Protecting an big inkjet print

[paulr]

I just brought home a 60" wide print from my current project (yikes). It was for a customer, but my printmaker damaged it almost imperceptibly while mounting to the dibond. I'm not ready to shell out $$$ for a frame, so it's going to hang buck naked from a wooden cleat.

I'm worried about protection for the print. Not so much from bumps, but from when it gets dusty and i have to clean it. Doesn't help that we have an open kitchen, which leads to a film of grease accumulating on things.

Lamination is out. I'd also like to avoid things that noticeably alter the surface. I'm assuming that the goop that gets painted over canvas prints would do this. Something Lascaux fixative would be easy and invisible, but I don't know if it provides any real protection.

The print is in epson pigment inks, on Canson baryta paper.

Thoughts?

[Peter De Smidt]

PremierArt Print Shield? (http://www.premierimagingproducts.com/pc_printshield.php)

[Lenny Eiger]

PremierArt Print Shield? (http://www.premierimagingproducts.com/pc_printshield.php)

I've often wondered about this.

I've used this, and a similar product from Lascaux. I've put on 2-3 coats and it seems to just sink in. (It's nice, it doesn't change the image as lamination does.) I'm know it provides some protection, but it seems quite minimal to me.... Have you. or anyone, tried enough coats to really protect a print's surface from the kind of dusting the OP is talking about? How many coats does it take before you can you wipe a damp rag across the print? Is this possible?

Lenny

[Peter De Smidt]

Hi Lenny,

Sorry, that's never been my goal. I used it for awhile on the recommendation of Paul Roark. According to his tests, it lead to the least changes in print appearance of this type of product, and it's done well in the longevity testing at Aardenburg. I decided that for my use (framed prints) that I didn't want to deal with spraying prints.

Paul, you might send Paul Roark a message asking for advice. He's always very helpful, in my experience.

[Greg Miller]

I've often wondered about this.

I've used this, and a similar product from Lascaux. I've put on 2-3 coats and it seems to just sink in. (It's nice, it doesn't change the image as lamination does.) I'm know it provides some protection, but it seems quite minimal to me.... Have you. or anyone, tried enough coats to really protect a print's surface from the kind of dusting the OP is talking about? How many coats does it take before you can you wipe a damp rag across the print? Is this possible?

Lenny

Correct me if I'm wrong, bu this stuff also throws off lots of toxic fumes, so spraying in someone's abode probably is not a good idea.

[Drew Wiley]

It's a butyl acetate lacquer. Good for awhile, not good for your lungs (use a proper spray booth with an explosion-proof fan - or else just the aerosol can under a
fume hood. Not joking. Lacquers like this can violently explode with a spark from an improper spray rig). After a decade or so distinct yellowing will being, then
maybe cracking, depending on substrate compatibility. These kinds of overcoats have been around a long time and their properties are well know. Hardly "archival"
in any true sense. True sheet overcoats are available from numerous sources like MacTac or Seal, but require specialized roll applicators and training. It's important in any of these cases that the inkjet is thoroughly cured, that is, outgassed of glycols, which takes considerably longer than just the apparent dry time.

[paulr]

I just talked to Premier Art. They say the product seals a print and is waterproof, so even if you had water-soluble inks you'd be able clean a print with a wet cloth.

The MSDS says the only hazard is isopropyl alcohol fumes.

This looks a good bet. Thanks for the tip!

[Drew Wiley]

We were posting at the same time, Greg. Sometimes people think I exaggerate about the hazards; but over the years I've seen entire industrial building explode
from improper lacquer booths. It can be like a bomb going off. People I once knew have been instantly vaporized. On slightly smaller scale, all it would take is someone lighting a cigarette when an aerosol spray is in the air and you'd end up with a meth lab scenario of severe ether burns. I find it odd that these kinds of
lacquers can still be sold for hobby use, when equivalent flammable lacquers for cabinet shops have been illegal for quite some time due to safety issues. But
butyl acetate lacquers are now illegal here in Calif even in art stores. Also very very bad for the central nervous system. I know people who constantly incontrollably shake like a leaf due to being around these chemicals. But I mentioned a fume hood - better have a spark-proof motor in that too - but nobody does, so go figure. Think Hindenburg - the blimp incident, that is.

[Drew Wiley]

The MSDS says it's "highly flammable". Get it? At least the solvent isn't acetone or lacquer thinner, but it's still something than can explode aerosolized until the
alchohol dissipates from the surrounding air. And it's still butyl acetate, which is hardly healthy. And it's still illegal around here, for a very good reason. I'm not
saying, don't try it; just use common sense. It's not like a can of Krylon acrylic spray!

[Bruce Watson]

I just brought home a 60" wide print from my current project (yikes). It was for a customer, but my printmaker damaged it almost imperceptibly while mounting to the dibond. I'm not ready to shell out $$$ for a frame, so it's going to hang buck naked from a wooden cleat.

First, what's the substrate? Paper or fabric? The standard for fabrics like canvas is a water based coating. Ask your printmaker -- he's probably already set up to spray / roll coatings on canvas. If it's paper, there are again water based coatings, mostly applied in a spray booth. They can be nearly invisible and not change the look of the print, to anything you want -- take a matte print to full gloss if you want.

So... ask your printmaker.

Alternatively, you could use this "free" print for an experimental mounting. For example, you could experiment with mounting to an aluminum sheet.

Or you could just use push pins in the corners and cease thinking about it at all. :rolleyes:

[vinny]

First, what's the substrate? Paper or fabric? The standard for fabrics like canvas is a water based coating. Ask your printmaker -- he's probably already set up to spray / roll coatings on canvas. If it's paper, there are again water based coatings, mostly applied in a spray booth. They can be nearly invisible and not change the look of the print, to anything you want -- take a matte print to full gloss if you want.

So... ask your printmaker.


The print is in epson pigment inks, on Canson baryta paper.


Alternatively, you could use this "free" print for an experimental mounting. For example, you could experiment with mounting to an aluminum sheet.

Or you could just use push pins in the corners and cease thinking about it at all. :rolleyes:

[Peter Mounier]

I've used a couple of different varnishes in a Command Max hvlp sprayer. I usually only spray on canvas, but I just sprayed a inkjet print on watercolor paper to test it against dusting with a damp cloth. The varnish is for aqueous inks. One brand that I'm presently using is by Breathing Color, named Timeless. I usually spray 4 light coats on a print, but for this test I only sprayed one light coat with some probable overlap. After it dried I wet a cloth and dripped 4 or 5 big water drops on the print and left them there for 30 seconds. Then I wiped the print with total abandon with an already wet cloth for about 15 seconds and there's not even a little bit of a noticeable difference in the surface.
The other brand that I've used is Clearshield Type C.
Both are for aqueous inks and neither are flammable or explosive and they are non-reactive. Here's the msds for Timeless ...
http://www.breathingcolor.com/000_pfw_user_files/site_uploaded/2/images/Timeless_MSDS.pdf

[andy]

If you can manage a large enough space to spray it, I'd go for the breathing color stuff using an HVLP sprayer--it's pretty easy, and you don't have to deal with the fumes and such. I've had good luck with the premier print shield stuff, but only on small prints--it's hard to keep an aerosol can spray even over large areas like that.

of course, make sure to practice and test on other things first.

[Jim Andrada]

Lacquers are freely available in Arizona - all the paint stores have them. They weren't available in the Bay area when I lived there.

[MikeH]

Lacquers are freely available in Arizona - all the paint stores have them. They weren't available in the Bay area when I lived there.

I believe that California has banned these, along with several paint formulations, either in the entire state, or in the metropolitan areas.... which generally will translate into the entire state, because a supplier isn't going to keep 2 formulations where one is being sold in the "low volume" areas...

[Drew Wiley]

Here's how nationwide manufacturer's think: In the long haul, it's best to attempt to make a product that complies everywhere, because it's more cost effective to do that than to brew up a dozen different formulas for different regions. But lacquers are quirky. Things containing solvents that are outright banned as excessively hazardous for use in a cabinet shop, for example, might be allowed in amateur labeling, or even be sold in cumulative massive volume to the cosmetics industry.
In fact, the greatest source of toxic landfill in many cases is actually leftover nail polish! Ever read what goes into some of that stuff, or talk to ER response people, and how many owners and customers of nail polish salons they have to deal with on an annual basis? So there are blatant inconsistencies in how these things are regulated. My first job in this town was actually picking up and delivering drums of this stuff from the local factories to the significant local furniture
industry. I didn't personally get exposed to the fumes that way; but I did see the outcome to worker's health. And then, over the next decade or so, until traditional lacquers were outright banned, did witness what can happen when a spark lands at the wrong time. Half of a city block shattering, an entire rail car
literally disappearing. Windows shattered clear across SF Bay. The weirdest case of all was where the dude was lifted atop a cloud of exploding gas, then safely
landed in someone's garden hedge five blocks away. Quite a thrill ride. There was a similar explosion about four blocks from here. The place was a mess, like
after an earthquake. Some guy beside a lacquer tank had been totally vaporized. Not a trace of him. But they did find his cigarette lighter on the ground!

[Jim Andrada]

Lacquer does make a beautiful finish though!

[paulr]

There's nothing magically awful about lacquers; California has moved ban all oil/alkyd/high VOC finishes for general air quality reasons. The chemicals in the PremierArt spray are flammable and are respiratory irritants, but nothing is especially nasty. I'd wouldn't hesitate to use it with good ventilation. Especially for a one-off kind of project. I used to use stuff in my darkroom that was a lot worse, and am glad I don't anymore.

[Jim Andrada]

I still spray lacquer as a furniture finish. But it's small volume and I'm careful - I use a respirator with appropriate cartridges as well as gloves and only spray outdoors. I'm thinking to give Deft water based lacquer a try next time. And I use oil based finishes - so far the "latex" stuff makes a sh-tty finish - too soft and rubbery, can't be sanded, etc etc. Looks more like congealed snot than paint IMHO.

[f5top8]

My suggestion would be to keep it within what ever protective sleeve it was delivered.in Sadly since you would have to spray something on the surface I do not think there is any way around avoiding the goop. And even after you spray something in the surface you still have to clean it. I personally think Bruce Watson is asking all the correct questions this way you get the perfect fit since your only option is a spray.

Best,
F5top8