TESTING- Submersing paper wallets printed on water proof papers

This thread had me do some thinking and searching for the best paper I can use for paper wallets and paper wallets for our collectable loaded items as well.

Only compatible with Laser printers...NOT inkjets.

I will also be testing another water proof paper by https://www.riteintherain.com/ as well

Testing Revlar as well.

I have come across Terra Slate paper touted as The most durable paper on the planet.

TerraSlate is acid-free and is great for archival use.

https://terraslatepaper.com/

https://terraslatepaper.com/pages/faq

They even place the paper in a dishwasher to test it!!

https://youtu.be/kWwkd-1LCEc

TerraSlate Paper has proven to be the world's most tear-proof & waterproof laser printer paper. Compatible with ballpoint pens, copy machines, laser printer and digital presses, TerraSlate is a synthetic paper that never needs laminating.

TerraSlate was developed to be durable, tear-proof and waterproof in order to withstand rain, heat up to 450 degrees, temperature variations, all while repelling grease, solvents and chemicals.

TerraSlate weatherproof paper offers superior laser image quality with the appearance, smoothness and printability of standard paper; and works great in most any standard laser printer or digital press. Most importantly, TerraSlate weatherproof paper is more cost-effective to use and has a much more professional look than laminating.

Well, I bought some and conducted an experiment to see if this is so....

One of our main fears with paper wallets is water damage.
So I printed out a set of private and pub keys, printed and conducted 2 different experiments..

The first was to just dip the wallet into the water for a few seconds and let dry...
Passed with flying colors...was able to scan the qr codes easily and also no damage done whatsoever.

For the second test I placed the wallet under water in a tall glass for at least 12 hours....
Again it passed with flying colors. No damage and QR codes read easily via my mycellium wallet app.

I have to say I am very impressed with these papers and will use for my project as well as any paper wallets that I have.

As per request from Mbitr will do as follows>> I will place under water for 2 weeks...test and place and leave in the glass for a loong time and every few weeks will test and place again...and on and on Cheesy

. Will update this thread monthly on results.

2nd December 2020 One wallet dipped in for a few seconds and tested afterwards> Passed

2nd December 2020 One Wallet submerged under water for 12 hours and tested afterwards> Passed

3rd December 2020 One wallet, same of yesterday using TerraSlate paper submersed until>>

3rd December 2020 Ordered another type of waterproof paper by https://www.riteintherain.com/. Will submerse once received and give same test

7th December 2020 Rite in the rain arrived...submersed under water

9th December 2020 Tested....read QR...no problem..company sending me Duracopy...will test as well

11th December 2020 Tested....read QR terra and riterain...changed water and ADDED REVLAR paper wallet

27th December 2020 Tested....read QR terra,Revlar and riterain...changed water and ADDED DURACOPY paper wallet

22nd January 2021 Tested....read QR terra,Revlar and riterain,Duracopy...changed water

12th February 2021 Tested....read QR terra,Revlar and ,Duracopy...changed water Removed riterain...still readable but turning brownish color. The rest are still the same

12th April 2021 Tested....read QR Terra, Revlar and Duracopy...changed water

19th July 2021 Tested....read QR Terra, Revlar and Duracopy...changed water

4th October 2021 Tested....read QR Terra, Revlar and Duracopy...changed water

20th March 2022 Tested....read QR Terra, Revlar and Duracopy...changed water

13th June 2022 Tested....read QR Terra, Revlar and Duracopy...changed water

11th September 2022 Tested....read QR Terra, Revlar and Duracopy...changed water

3rd February 2023 Tested....read QR Terra, Revlar and Duracopy...changed water

28 April 2023 Tested....read QR Terra, Revlar and Duracopy...changed water and added regular paper

2nd July 2023 Tested....read QR Terra, Revlar, Duracopy and regular paper...changed water

11th September 2023 Tested....read QR Terra, Revlar, Duracopy and regular paper...changed water...added loaded wallet.

27th November 2023 Tested....read QR Terra, Revlar, Duracopy and loaded paper wallet...still loaded! Threw out regular paper.

1st March 2024 Tested....read QR Terra, Revlar, Duracopy and loaded paper wallet...still loaded!

8th May 2024 Tested....read QR Terra, Revlar, Duracopy and loaded paper wallet also added stone paper...still loaded!

8th August 2024 Tested....read QR Terra, Revlar, Duracopy and loaded paper wallet also added stone paper...still loaded!

7th Ocotober 2024 Tested....read QR Terra, Revlar, Duracopy and loaded paper wallet also added stone paper...still loaded!

This is important to note:

Quote

Note that TerraSlate is not compatible with inkjet printers as water-based ink does not adhere well to waterproof paper.

And the riteintherain paper:

Quote

COMPATIBILITY:
Photo or laser print both sides. Not for inkjet printers.

Quote from: odolvlobo on December 05, 2020, 07:47:52 PM

This is important to note:

Quote

Note that TerraSlate is not compatible with inkjet printers as water-based ink does not adhere well to waterproof paper.

And the riteintherain paper:

Quote

COMPATIBILITY:
Photo or laser print both sides. Not for inkjet printers.

So true...i tried inkjet and nothing really printed..so it would be very obvious inkjet would not be compatable. Laserprint is the way I am testing...but thanks for highlighting that fact.

Updated OP as well

I can confirm through our own testing that these types of paper are indeed water resistant.

Laser based keys do not get damaged in water either.

We tested this by actually placing a polymer Polymerbit note at the bottom of a lake to see if there was any impact.

Also strong streams/jets of water do not cause an impact either from what we saw.

Quote from: polymerbit on December 05, 2020, 08:49:20 PM

Thankyou for sharing that...good to know

I have been using Revlar for a while now.
https://www.relyco.com/products/synthetic-paper/revlar-premium-synthetic-paper/
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5141818

PM me your address (I know I have it someplace) and I'll get a few sheets out to you this week.
Works well, very tough.

Many people use it for archival reasons, it was recommended to me by several people who need it and did a lot of research before choosing it.
Waterproof and really tough. Can't rip it have to cut it.

-Dave

Rite in the rain arrived...submersed under water. This is tearable paper unlike Terra Slate...though rite in the rain also sell Duracopy which is similar to Terra slate and I might need to also get for this experiment.

Quote from: krogothmanhattan on December 07, 2020, 10:40:16 PM

Thanks for this interesting thread of great contribution to the community Wink

awaiting final conclusions about this Rite in the rain Cheesy

Quote from: krogothmanhattan on December 07, 2020, 10:40:16 PM

Interesting thought(s),

I wonder how much would the quality and additives in the local water matter to the effect on the paper. Some places put in a lot more anti-microbial / bacterial / etc. Due to more "stuff" in the local supply.

Will a new HP printer with OEM toner stick the toner to the paper better then a 7 year old Brother printer with some generic toner bought off eBay. Or will the cheap toner stick better?

-Dave

Quote from: DaveF on December 08, 2020, 12:19:27 PM

Quote from: krogothmanhattan on December 07, 2020, 10:40:16 PM

  Great questions indeed and I am sure any chemicals in the water will effect any type of material subject to it being immersed into.

  I also have come across some great water proof capsules HRX Package Outdoor Waterproof EDC Survival Container Capsule, Airtight Aluminum Pill Bottle Match Seal Storage Case Camping Essentials Emergency Tool
One can roll the paper wallets or qr codes and store inside.

  And, what better place to place your paper wallets but in a fire Fireproof Document Bag Legal Size: 11" x 15" Fire Proof Bag with Waterproof Coating to Protect Important Documents from Fire, Bug Out Bags

Quote from: DaveF on December 07, 2020, 01:30:28 AM

Dave...Revlar received...thankyou! Added a wallet in the water with the other two.

How does the Revlar "feel" vs. the other ones.
You would never mistake it for regular paper, do the other other feel more or less paper like or all they all about the same?
I know to keep the non tear features it will never have a 100% paper feel but something a bit softer would not be bad.

-Dave

Quote from: DaveF on December 11, 2020, 04:12:46 PM

Rite in the rain feels like paper the most...and it tears and a bit soggy.

Terra and Revlar...look and feel similar.

Scanned all submersed paper wallets just fine. Almost a month under water for the starter one. Added Duracopy with the rest.

So now we have RitenRain, Duracopy, Revlar and TerraSLate. Changed the water and filled to the top.

For people who have paper wallets and are interested sweeping with private keys offline first then broadcasting raw transaction without ever exposing the private keys this article should be of interested to you. One member showed interest and I made a thread on it using an air gapped cell phone with a hot cell phone and also if preferring a laptop along an air gapped cell both using Electrum. https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5303860.msg55941150#msg55941150

Remember there is always a chance you can sweep a paper wallet using a hot wallet and if malware or a virus is present they can sweep your keys before you can. This method can eliminate that possibility and you will have a chance to double check the transmission amount and btc addy it is going to.

thanks for this - I am going to start using this paper for all the ones I generate for the chips I sell and/or fund.

Quote from: MoparMiningLLC on December 27, 2020, 09:10:36 PM

thanks for this - I am going to start using this paper for all the ones I generate for the chips I sell and/or fund.

PM me your address I'll send you a few sheets of revlar to play with.
Since it is hard and thick (heh heh heh he said it's hard and think) it might not be the easiest to get under the holograms of coins and such.

Much like the ones I sent to krogoth they are not white matched since most of them come from different batches.
Doing stuff like this it does not matter, but for archival contracts that fill binders it's noticeable. Different shades of white paper, 20 years ago I never would have thought that would be an issue in my life.

-Dave

Quote from: DaveF on December 28, 2020, 01:30:45 AM

Quote from: MoparMiningLLC on December 27, 2020, 09:10:36 PM

thanks for this - I am going to start using this paper for all the ones I generate for the chips I sell and/or fund.

  Using yours and the others with no issue whatsoever. I actually am printing the private key twice in two different formats, I am placing the keys on one paper and then printing the QR code on the other.Its more time consuming for me but I feel its worth it.

This way when people are using whatever wallet to redeem, they will have the option of either placing the keys one by one, or scanning via QR code.

   And at the same time its waterproof so no worries about a flood. Wink

I don't have any of these water proof papers, so what I've been doing is painting or brushing my normal paper laser print outs with some white glue (elmer's glue.)

The intent is to cover the paper in transparent epoxy resin after the white glue is dry. That makes it hard too (some 9500 psi hard or something). It's not fireproof at that point but that's what a safe is for.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxL59BgzNPY

This is a video of paper permanently encased in transparent epoxy resin. Just replace the dollar bills with your paper wallet.

Quote from: Dabs on December 30, 2020, 08:03:39 PM

I did the resin test with some QR codes as seen in this photo...then placed in my aquarium. What better place to protect my paper wallet than at the bottom of my shark tank! Cheesy

What I did have to do is laminate the QR code first then pour the resin, which heats up quite a bit. And I recommend doing it outdoors as the fumes can be quite strong.