Question about printing, materials and presenting the prints

[SG]

Hi everybody,
I'm new here, but I've read a bunch of threads and came to a conclusion it's a right place to ask questions.
My name is Skinny and I do digital art based on photos:
http://www.skinnygaviar.com
At first I just had one question about printing, but as I tried to look for the answers on this forum I realized the degree of my incompetence and ignorance in printing issues, so now I have a few questions.
If someone could answer them - that would be great.

1. Is inkjet printing the one and the only way of making high quality prints (say, in the photo market)? Does laser/offset printing have any value (or any point) at all?
2. When you make canvas prints, do you guys use natural or synthetic canvas?
3. I've noticed that printing the same image (file) on paper and canvas you have a different resolution. Exmple: I had a 350 dpi (4418x4418 px) file and printed it (not me personally, the guys at the print shop) on both canvas and textured paper (14x14 inches in both cases). If you look closely, it looks like the canvas print is much sharper while the image on paper appears a tiny bit blurry. Is it me, some sort of an optical illusion or is there a logical explanation?
4. I'm still looking for a 'sexy' physical representation of my works, I spent 4 years doing magazine illustrations / CD cover art and never had to care about the printing part (it was a responsibility of a publication), but now I'm willing to show / sell my original works. So any suggestions (including unusual surfaces/materials) are welcome.

Thank you very much and I hope it didn't all sound lame.

SG

[The Doc]

I will start with Q1:

1. Is inkjet printing the one and the only way of making high quality prints (say, in the photo market)? Does laser/offset printing have any value (or any point) at all?

No. Some high end Fuji and Durst printers (eg the Theta 50, Lambda, LightJet 5000 or Chromira) can make very high quality prints. Probably a few others I do not know about also.

[Geoff Wittig]

Offset printing has very high up-front costs for setup and calibration of the printing plates, but per-print cost falls like a stone as you print larger runs. So it's perfect for printing 5,000 posters or calendars, but awful for printing a limited edition of 10. (Unless you're Richard Benson and own your very own offset press and regard it as an art form). Offset printing also provides a limited gamut compared to modern inkjets.

By laser printing do you mean laser/photodiode printers like Durst Lambda or Lightjet prints? They can be excellent quality and have a beautiful glossy surface, but gamut is a bit reduced compared to inkjet, and the machines are about $100,000 so you'll definitely be using a service bureau. If you mean your basic color laser printer, they are useful for laying out a book 'maquette' or for printing your own limited run calendar, but color gamut is pretty small and they have a hard time with smooth areas of color. You wouldn't want to use one on a photo with a lot of blue sky.

As far as canvas versus paper, there are so many variables in play it's hard to say anything definitive. But the weave texture of canvas tends to yield a lower perceived sharpness than a smoother semigloss/glossy/baryta paper. Lots of folks compensate by employing a higher degree of sharpening, which can provide more of an illusion of sharpness. Textured cotton rag papers can have a bit of ink bleed depending on the exact paper and inkset, so I can see that this might make them look a little softer, but you can often compensate for that in the processing.

[enduser]

We print many canvas, it's our main product.  Over the past four years we've used both polycotton and pure cotton.  Provided both are reputable brands we've had no trouble with either.  I think coatings are similar in the ones we've tried - the only observable difference is the slightly less bright white on the reverse side of the cotton.

One other thing, the stretching process soon reveals the extra strength in polycotton.

[Sven W]

I recently "discovered" contemporary digital press printing.
Yes, the laser ones. But the HP Indigo 5000 is a lot more than a color copier.
6 colors, liquid toners (more like ink) 175 lpi, many substrates, varnished after printing, etc.
Dead on in color, lightness and sharpness. Nice surface and not the old ugly "burned-dust" type.
The only downside is printing size, max 13x19 inch.

For small books, portfolios, cards, calenders, flyers etc it's really a great technique.
And you pay per page.

/Sven

[SG]

Thank you all.

Geoff,
By "laser" I meant a basic laser printer. You answered my question. Thanks.

Sven,
Sounds interesting, but my priority is making fine art prints that sometimes exceed 13x19 inches. Plus, I want to use fancy kinds of matte paper, like Hahnemuhle's German Etching or something with larger texture.

Here's an example.

I made this print at a local print shop. Turns out they're using a machine called OCE 900 Platinum. It's not inkjet, right?
The print quality is rather ok, but I'm sure it can be better. So my question is - what are the advantages / drawbacks of using OCE 900 and, say, Epson Stylus Pro 3880?

[bill t.]

My wife makes graphic art prints on Epson Velvet paper using an Epson 2400.  It gives a surface and tonality that is just about impossible to equal with any other media.  If surface quality and other physical print qualities are important to you, you might want to stick with inkjet which offers an extremely wide range of possibilities.  Of course, to reveal surface qualities in a framed piece you need to use very high quality low-reflection glazing like Museum Glass or Optium, have to consider that too.

Inkjet also lets you test and proof and try variations to your heart's content without killing your budget.  That's probably motivation #1 for most of the people on this forum.

[Sven W]

And not to forget the permanence for an inkjet. At least if you stick to pigmented inks on acid free cotton rag.
Some combos have a predictable display rating for over 100 years before a noticeable fading occur.

/Sven

[SG]

Thank you Sven, it makes sense.

Bill,
I figured that frames don't really make my stuff look better, it's resolutely in reverse. Thus I cling to wraps (canvas) and matting when I make paper prints.
Is glazing / coating necessary? With both canvas and paper?
To me the idea of printing on velvety papers is to create this "warm" and cozy look. The glazing will kill that look, won't it?

Thanks!

[neile]

Spray coating is an absolute must for canvas, to prevent the ink from flaking off and to add protection since canvas prints are generally shown without anything in front of them.

There are threads on the forum about spraying inkjet paper prints, if you do a search it should come up pretty easily. If you are putting the paper print behind glass/plexi in a frame, spraying really isn't necessary.

Neil

[SG]

Thanks Neil, found that thread. (Even more puzzled now though.)

Any recommendations on specific brands of coating? Is there a coating that amplifies bright colors?

[neile]

I use Breathing Color Timeless coating, although there was a recent thread where lots of people (bill t. I'm looking at you were grousing about it. Many people still use Glamour II, mixed 50/50 matte and glossy, then diluted with distilled water per the Breathing Colour instructions.

If you search for "timeless" you should find the thread, which also went off and talked about other coating options.

Neil