Digital BW, The Print

Going back again to my knowledge of Flexographic printing, we use from time
to time a "Lacquer" on the last deck of the press if we need to have a
glossy look, or if we need to protect from scratches, ozone attack, etc...

To get an even lay-down of lacquer, why not use a second printer and
instead of the ink put lacquer in the cartridge (for ex. black cartridge)
and then print a picture that is 100% black on top of the paper already
printed with the picture you are trying to protect/enhance. You would need
a second printer, but it could be ANY inkjet printer (even 15 yrs old), dpi
would not matter, just amount of ink that is put down. That will give you a
very even and easy-to-use system to coat/protect/enhance pictures...

Only issue is finding the lacquer that will get through the printer without
clogging it. The lacquers we use are not available commercially, but I
might be worth it trying to find something. My guess is anything that does
not have big particles, has similar viscosity and dries slower than the
original ink should work...

Anybody tried this yet????

Maybe it's just random thoughts ;-)
Erik.


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Date: Thu, 07 Mar 2002 14:53:48 -0000
   From: "frankg_photo" <frank@...>
Subject: Re: Any paper that looks like good fiber-based traditional  stuff?

The trick is to
> wipe it on so you don't get lap marks.

I've never tried this but an idea came to mind - if you run a bead of
your wax just outside the picture area on one of the dimensions, then
use a squeegee like you would for removing excess water after a
regular silver print has washed, to spread the wax evenly across the
face ? Maybe that'd give you an even spread ?

But I'm curious, doesn't the wax leave a powdery residue when it
dries or feel sticky to the touch ? Seems like it may degrade rather
than enhance a print ? No ? Just a question really.
frank