Digital BW, The Print

Hi Paul,

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Paul Roark" 
<paul.roark@v...> wrote:
> I found when I was trying the water-borne coatings that an initial 
> spray with Lascaux (no UV blockers) helped the water-borne coating 
> adhere.  I'm going to try the Sennelier + water-borne combination 
> one of these days.  The water-borne coatings do seem to go on thick 
> enough to give better physical protection.  I just need a better 
> way to apply them.

Yes, I found the water-borne with coating rods approach may require 
something like a Sennelier fixative to help it stick to the paper. As 
for me I have developed a reliable system that works well for me 
though method of testing is very low-tech (ie. bake the coated prints 
in direct sunlight for a few years).

Here's my approach:

1. Use an airbrush to apply a thin layer of water-borne Golden GAC 
500 (diluted with airbrush transparent extender). This layer protects 
the fragile matte print surface for subsequent applications. The 
airbrush is as easily cleaned as spraying it while holding the inlet 
under the water faucet.

2. After letting the print dry for an hour or so it can now take a 
brayer application of the same liquid. It takes seconds to apply this 
second coat on a large print using a brayer. This is alot less messy 
than coating rods. Prepare your brayer in the same manner you load 
paint on a roller for house painting. Then use a large, dry, soft 
bristle brush to gently sweep across the print surface. This 
magically removes all foam or bubbles from the brayer application. 
Any residual bubbles will also disappear as the polymer dries up.

Such papers as Photo Rag or Hawk Mountain Merlin will look and feel 
very much like a traditional wet processed print. You'll get a mild 
sheen but not glaring glossiness. But this is just a matter of 
personal taste. The more layers you apply the glossier it gets. 
Golden self leveling acrylic will give you incredible dmax with maybe 
a bit too much sheen - I only use this for some special application, 
and it must be thinned and brush applied. I just wanted some 
additional dmax and the ability to use a heat press so the GAC 500 
should suffice. I did try the Golden polymer varnish with UVLS but it 
yellows so much I quit using it.

Overall this is a very easy process for coating inkjet prints.

--nick