Brushed aluminum print from 9900 finally worked

[dgberg]

Finally got a 17 X 22 brushed aluminum to print on the 9900. Stood it up in the front like normal loading for all sheets. The first 2 times it would not feed. The third time I put gentle pressure on the top of the sheet lightly forcing it and it went in . I tried the way Epson suggests but ruined 2 sheets of 8 1/2 X 11 when they kept falling . Took the coating right off the surface.  After a week of playing with this I now know that I will not give a firm quote to do these. Too much risk. Use 2 sheets to get 1 good one then I will have to charge for 2 sheets.
My photo does not do justice to the stainless steel equipment printed on the brushed aluminum,pretty cool. Looks like the real deal. Hope these folks will order a dozen or more metal prints of their entire bakery equipment line.

A follow up test.
 I pulled one of the water damaged metal prints from the trash as I wanted to look a little closer at the ink precoat that is on the metal. It is water based. I took a wet paper towel and started rubbing at one corner. The coating at first turms gummy and then you can rub it off completely after you have dissolved it a little bit. Answers why I got a smear on the metal after getting a small water spot on my first trial. Very,very finicky stuff.
I stripped it completely down to bare metal and applied 2 coats of inkaid, will report the results after reprinting.

[Farmer]

Finally got a 17 X 22 brushed aluminum to print on the 9900. Stood it up in the front like normal loading for all sheets. The first 2 times it would not feed. The third time I put gentle pressure on the top of the sheet lightly forcing it and it went in . I tried the way Epson suggests but ruined 2 sheets of 8 1/2 X 11 when they kept falling . Took the coating right off the surface.  After a week of playing with this I now know that I will not give a firm quote to do these. Too much risk. Use 2 sheets to get 1 good one then I will have to charge for 2 sheets.
My photo does not do justice to the stainless steel equipment printed on the brushed aluminum,pretty cool. Looks like the real deal. Hope these folks will order a dozen or more metal prints of their entire bakery equipment line.

Very cool, Dan!

Is there a particular brand/supplier for the aluminium sheets you're using?

[Gemmtech]

Looks great Dan, I'll have to give that a try.  I'm glad you experimented with your wallet first  

[dgberg]

Thanks guys.
I used Booksmart Metal. Another thing to really watch out for. You cannot get the coating wet. I took one of the sheets and was simply blowing some dust off. I got some very little moisture spots from my breath on the metal. I just took my hand and gently wiped it off and it smeared a spot the size of a dime. Tried wiping the smear off and no luck. So don't get this stuff wet and don't touch the printed sufface till its dry,or you will be throwing them away.
Actually I think the coatings need some work before this product is ready for the masses. I am extremely careful and I still had a 50% waste factor. At $40+ a sheet ($20.00 a sq. ft.) its pretty salty stuff.  I plan to call Booksmart on Monday to get a little more info on handling suggestions.

[uaiomex]

This stuff is so interesting it precises its own blog. Plase do it if you can or at least keep us posted of every issue and detail.
Thanks
Eduardo

[Doombrain]

I would have thought the best way to load was

1)   open the paper path
2)   drop in SEF
3)   line the top of the sheet to the black line on the roll cover
4)   close the paper path

I’ve seen a few metal prints now, some stuff look very good.

[dgberg]

Doombrain,
What printer are you referring to?

[Doombrain]

a 9900, like the 9900 i have here.

[BobFisher]

Dan, I've been working with the Booksmart metals as well (Satin Silver).  Agree with you on the difficulty and how finicky it is.  The only thing that works on my 3800 is the front loading path, of course, but with that, there's about a 1" border on the top and bottom.  It also means that the 17" isn't an option since the front loading tray only accepts 16" wide stock.  FWIW, I've been using the Epson Premium Lustre profile for soft proofing, adjusting the proof and printing with excellent results.  The biggest issue is in the overcoating.  No matter how careful you are, dust spots in the overcoat are inevitable.  I've even taken a couple to a local automotive paint shop, figuring their paint booth would be a cleaner environment than my house and still there was dust in the clear coat.  Wet sanding will take those spots out but then you'll get new ones with the next coat.  

I've tried using the DASS Universal Precoat on some Booksmart metal that I messed up the printing on (stripping the ink and Booksmart coating) and while it works, it dries with a whitish hue rather than being clear.  Does the Inkaid coating dry clear?  If it dries clear, I'd like to try using it on some regular, unpainted aluminum flashing.  That combination would be much less expensive than the Booksmart products.

Another option I've tried recently is the Red River Metallic Silver paper.  It's an actual paper with a metallic-like coating.  Quite shiny but holds fine detail about as well as the Booksmart metal does.  Same process of proofing and printing using the Epson Premium Lustre profile works as well.  It's pretty reasonably priced too.

[dgberg]

Bob,
I have a couple of thigs that might help you. Fot the metal topcoat I use the solvent based clearstar. You are right about the dust but here is my fix. I have a table in my spray booth with a backboard where I stand the print up and give it several light mist coats. That flash dries in several minutes. I then put a pretty heavy coat on and take it to another room to dry. Here is when the dust settles in the finish but leave it dry. You now have 2 pretty good seal coats on the print. When completely dry I take some of my 3m 320 grit Trimite paper(Its a finish coat sandpaper meant to be used for sanding between topcoats in the furniture business.) You can now sand the entire surface of the print to get rid of the dust specks.
Don't worry about sanding through its a very fine paper. When done wipe all the dust from the print and stand it back up in the booth and give it another light coat. Leave it stand up to dry and you will get no dust.(Thats the trick,do not lay it flat.) The finish is like glass.
I have 25 years in the spray booth but anyone can do this. With 2 or 3 coats and the proper sanding inbetween you will be amazed,try it.

I had 2 workshops this weekend with 25 in attendance. In preperation for this I laid out all my printed booksmart samples but wanted to show these folks another option. The cut sheet of 17 X 22 cost around $45.00 a sheet with shipping which is over $20 a square foot. I went to my local roofing contractor and purchased a roll of aluminum flashing. 12" X 50' for $35.00 around .80 a sq. ft. .028 thickness almost the exact same thickness as the booksmart product. (Very important not to go thicker.) It has what is called a milled finish which is between the polished aluminum and the brushed aluminum. I cleaned it and sanded this piece to give it a little more texture. I cut it off of the roll using a straight edge and utility knife. That edge needs to be filed and dressed up as it is ragged and sharp. I have ink aid and put 2 coats on. Make sure you let the first one dry overnight. After the second coat I put the 12" X 19" piece in the front tray of my 3800. Since this came off a coil the tips were still turned up and I was concerned about that. Finally got it in the printerand it was printing away fine until I looked down and as the leading edge of the metal came through the printer it started to curl up and it got stuck on the inside of the printer. Shut things down and pullel it out and of course it was ruined. Nothing really wrong with the metal I could have striped it and tried again but deceided to do another with the curl facing down. 2 days later I had a perfect print. Coated it with the clearstar and looks pretty awsom. A couple of things . For my workshops this is fine or even if I was doing it for myself. To sell, it just takes way to much time. Flat sheets are much safer so I went back to the sheet metal supplier. He can get me full flat sheets of .028 milled aluminum with the peel off plastic protective cover. They can shear the entire sheet into the exact sizes I want. I am going to get a sheet cut and I will report back on the findings. By the way I asked to look at sheets in the shop to see how all the edges and corners look and most were perfect. If anything could ruin these a bad shear job or out of square cuts would doom you before you start.
Hope this helps,and yes the inkaid dries clear. Its got a slight white haze when dry but that went away when topcoated.

[BobFisher]

Dan, I'm using Tremclad Clear Gloss.  I typically do the same as you as far as the coating regime.  The problem I've run into is that with the heavier coat it runs if the print is standing.  Anything more than a light coat and it runs.  

I use a wet/dry sandpaper.  Very fine grit (400).  Works well.  

The DASS product doesn't turn clear when overcoated.  And it just doesn't have the same clean look as the stuff from Booksmart.  I'll try Inkaid.  There's a shop in Toronto that stocks it.  

[dgberg]

Bob,
You should have all your heavy coats on before you sand. Your final topcoat is a light coat with the print standing upright. No dust that way and a beautiful finish. Wanted to also ask if the product you are using is solvent based. If it happens to be water based it will dry way to slow which is when all the dust has a chance to settle  on your print.

[BobFisher]

As far as I know the Tremclad gloss is a solvent based product.  Drying time is actually pretty good.  There aren`t many dust spots.  But one is too many.

[natas]

I am going to get a sheet cut and I will report back on the findings. By the way I asked to look at sheets in the shop to see how all the edges and corners look and most were perfect. If anything could ruin these a bad shear job or out of square cuts would doom you before you start.
Hope this helps,and yes the inkaid dries clear. Its got a slight white haze when dry but that went away when topcoated.

Any update on this Dan? I am really interested in doing something similar. I make my own books and have been looking for nice metal printing options for book covers.

[dgberg]

Any update on this Dan? I am really interested in doing something similar. I make my own books and have been looking for nice metal printing options for book covers.

Bob Fisher just ordered a sheet and is having it cut down. I am sure he will see this and respond as soon as he has something to report. The only thing I have done since my last report is to cut several more pieces off the roll of 12" flashing I purchased. I am printing one right now 12' X 18" The biggest problem right now is the Inkaid is just not drying. Still tacky after 24 hours. It has been 90 here just about every day with high humidity. I am going to coat another one in the air conditioned house and see if it dries any better.