Digital BW, The Print

"Paul" <paulmwhiting@...> wrote:

> I use ... the R1800/3MK approach. I use Premier Art FineArt paper sprayed with PremierArt Print Shield and have submitted a sample print to Aardenburg. Now at the 40 Megalux-hours mark and doing well.

It's doing very well indeed.

By the way, there is another combination of spraying that should be tested.  The Print Shield has a very volatile base that evaporates so quickly that in some hot dry places it hits the paper as hard little balls.  This very volatile base appears to cause it to, relatively, sit on the surface as opposed to soaking in and surrounding the carbon particles and paper base (or coating).

Before a large company's threats drove Livick's fade testing off the web, he appeared to find that a combination of the lighter, less volatile Lascaux Fixativ applied first, and then the UV containing Print Shield second improved lightfastness.

Whether this was due to the different characteristics of the sprays or just because it resulted in a thicker coat is uncertain.  

It appears there are somewhat better fade results with the water based UV Eco coating from Premier Art than with the solvent based Print Shield, probably due to the thickness of the coat.  A Golden paints tech once told me that, all else being equal (thickness, amount of UV component, etc.) the solvent based products are more effective.  The water borne ones are like "gooey golf balls," with gaps between them that do not fill in all that well.  

I never did have much luck with the water based sprays.  

For those who have not used these products, note that the solvent based sprays keep matte paper looking like a matte print, with a slightly decreased dmax.  The water borne materials turn the matte print into more of a glossy print, with an increased dmax.  But, getting an even coating is a trick.  I had good luck with a Mayer rod for 8x10 prints, but I had trouble scaling up the process to larger prints.  A good spray booth seems to be the answer for service bureaus. 

One other failed experiment I might note: I tried to use my vacuum easel to pull the coating down into the paper and eliminate bubbles.  However, not enough air could get through the paper with my system to make it work.

Still, seeing a dmax of 2.5 on Arches Hot Press uncoated paper, not to mention a water proof, tough surface, did get my attention and keeps me reading these coating threads.  I think the aliphatic (non-yellowing backbone, as opposed to the aromatic) polyurethanes do deserve some attention.  I also found an aliphatic epoxy that was low in viscosity, but the manufacturer warned me that it still yellowed.  



> ... I spray outside, 

I use an open, cross-ventilated garage, and I still wear goggles and hold my breath. 

> weather permitting, ... Montana ...

A seasonal sport ...

I try to avoid these toxic sprays altogether.  Carbon on cotton is so solid more is not needed for fine art.  The Noritsu-Epson dyes are good enough for my glossy work and have no artifacts that need to be hidden by a toxic spray or gooey glop.


Paul
www.PaulRoark.com