I'm not necessarily a beginner but I don't know quite where to stick this.
Problem. I want to print a nice Thank You card for a someone who has helped me very much. My software & paper are no problem, but I notice that whenever I print something, if it gets the slightest bit wet, it runs. Is there something I could apply to the finished product to retard this? I have a Brother, and I have'nt seen any specialty inks, outside of glossy for photos. Thanks for your help.

You didn't think the Printers forum was appropriate?

Frankly, I would suggest switching printers. Both HP and Epson have durable inks that are water resistant.

There are several possible causes for this.

1) You are not using the correct media. The paper has to be able to absorb the ink into its fibers.

2) The ink you are using is not original factory ink. Sometimes third party ink or refilled cartridges will cause this.

3) The card you are using is to thick and rubbing the front of the printhead as it passes by.

I am most suspect of the card stock myself. Please make sure that the card can be used in an inkjet printer.

Thanks, Scott and donf. I'll respond to both in this message.
To Scott: Oops about the printer thing, I was tired. As far as printer replacement, I just bought this printer, (Brother MFC 240C,) almost a year ago, and I can't frankly afford to go out and get another one right now. This problem has been ongoing since I bought it, and my girlfriend's HP does the same thing, which leads to donf. We both use original ink. I had a bad experience with aftermarket ink once and learned my lesson. Secondly, this problem happens on my regular paper too. And I tend to buy Georgia Pacific. The cardstock that I just bought is Avery #3297 half fold cards. It says inkjet right on the box. I haven't printed the card yet, outside of a trial run on regular paper. I want this to be right, and I know that my printer has this problem. Once it prints, I let the sheets dry and then reload to do the printing of the other side. Everything comes out fine, but if you leave the paper near, say a water ring from a glass, sure enough it starts to run.
I had heard that I could use aerosal hair spray but the problem is I can't find any anymore. I went to Micheals crafts, and got some clear varnish sealer. I think that will be too heavy, but I'll try and see if it works. Thanks for your help though! It gives me an idea of what to look for when my Brother kicks up the daisies.

Hmm, That's surprising that HP inks would do that. At least not the new Vivera inks. I've had issue with some older inks not drying quickly, but once they do, they are pretty smudge proof.

Have you tried using a hair dryer to dry the ink?

I've seen a photo printed on an Epson immersed in a jar of water and the ink not running.

Media for an ink jet is a nightmare. Remember, Ink must be absorbed into the paper. If the paper is to fibrous, it will cause blurring of the colors.

Likewise "Copier" paper is made to hold the image on top of the page until it is fused t the paper. It does this by placing a charge on the paper that attracts and holds the toner.

Two very distinct methodologies are at work here.

Make sure you have the correct paper. If you are using Brother's factory ink, then you can certainly contact the Brother Technical Support System and let them know you have a print quality problem.

I'm more of a business Laser Code and Mechanicals guy. I worked in Lexmark Tech support for 15 years before I retired. So I have a familarity with Lexmark ink jets, I am not the font of all knowledge on them. I really worked mostly on printer code and emulations (PCL, PCXL, PPDS, Postscript) when I was a real person (before retirement).