Digital BW, The Print

John,

>I've used this Lyson spray for 4 years on all media. It works great, 
>just like the Premier Art. Most likely these are the same 
>chemical components.

That is my conclusion also.  Premier Imaging hates it when we say this, and
they claim theirs is a unique product.

> It is just that big Wilhelm hasn't tested the [Lyson] Printguard 
>and published fade data about it

Wilhelm has, apparently, become too expensive for all but the big companies.
That is a shame.  I'm told -- and rumors should probably not even be spread,
but what the heck -- that Premier Imaging principals are person friends of
Wilhelm and got a special deal.

>so they [Lyson] are loosing out in sales to Premier, BIG TIME. 
>That is probably a disgrace, ...

Wilhelm testing is really important to the field, but, yes, it is sad that
it ends up being a bit discriminatory.  Even if I did comparative fade
testing and found Lyson to be equal, it would not have the impact of a
Wilhelm blessing.

>I have a good filtered mask that I bought from home depot for 
>about $28.00. With one of these masks you won't smell anything 
>or damage your brain. Also it is important to wear 
>goggles because when doing very large things you can damage 
>your eyes over time. 

I saw those at Home Depot but was not sure if there are special types of
respirators for different solvent mixes.  Did you find any studies or
recommendations on these masks?

>The only down side to the uv sprays is that they can reduce the 
>d-max in very deep blacks ...

This is only with matte papers.  With glossy, Semigloss, and Semimatte
papers they increase the dmax with at least the MIS pigs.

>In that case I use Lascaux,...

It seems to soak in more because the solvent mix is less volatile.  Some in
very dry or hot climates have trouble with the Print Shield/Guard starting
to dry even before it hits the paper.  Some also think the Lascaux, due to
it soaking in more, might be better in term of binding the pigments to the
coating.  I'm going to see if that characteristic might be useful as a first
coat or two under the Print Shield.

>[Lascaux] spray stops the scratching and scuffing and protects 
>against moisture but doesn't protect agains UV. 

I assume that is why I see the Premier Art spray helping with respect to
fade resistance, whereas Lascaux is mostly neutral in that respect.

I notice that PremierArt is selling the Print Shield in large volumes.  I'm
wondering if some other type a sprayer might be able to lower the cost of
this stuff.  I have a "Preval" sprayer that has a good nozzle and might be
an alternative even for relatively low volume users.  See
http://www.prevalspraygun.com/ 

I expect this area of coatings to continue to evolve.  I'm still fascinated
with the potential of the super coatings like the 2-component aliphatic
polyurethanes.  There is even a low viscosity, aliphatic epoxy.  Ultimately,
what would be ideal is a coating that acts as an oxygen barrier.  Most of
the fading is, apparently, oxidation.  So, if one can exclude the oxygen,
maybe the fading would be virtually eliminated.

Got to go out a spray a print now.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com 






Paul
www.PaulRoark.com