Digital BW, The Print

bjpm77 <fnbjm1@...> wrote:

>I thought that Hydrocote was now the final stage in your workflow,
>but from what you say about spraying a fixative to set the high-load
>pigs, this doesn't seem to be the case. Are you not regularly using
>Hydrocote?

I've been side-tracked from the wire-rod coating.  I do not coat everything.
I have a show that I'm preparing for and inksets that I'm trying to perfect.
For the show, most of the pieces are going to be traditional matte under
glass (acrylic).  With respect to the new inksets, I want to perfect the
matte printing before going the next step to coating.

A light fixative (three very light coats) is not a big deal to me.  It has
no effect on the image, but the pigs don't rub off easily.  I can easily do
this in my garage with no breathing or equipment.  There are aerosols that
are very archival and work fine.

I'm also interested in RC papers for a number of reasons -- easy dynamic
range, relatively tough surface, maybe even better pigment encapsulation if
coated.  If an Epson Archival pigment-based vm-s gives me 100+ years on an
RC with a 2.0 dmax with no coating or other work, a look that I like
(questionable), and a surface that doesn't get ruined with the slightest
touch, that may be hard for me to resist.

>I spent quite a bit of time trying to get even coatings (using a
>Mayer #30)and finally achieved a good result. Alas, I found I didn't
>care for the appearance of the coated print as much as the smooth
>matte surface, even with the better dmax, so I abandoned the
>practice. But I thought you were fully into it. Not so?

I'm fully into making the best looking B&W prints with the easiest process.
I'm trying several promising alternative approaches to get there.  I think
the gallery market will want truly archival matte paper under glass.  Lots
of people like the glossy or RC look.  I personally like matte, but I don't
like the sensitivity of the surface to damage, and I don't like glass --
which defeats a lot of the matte advantage.  An archival, matte RC with a
dmax of 2 and an abrasion-resistant surface might be a very interesting
product.  I doubt that it currently exists, but I think it could.

Paul
http://www.PaulRoark.com
___________________________________




"Paul Roark" <paul.roark@v...> wrote:
> I have previously mentioned that I occasionally notice increased
unevenness
> in the "high-load" black pigs I've been printing.  I think I've
made some
> progress with these now.
>
> The short answer is that turning off "High Speed" printing on my
1160 seems
> to get rid of the vertical lines/marks that have appeared in some
of my dark
> black skies.
>
> As background, what I call "high-load" pigments are those that use
one of
> the new bases that allows pigmented inks to carry a higher content
of
> pigment.  Whereas the older pigments contained up to about 3%
pigment, the
> new ones are up in the 6% to higher range.  The UltraChromes and
the
> PiezoTone Museum black are currently-available samples that come
to mind,
> but these pigments will be increasingly available.
>
> The good news with respect to the high-load pigments includes the
increased
> gamut of the color pigs and the deeper black that can be achieved
without
> any dye.
>
> The bad news may be increase sensitivity to damage that this big
pile of
> pigment on the paper causes.  I think this puts the image at
greater risk of
> physical abrasion, among other things.  (I may spray a light
archival
> fixative on even my matte images to protect them.)
>
> The vertical lines I've been seeing in my black skies may be
mechanical
> marks put on a more-exposed pile of pigments on the surface of the
paper.
> With the "High Speed" off these pigs, perhaps, have more time to
dry and
> thus resist damage done by the 1160's rollers.
>
> Paul
> http://www.PaulRoark.com