objects, meaning movie tickets, used stamps, spam mail, newspapers etc. Actually one of my favorite things to use is the little paper bag they put my sushi in at Whole Foods, it has red stripes and it states “stay cool” so I try to stay cool and I use these paper bags in every mixed media piece I make. The reason I mention it is that not only the mixed-media-transfer has a unique appearance; it is also Earth friendly and a much better way to recycle; no doubt it is the most energy efficient recycling method.
And by the way, before you transfer the image onto these mixed media things, you can scan them and use them as backgrounds with your texture layer technique.