Gloss Spray for matte fineart inkjet paper

[Bobby Sandstrom]

Is there a way to give a Matte Hannamule(spelling) paper a "Gloss" finish? Is there any material that would emulate the gelatin you'd find on a silver-gelatin paper? The depth you get on a matte vs glossy inkjet paper is pretty incredible. I'm hoping to be able to coat it to get more of a traditional print look.

Thanks for your help.

bob

[David Luttmann]

Bobby,

The only Gloss spray I ever tried was from a company called "Inkjet Fix." Their matte spray is great.....the gloss spray was the worst piece of garbage I could imagine. No matter what I did, I could not get an even gloss finish on the paper.

Just my 0.02

[Brett Deacon]

For what it's worth, I use Premier Art Print Shield on my watercolor prints, and though it allegedly provides UV and related protection, it has no absolutely no discernable gloss-like effect on the paper.

[Bruce Watson]

Inkjet prints are inkjet prints. They have their own look, as any media has its own look. If you really want the fabled "air dried fiber darkroom print" look, the best way to get it is to head for the darkroom.

If you insist on trying to imitate another medium, know that there must be way more than 50 different products out there for lamination. Hot lamination, cold, spray, roller, brush, whatever. You can use a hot "pouch" type laminate and get a look like a plastic placemat even. But I don't know of anything that will give you the darkroom look that you want.

One of the coatings I like is made by Liquitex. I use about 1/3 gloss and 2/3 matte and get a pleasing coating for canvas prints. But it doesn't look like an air dried fiber darkroom print by a long shot. I don't coat the print for the look really - I coat it for the UV and dirt/dust protection since I display the print in a frame without any glazing. It's a look all it's own, something that darkroom prints can't touch.

If it's any comfort, you are not alone. Many, many people want exactly what you are after. So if you find anything that works for you, please report back.

[Ed K.]

Hi Bobby,

Funny you should mention this. I tried several of the gloss sprays. Using nearly a whole can of the stuff, it did end up sort of getting there. I decided that "real" B&W photos looked better and probably would last longer. It would seem odd that one would want to take a glorious perfect matte finish and then add gloss! But then, I understand what you're up to.

While I have not tried it, aqueous coating machines are fairly reasonable ( about a grand and up ). Some service shops have them too, and will coat your print in a nice gloss that puts the print bellow the surface. Better than a spray, and cheaper too. Probably better for the print, however I'll defer to others on that one. Google the coating stuff and machines, you'll turn up some interesting ideas worth looking into. Chances are, one of those gloss management printers might be cheaper overall though.

[Bobby Sandstrom]

Interesting stuff so far. I'm not looking for a replacement for my darkroom printing. Just thought it might be interesting to see how that rich looking matte print would look with a gloss. A look all it's own I'm sure. It wouldn't surprise me if inkjet paper manufacturers were working diligently on an "post printing" overcoat for matte paper. Might be just the ticket!

Thanks all for your replies.

bob

[Kirk Gittings]

"Inkjet prints are inkjet prints. They have their own look, as any media has its own look. If you really want the fabled "air dried fiber darkroom print" look, the best way to get it is to head for the darkroom."

Right on.

Actually glass is the great equalizer between matt ink, gloss ink and traditional silver on air dried glossy. Put one of each under glass and the average person could not tell the difference. I love and prefer the look of ink on a good rag paper. Glass kills it, but what do you do.

[Bob Salomon]

"company called "Inkjet Fix."

Ink Jet Fix is a spray from Gepe. It is not a surface modifier. It can not make a matte print glossy. Their glossy spray is for use on glossy papers only and makes them waterproof and immune to handling marks.

Their matte spray is for matte papers only and the Semi-Gloss is for other type papers.

So yes, as you discovered, using the glossy spray on other papers does not work.

[Bill_1856]

Old-time pictoralists used to WAX their prints to bring out the deep shadow detail (and protect the surface). Apparently use a pure carnobo(sp?) car wax like Blue Coral or Turtlewax.

[paulr]

Not just old time pictorialists. Some of the moderns coated their prints when the surface quality mattered to them. Strand used many different things, including varnishes.

I'd suggest you look at varnish. If you have access to a very well ventilated area, like a spray booth, a dust free area for drying, and have plenty of time, then you might get the easiest results with a mineral spirits based acrylic varnish, sprayed on (airbrush or hvlp). Water based materials are much friendlier to work with and dry faster, but getting the surface right is a lot harder. I'm still trying to figure it out.

There are a lot of reasons to put a gloss coat on inkjet prints, and I think it's a specious argument to say this is making them look like something they're not. Artists varnish paintings, photographers have a long history of varnishing and waxing silver prints, there are people who coat platinum prints in gelatin. It's about getting a surface that has whatever visual qualities you want and whatever durability you need. If you're making a book with a fragile carbon ink process, you probably need much more protection than you're going to get from invisible fixatives.

By the way, a varnished Piezography print is one of the most stunning things I've ever looked at. I'm hoping to find a magic bullet that will make the process a reasonable one.

And ... it might be worth looking into some of the products that were designed specifically for this. There's a clear coat called giclee spray (ok, enough snickering) and few others designed for outdoor signage. Livick.com posts some test results with these.

[Bill_1856]

Apparently, print conservators are driven crazy by Paul Strand's varnished prints. The varnish darkens but can't be easily removed as it can with oil paintings.

[David Luttmann]

Bob,

The spray from inkjet fix does NOT say it is only for glossy papers. In fact, on their container, it says it is for use on MOST inkjet papers. I've tried it on Ilford and Canon glossy papers and obtained equally horrid results. Thus, regardless of paper type, this glossy spray is useless.

[tim atherton]

There's stuff call (I thnk) Giclee varnish out of the UK that comes in a paint can...

[tim atherton]

http://www.dcpsystems.co.uk/index.htm someone in the US was importing it at one point

[adrian tyler]

careful as well, you could have the best product in the world, but you have do be an expert to apply it properly, practice on some dud copies first.

[David Luttmann]

Thanks for the link, Tim. This might be worth giving a try.

[Craig Wactor]

I use a product called "MSA varnish with UVLS" by Golden Varnishes. I picked it up at the art store. It is brushable, not sprayed. It works well, and does not yellow. I have only used it on coated (luster) prints, though. Polyuerethane, laquer, water based poly, and shellac all had issues. I did have some luck with Krylon crystal clear spray. I used up a whole can on a 24 x 24" print though. A clear sealer really gives inkjet prints a lot more snap!

[Bruce Batchelor]

The Golden varnish is a reliable product, and well-documented. If you look in detail at the application specs on the Golden wesite you will see that it should be applied over an isolation coat. The latter allows the removal of varnish in the future, but that is very theoretical. The website includes instructions on various application methodologies, but the only one which makes sense for inkjet is spray. To attain correct viscosity for spraying this isolation coat, you combine the chosen Golden medium with airbrush spray diluent. There are several Golden media you can look at, depending on the surface you want. Once this is dry, and maybe after several coats, you apply the varnish. Use true turpentine to thin this, not the "paint thinner" junk from the paint store, as it can contain all kinds of ugly stuff from recycling, including heavy oil residues. The results of the spraying get very interesting as to surface effects and the desirable deepening of the tones. If you use a thick medium with little diluent you can even get a sort of flocking. The anti-fade longevity of this process should be substantial because of the sealing of the surface and the UV inhibition of the products. For true conservation spray the back of the print the same as the front, and use only heavy stock, say more than 250 gsm's.