Digital BW, The Print

Does this product work as well as the normal PremierArt Print Shield?
 My wife is pretty sensitive to chemicals and I think she would kill
me if I sprayed the normal Print Shield in the house.

>Does this product work as well as the normal PremierArt Print Shield?

The water-based coating are very different, in my experience, than the
solvent based ones.  On matte paper, I usually want no visible change in
appearance from a solvent-based spray.  That's not going to happen with the
water-based coatings.  They go on thick and will turn a matte paper into
more of a glossy one.  I think the potential is huge, but getting an even
coat is tricky, and it's a lot more work.  I think shops that have the
proper spraying equipment and spray booths may be the only way to go with
them.

I have not used the water based coatings on glossy papers very much.  I've
tried some sprays that were less than the HVLP spray equipment, and the
results have not been very good.  With practice I might be able to get
there, but I have not done so yet.

So, I stick with the solvent based Lascaux for matte unless UV protection is
needed, then it's Print Shield.  But, I always spray in an open garage, with
goggles and with a respirator if the circumstances are such that I might
have to breathe while spraying. 

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com

I gave up on sprays and solvents.

It is true that most of the water based products darken the print  
tones severely.

I posted a pretty exhaustive description of my technique recently.  
Search the archives. If you can't find it let me know and I will dig  
it up for you.

I roll on Clearstar water based varnish. I couldn't be happier.


James Haney




On Oct 9, 2007, at 10:55 PM, chriskjezp wrote:

> Does this product work as well as the normal PremierArt Print Shield?
> My wife is pretty sensitive to chemicals and I think she would kill
> me if I sprayed the normal Print Shield in the house.
>
>
> 



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

James,

I've read your post #87508 with great interest. I will have to try this.

Do you feel that using this technique, you could display the prints
without glass or acrylic for long periods of time? Would it allow for
unframed full time display?

Denis Bouchard

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, James Haney
<lists@...> wrote:

>
> I gave up on sprays and solvents.
> 
> It is true that most of the water based products darken the print  
> tones severely.
> 
> I posted a pretty exhaustive description of my technique recently.  
> Search the archives. If you can't find it let me know and I will dig  
> it up for you.
> 
> I roll on Clearstar water based varnish. I couldn't be happier.
> 
> 
> James Haney
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On Oct 9, 2007, at 10:55 PM, chriskjezp wrote:
> 
> > Does this product work as well as the normal PremierArt Print Shield?
> > My wife is pretty sensitive to chemicals and I think she would kill
> > me if I sprayed the normal Print Shield in the house.
> >
> >
> > 
> 
> 
> 
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

> Do you feel that using this technique, you could display the prints
> without glass or acrylic for long periods of time? Would it allow for
> unframed full time display?



Absolutely,

In fact, the mix I recommend in the post (50% Gloss, 50% Satin)  
yields a finish that is smooth, but not reflective, so you don't have  
problems with reflections on glass obscuring the image. And it is not  
so matte that it reduces d-max.

I built my varnish compensation curve by printing a 21 step wedge,  
varnishing it, then reading the densities to determine the amount of  
mid-tone darkening that I needed to compensate for. With a higher  
satin percentage the d-max actually declined, with more gloss the d- 
max increased, but I didn't like the finish as much. With the 50-50  
mix the d-max matches the unvarnished print.

As to permanence: there was an artist on-line named Livick, who did  
an extensive set of UV fading tests with different inksets, sprays  
and varnishes. He found this Clearstar varnish to be the best aid to  
long term fade resistance for inkjet prints.

He actually recommends putting an initial coat of Lascaux Fixativ on  
the print surface prior to applying the varnish, but I wanted to  
completely eliminate the toxic solvent factor.

There are times when rolling the first coat on that the roller (if it  
is overly dry) has picked up flakes of the print surface and created  
white specks. And if I the roller is too wet and I have to roll  
"aggressively" to even out the initial coat, I have seen a tint of  
ink rolled on to the surrounding white border of the print. So the  
roller is pulling ink from the surface of the print. I haven't seen  
this create problems with the image. Spraying an initial coat of  
fixative like Lascaux or Print Shield (they smell like the same thing  
- nasty!) seals the print and eliminates this issue, but I don't  
think it is worth the pain. I have just learned exactly how wet the  
roller needs to be to apply one light initial coat without  
"aggressive" rolling.

Another plus: I have washed off dirty prints with water and a sponge,  
no problem.

As well, if there are slight surface imperfections or the surface  
gets scuffed by handling, you can actually use fine sandpaper to sand  
the surface of the varnish then apply a new coat on top. It works  
like a charm.

I haven't found anything to not like about this technique, and I have  
tried a lot of different options.

I think the biggest reason to put prints behind glass is to keep the  
mat from getting dirty.

James

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]