Richard,
After a lot of testing I finally settled upon ClearStar Clearshield
Water based varnish.
I mix equal parts ClearShield 20° Satin LL and ClearShield Matte LL.
I am printing on Han. Photo Rag with Cone Piezotone inks.
I have found that key is to apply two very thin coats of the varnish.
I find the 50:50 mix described above to be very good at preserving d-
max, minimal print darkening and virtually no change in the highlight
density.
Too much Matte and the blacks loose density. Other varnishes I have
tried darken the mid-tones and hilights.
If I plan to varnish the print, I add an adjustment curve in
Photoshop to the image. The curve has only one point. It moves the
50% to about 42%. This compensates for the mid-tone density increase
you will get from the varnish.
The correct and consistent application of the varnish is key.
Application technique I use:
To coat an 8x10 size print:
I use a 1" diameter foam roller.
Pour a 3-4 in inch diameter pool of varnish mixture in the center of
a tray (I use an old porcelain coated metal tray)
Roll the roller to ensure it is equally distributed around the roller.
If the Roller is dry (as at the beginning of a varnishing session)
you may need to use a bit more varnish to get the proper saturation
of the roller.
I apply one very light initial coat. Not so light that you have to
roll over and over and over to get it covered, but not so thick that
you have bubbles or white milky patches. The milky appearance will
dry down clear, but applying too much varnish affects the finish and
the print tone. The key is that putting too much varnish on causes
more problems than too little.
However, if your roller is too dry it becomes tacky and can actually
pull flecks out of the print and leave whit specks.
It isn't nearly as difficult as it sounds to get this right.
One of the great things about this varnish is that it dries quickly.
You can apply the second coat about 5 minutes after the first. As
soon as it is dry to the touch.
I make sure that I haven't left any small particles or lint in the
surface of the print. If there is anything there, I use a set of
needle nosed tweezers or an X-acto knife to carefully take it out
without damaging the surface of the print.
The second coat is nearly identical to the first. You can actually
have the roller a bit more saturated than the first. The key is to
not leave apparent lines in finish where the roller edge rolled. You
want to apply the second coat quickly, if you have to go back over a
rolled area to smooth it out and it has dried for 20-30 seconds the
may cause more problems than it helps.
If you are using nice, light coats it isn't a problem to apply
another light coat on time you you need to even things out.
Be careful if you are doing a bunch of prints. The varnish can dry on
the roller, in the tray, and in the container you use to store the
varnish and show up as big white blobs on the print when you roll it
on. This is easy to remove and fix as you are putting it on and is
usually only a minor nuisance, but if you let it dry on the print it
is a pain to remove. I actually use a light sandpaper to smooth it
down and then apply another coat on top.
I have been very happy with this product and technique.
Positive impact to the look of the print
Increased longevity
Non-toxic,
Easy to apply
Easy to fix problems or issues during and after application
Clean-up with soap and water
Very fast dry time
Prints can be stacked the next day with no concern of prints adhering
to each other.
James Haney
<<
> On Sep 8, 2007, at 10:59 PM, Richard Smallfield wrote:
>
>> Hi,
>> I wondered how a glossy uv shield (water-based) would look on a
>> matte paper such as Entrada.
>>
>> I use exclusively matte papers, but for some night shots a
>> glossier finish might be nice and wondered if this might be a way
>> to get a lustre finish with the art papers.
>>
>> I attended a wonderful exhibition at Two Rooms Gallery in Auckland
>> (NZ) of Fiona Pardington's work. And lamented my inability to
>> replicate that FB lustre finish, which made me think ...>>
>>
> >>
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