Digital BW, The Print

Hi Mark,
I read this a few times.. I can only offer a few thoughts .. When you describe them as looking like scratches..even so they are separations.. If their only occurring where the hinges are then it gets narrowed down a bit I think.. Paper moves .. not like canvas but any wood based product expands and contracts small amounts based on some outside influences.. The glue that is used on the hinges may have inhibited that to some degree and is in conflict with movement that is going on around it.. It's probably a few things in combination.. I don't know how much hinge material was used to support the print but that print has some weight to it and all the stress is on the hinges then passed thru the glue adhesion back to the paper.. Your seeing some buckling you said so their may not have been enough hinge material used to support that size piece. What I will say is that our coatings that are on many of these materials are more fragile then we think ..This whole thing is a complex puzzle.. I'm noticing some negative things that are showing up in some pieces that have been on display for about the length of time your talking.. It's canvas that has been coated with type C ..the coatings in some cases seem to be loosing their clearness ..as if the surface has changed.. It's tied to exposure to light.. no clue what's really going on yet..
I was at an art show yesterday an artist was hawking his wares stating that his inks would not fade at all for 12 years... WTF... I asked him how he knew that ..People are stupid at times.. 
Sorry your going thru this .. 

jimbo

 ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Mark Savoia 
  To: EpsonWideFormat@yahoogroups.com ; DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com 
  Sent: Tuesday, July 05, 2011 9:00 AM
  Subject: [Digital BW] Print "cracking" issue


    
  I made a print for a client about 3 years ago and it is now showing an issue I have never seen before. Here are the specs: print size 43"x60", Hahnemuhle Photo rag 308, Cone Piezotone selenium inks, Epson 9800 printer. The print was framed (not by me) by floating using archival hinges on the back of the print along the top in a semi-deep frame with plexiglass. So the print "floats".

  I went to the clients because he noticed "cracking" of the surface. I louped the "cracks" and they do not look like cracks but more like short scratches - but not the surface, more like the coating, the print surface is not pilled. The "cracks" are only located at the points with the hinges are adhered to the back of the print and where the print has buckled a bit and is touching the plexiglass. It does not look like coating flaking.

  Any ideas out there what it might be? My only thought is the weight of the print is stretching those areas and because they are restricted it is indeed "cracking".

  Mark
  http://www.stillrivereditions.com



  

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