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Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in News & Trends, Technology & Products
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Next-Generation Sunset Coatings for Canvas Now Available

Fine Art Print by Color Simulation Service with Sunset Gloss Coating
Randy Orgeron of Color Simulation Service found that Sunset Gloss Coating was easy to work with – it doesn’t set up too fast or too slow and self-levels – even on a large canvas piece, like this 18″ x 54″ fine art reproduction on Sunset Select Matte Canvas.

The next-generation Sunset Gloss Coating and Sunset Satin Coating are now in stock and shipping from LexJet’s Nationwide Delivery Network. The popular coatings have been reformulated to improve canvas coating performance with consistent results that can be applied with a brush, roller or spray.

Sunset Gloss Coating and Sunset Satin Coating are non-yellowing, pH-neutral water-based acrylic coatings that are self-leveling and ready-to-use straight from the easy-to-pour, easy-to-store containers.

Randy Orgeron of Color Simulation Service, Thibodaux, La., provided detailed feedback when he tested the updated formulation of Sunset Gloss Coating on Sunset Select Matte Canvas. Among his findings, Orgeron noted:

  • It rolls on easily with a foam roller
  • There do not seem to be any issues with it gunking up and it lays flat from the offset
  • Initially, the coating turns hazy, like car wax prior to buffing, but becomes crisp and clear
  • There were some bubbles that formed during application; however, once completely dry that concern proved to be unwarranted
  • The finish is gorgeous and really articulates the print, and there were no issues with the coating lifting the ink off the canvas

“The piece I tried this on at first was only an 11×14 canvas. Since the coating tends to set up rather quickly I was interested to see how fast I would have to work to cover a large canvas, and if could go back over missed spots on the first application,” adds Orgeron. “I’ve used other brands that dry so quickly you can only use them on smaller prints. With the Sunset Coating I found that you can keep working it after you apply it, so it’s going to be very effective for all of our prints, large or small.”

Other improvements to Sunset Coatings include:

  • Greater UV protection
  • Increase solid content so you get more coverage out of one container
  • NMP-free to comply with state and local safety and health regulations

Call a LexJet print specialist today at 800-453-9538 to find out more and to order the new Sunset Coatings.

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Tips & Tricks
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How to Make Canvas Printing Work for You, Part 4: Coating Canvas

Dan Johnson Spray Booth
Dan Johnson’s DIY spray booth for canvas and fine-art prints.

As noted in the previous installments about printer selection for canvas printing, it’s recommended that you coat all aqueous-inkjet canvas output. Coating also helps ensure a crack-free, consistent stretch for gallery wrap applications, and it’s important to coat before stretching.

If it’s a short-term application – like a temporary decorative piece – or when using a solvent or latex printer, coating is not necessary unless the customer wants the look of a coated canvas.

Typically, coatings come in either gloss or satin (luster) finishes. Gloss coatings are often used to not only provide additional protection, but to bring out the density of blacks and the vibrancy of the colors in the print.

For a more subdued look and particularly to cut down the glare from high-powered lighting, a satin or luster coating may be preferred. Some will choose not to coat the canvas at all to retain the unique texture and characteristics of the material.

Coatings are available in both spray (aerosol or industrial sprayer) and liquid (can). Sprays from Hahnemuhle and Clearstar Corp., for instance, provide excellent results, though there are other brands available from other companies that specialize in fine-art and photo printing.

Stick with sprays and coatings that are specially formulated for this application, rather than those that are not tested specifically for inkjet prints (Krylon, for example), because the long-term effects of these off-the-shelf sprays on inkjet paper surfaces are unknown.

There are also liquid coating machines available in various widths from companies like Neschen and Marabu. While these machines automate the process and provide an excellent finished product, they require a controlled environment with consistent temperature and humidity, free from dust and dirt.

Coating Canvas
Click on the image to see a video on roller-coating canvas.

Liquid coatings that come in a can, such as Sunset Gloss and Sunset Satin Coatings, can be either rolled on or sprayed using an HVLP (high volume, low pressure) spray gun, which requires a well-ventilated dust-free area.

An HVLP spray gun wastes less coating in overspray than other types of sprayers. It also provides more control over the application process. Some print shops and studios simply don’t have space for spraying, or can’t justify buying specialized coating systems, which is why Sunset Coatings have been formulated to work equally well when applied with a spray gun, brush, or foam roller.

If you’re looking for way to spray on a budget and in limited space, click here to see how Dan Johnson built a space- and money-saving spray booth for his studio.

When rolling coatings on canvas, follow these basic steps:

1. Start with a high-density, white foam roller and a tray that is typically used for holding paints. You can buy these products in the paint department of any home-improvement store. The high-density foam will help reduce bubbles. Use a larger-width roller if you plan to coat larger canvases.

2. Pour the coating into the tray and dip the roller in the coating until it is thoroughly wet, but not too wet.

3. Lay your print on a clean, dust-free board that is bigger than your print. The extra space on the surface around the print can be used to roll off excess liquid if you happen to oversaturate the roller.

4. Consider using two or three thinner coats, instead of one thicker coat.

5. Don’t try to coat the whole print at once. Start with one or two passes at the edge of the print, and go over each pass enough times for the bubbles to dissipate, but not so many times that the coating becomes tacky or bumpy.

6. If large bubbles appear, try blowing on the coating.

7. Make overlapping passes so you can maintain a wet edge and avoid lines and streaks.

8. Find the rolling pattern that works best for you. Some users prefer rolling in one direction only. They go up the print in one pass, and down the print in the second pass (like mowing a lawn).

9. Don’t press down on the roller. Maintain a light, even pressure.

10. If you are applying a second coat, allow the first coat to dry before applying the second coat. A thin coat should take between 10 and 30 minutes to dry. But it will take longer if you’re working in an environment with high humidity.

11. Allow the coated print to dry thoroughly before you pack it for shipping. Don’t try to speed up the drying process with a fan; allow the print to dry on its own.

12. Clean the rollers immediately after each use. Run cool water of the rollers immediately after use, and squeeze them until they run clear. Allow 10 to 15 minutes.  If you keep the rollers clean, you can use them for about six months before you need to replace them.

A couple of important notes about coating canvas:

  • Make sure the ink is dry before applying any coatings. A good rule of thumb is 24 hours. To test whether a print is ready for coating, some printmakers suggest this technique: Lay each print on a flat surface, then cover the print with inexpensive butcher paper. The evaporating glycols will cause ripples to appear in the butcher paper. Periodically replace the wavy butcher paper with a fresh sheet of paper. If no waves appear in the fresh sheet of paper after a few hours, the print will be dry enough to coat.
  • Coat the print before stretching the canvas and wait at least six hours after applying the coating to stretch.
  • As more inks and media types are introduced, it is impossible to predict the compatibility of every combination of media, ink and clear coat. Therefore, it is strongly recommend that you test before use. A test will immediately show any incompatibilities, including water sensitivity, inkjet receptive layer mud cracks, and ink bleeds. Generally, let the tested material dry for at least 24 hours. Evaluate the adhesion, flexibility, and visual appearance. Be realistic in your expectations and simulate the conditions the material will be exposed to. Generally speaking, coatings formulated for wide format printing will work well with both aqueous and solvent prints.

Click here for a video demonstration of coating canvas with a roller.

For the rest of this series, click on the following links:

Part 1: Materials, Finishes and Textures

Part 2: Printer Technologies for Canvas

Part 3: Latex, Solvent and UV-Curable Printing

Part 5: Canvas Wrap Options

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
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The Perfect Combination: Amazing Photography and Amazing Canvas

Sky on Fire The Canyon Gallery
The Black Canyon of the Gunnison, just east of The Canyon Gallery in Montrose, is one of Harmsen’s favorite places to shoot. This particular capture Harmsen describes as possibly “the most stupid shot I’ve ever taken,” being at altitude overlooking the canyon with a lightning storm enveloping the area.

Wil Harmsen, owner of The Canyon Gallery in Montrose, Colo., is a busy man. Not only does Harmsen run the gallery with his wife, Amy, but they do everything soup to nuts, or capture to framing in this case.

Sunburst at Painted Wall by Wil Harmsen
Captured at sunset, Harmsen says the sunburst over the Black Canyon of the Gunnison is about 18 seconds of light as the sun disappeared behind the canyon walls. “The clouds rolled in and I thought I would have complete overcast and get shut out. Patience paid off and I just sat there and captured the sunburst,” says Harmsen.

One of the Harmsens’ specialties is canvas printing and finishing, either framed or as a gallery wrap. Wil Harmsen says canvas is the gallery’s most popular medium, providing a painted look that gallery browsers crave.

“Gallery wraps are typically less expensive than framed pieces. If we have a really nice photo, the person who can’t afford a framed print can buy a less expensive gallery wrap. When we print something that big, it could be a $600-700 difference simply because of the frame,” explains Harmsen. “My wife is the framer extraordinaire. What I like about the frame is that it makes it feel like a painting, a piece of art, that gives it a different look and it’s been fairly popular. We usually mount the canvas on archival mount board and put it in the frame. It’s a simple process and the canvas stays flat and beautiful. We’ve been doing it for about five years and haven’t had any problems.”

To get the most out of their images for those who buy their prints, Harmsen has recently switched all of their canvas output to Sunset by Fredrix Matte Canvas, the new OBA-free canvas from LexJet with an unusually bright white point for an OBA-free print medium.

The Canyon Gallery
Harmsen chalks up this spectacular eagle capture to pure luck. Shot at Ridgway Reservoir in the winter, Harmsen recalls, “I’d like to attribute that to my incredible skill, but that was just luck. We printed it on the Sunset by Fredrix Matte Canvas because we get such spectacular detail in the feathers and the trees, but with a painterly effect people like.”

“I love the brighter white base and the wide color gamut I get out of it. I don’t lose any detail, sharpness or tonality. It tends to be spot-on,” says Harmsen. “You cannot tell the difference between printing on this canvas and photo paper other than the canvas gives you the feeling of a painting that many people like.”

Before framing or making a gallery wrap, Harmsen says they coat each canvas with Sunset Satin Coating or Sunset Gloss Coating three times, coating horizontally, then vertically and horizontally again.

Sneffels Range by Wil Harmsen
The Sneffels Range near Ridgway, Colo., is an iconic Colorado photography spot. Harmsen says you’ll see hundreds of photographers flocking to the area to capture the mountain range in the fall.

“I’ve learned in working with canvas is that if you have dark areas and shadows in the image, one coat typically doesn’t cover the dark spots correctly. It takes multiple coats so you don’t see any lines from rolling on the coating. That way it makes sure to even out the entire photo so there aren’t any issues,” explains Harmsen. “And here’s a big one, especially for galleries: a lot of times when we coat canvas we might get some ink peel coming up with the roller when we were coating. For some reason the new canvas is absorbing the ink a lot better and to date we’ve had zero ink pickup on the roller. That’s huge for us. I’ve got a Denali shot that I can’t print on other canvas because the blue in the sky would pick up on the roller. Now that we’re printing on Sunset by Fredrix, problem solved… gone.”

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
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Rolling down the Runway with an Inkjet Printed Canvas Triptych

Canvas Triptych Print by Broadstreet Fine Art

Broadstreet Fine Art and Framing, based in Fairburn, Ga., recently pieced together this canvas triptych with an appropriate passenger jet image for the Atlanta Airlines Terminal Corporation (AATC).

AATC handles facility management at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, and this carefully-crafted piece is part one of a two-part décor project at the company’s executive offices. Part two will be a series of vintage photos from the airport printed on Sunset Fine Art Paper that will decorate the common space between reception and the offices.

For this canvas piece, Broadstreet Fine Art owner Loran Hygema used Sunset Select Matte Canvas protected with Sunset Satin Coating. The canvas was stretched on 2″ stretcher bars using Broadstreet’s automated canvas stretching machine. Each canvas piece of the triptych is 36″ x 36″ for a total image size of 3′ x 9′.

Canvas Inkjet Print by Broadstreet Fine Art“Sunset Satin Coating is not only cost-effective, but it’s the best by far we’ve used for coating. The canvas is hands-down, head and shoulders above other canvases I’ve used. It is more like a canvas should feel: more pliable and much easier to stretch. We do a lot of big canvases 4×6, 4×7 and Sunset canvas works well for us, especially at the large sizes we often produce, because we don’t have problems with wrinkles,” says Hygema.

The airliner image is black-and-white, but the client requested a subtle sepia tone to go with it, so Hygema added a slight tint for that effect. “I prefer the image in black and white, but the customer is always right,” says Hygema.

Hygema also used Perfect Resize from OnOne Software, which was formerly known as Genuine Fractals, to create the wrap borders and to res-up the file. Hygema says Perfect Resize will create selective, mirror, museum-wrap style and other types of wrap borders.

He used the LexJet profile for printing through his Epson Stylus Pro 11880 wide format inkjet printer. “I’ve had great luck with the profiles supplied by LexJet. We have a color management system to make custom profiles, but don’t fix it if it ain’t broke,” he says.

The three printed pieces were laid out and lined up before stretching, and then hung on mirror hangers, rather than wire hangers so that all the pieces will stay in the exact same position.

“That was a bit of a challenge,” says Hygema. “You can’t really adjust the canvas on the wall like you can with wire hangers, so we had to do a little trial-and-error to get the hanging hardware in the right spot in relation to each other. They love the triptych and are excited about seeing the rest. We’ll be working with the Delta Air Museum to find the right vintage photos for the rest of the project.”

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
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Double Black Diamond Wall Mural on Print-N-Stick Fabric

Vail Mountain Wall Mural on LexJet Print-N-Stick Fabric

Offices can be boring. In fact, they usually are boring. Adam Zimmerman, owner of Z2 Technologies, West Long Branch, N.J., recently elevated his brother Jeff’s office space in both altitude and attitude for a welcome office makeover.

Adam and Jeff are avid skiers and usually make an annual trip to Vail, Colo. Adam photographed Jeff as he began to make his way down one of Vail’s double-black mogul runs on a snowy powder day in April.

The shot was perfect for a large wall mural and Adam found the solution to reproduce the photo with LexJet’s new Print-N-Stick Fabric.

“My rep at LexJet, Michael Clementi, recommended the adhesive-backed fabric, so I did a test print 44″ tall by 60″ wide to see what it would it would look like. We were a little nervous about blowing it up that large given the resolution, but it looks great. Up close, it looks like a painting, but the farther you stand away from it the more detailed it is. The print quality exceeded my expectations,” says Adam.

The image was printed on Print-N-Stick Fabric with a Canon iPF8300 and applied in panels.

“The oils on your fingers can leave smudge marks so to ensure a clean look we’ll use a seam roller next time,” says Adam (you can also use Sunset Gloss Coating or Sunset Satin Coating to protect a wall mural from fingerprints and smudges). “This was a great test for us since we’ve never installed a large wall mural. Now we feel confident that we can sell it as one of our product offerings.”

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in News & Trends
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LexJet Makes Digital Output Magazine’s Readers’ Choice Award List

Digital Output Magazine Readers' Choice AwardsLexJet was recently included in Digital Output’s 19th Annual Top 50 Readers’ Choice Awards. Each year Digital Output’s readership dictates the top 50 winners and ten honorable mentions, as well each companies’ top products.

Using the magazine’s website metric system, www.DOdirect.net, the magazine tallies readers’ interest in companies and products throughout the year. This is done via requests made on print and Web editorial and advertisements as seen in the magazine, on the Web site, and in Digital Output’s weekly newsletter the Digital Queue.

This year, readers voted for the following as LexJet’s top new products:

  • LexJet Poly Select Blockout Fabric: LexJet Poly Select Blockout Fabric is a 14-mil bright-white polyester fabric with a blockout layer that provides greater opacity. Compatible with aqueous and latex inks, the fabric lays flat, minimizing edge curl and making it easy to work with in production. The water-resistant coating provides exceptional imaging quality with a wide color gamut and higher ink saturation for rich, brilliant, eye-catching color. Poly Select Blockout Fabric is an excellent alternative to scrim banner for durable banner applications.
  • Sunset Production Matte Canvas: Print shops and art reproduction companies looking for an economical inkjet-printable canvas alternative for longer production runs that provides consistent quality can now add LexJet Sunset Production Matte Canvas to their arsenal. It is a bright-white, water-resistant 100% polyester matte canvas with the look and feel of a traditional 2-over-1 weave for all types of art and décor applications. It’s designed to work flawlessly with Sunset Gloss Coating and Sunset Satin Coating, either sprayed or rolled on.
  • FaceMount-X Removable Adhesive: LexJet FaceMount-X Removable Adhesive has a permanent solvent acrylic adhesive on one side where the graphic is applied facing out and a removable solvent acrylic adhesive on the other side where it’s applied to the inside of the window. The air flow release liner on the removable side makes installation quick, easy and bubble-free. Once the promotion or campaign is over, the graphic is easily removed with no residue.

“The Top 50 Readers’ Choice Awards identify some of the most innovative vendors in the graphic arts,” says Tom Tetreault, editor-in-chief/publisher, Digital Output.

The 2013 Top 50 Readers’ Choice Award winners will be included in the November issue of Digital Output as part of both the print and digital versions, which is expected to be distributed on Oct. 25. Go to www.digitaloutput.net for more information and to subscribe.