Luminous Landscape Forum
Raw & Post Processing, Printing => Printing: Printers, Papers and Inks => Topic started by: N-777 on August 18, 2024, 07:14:53 am
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Hi everyone,
I have been printing on Hahnemühle matte canvas on my Epson 9890, it used MK and I print in ABW mode. I have been varnishing my prints with a high density foam roller with Hahnemühle satin varnish but switched to Timeless Matte because I like the sheen. However, when doing so, the ink comes off the print and onto the roller and it smudges the whites and ruins the print.
I print with ‘saturation’ as rendering intent and the correct ICC-profile for the canvas and let Epson determine colors in ABW setting. The prints are dry (left them to dry over 3 days) and I apply them the same way as I did with Hanemühle varnish which didn’t have this problem at all.
Any tips, apart from the tips on the Breathing Color website (https://www.breathingcolor.com/blogs/news/top-5-printmaking-tips-tricks-techniques-february-2011#ink-is-coming-up-on-my-roller-what-do-i-do)?
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If you do a lot of this I would buy an hplv sprayer. Even one from Home Depot is a lot better than trying to roll on. If have to roll it on you might consider spraying first with Premiere Art uv solvent spray. That works as an under spray.
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Sounds like you've got too much ink on your canvas. Even after drying three days if you can rub your finger across the canvas and the ink comes off then you have too much ink and need to decease it.
Is it all colors or just black? Epson software has an option to decrease ink density.
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Before applying matte varnish, use a thin layer of gloss vanish on your canvas. That will seal the surface, and make your matte top varnish process easier. (Sure you should wait the first gloss varnish dry then apply second matte varnish.)
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Thank you all for taking the time to help out. Much appreciated.
If you do a lot of this I would buy an hplv sprayer. Even one from Home Depot is a lot better than trying to roll on. If have to roll it on you might consider spraying first with Premiere Art uv solvent spray. That works as an under spray.
Yes, spraying the varnish will solve a lot of problems and using Premiere Art or any other archival varnish spray to seal the ink is a great idea. I used to have a spraybooth set up (first hvlp and then a proper setup), but I don’t have the space and think it is a lot of hasstle. I get great results with rolling (apart from the recent smudge issue) so want to stick with rolling for now.
Sounds like you've got too much ink on your canvas. Even after drying three days if you can rub your finger across the canvas and the ink comes off then you have too much ink and need to decease it.
Is it all colors or just black? Epson software has an option to decrease ink density.
This did cross my mind and I think it’s a great tip. I still think it is strange how the problem didn’t occur with Hahnemühle’s varnish, but I do want to make this work with the Timeless since I like the finish and feel better. There is an option in the printer settings called Color Density that allows you to decrease or increase the amount of ink laid down by the printhead by 50%. I did some tests and it turns out I can go -30% without losing any richness of the black. It does however change the color grey (in ABW) which now doesn’t match with I see on my screen. So additional testing is done to match the colors to what I am seeing on my screen. I will do some varnish tests and let you know the results.
Since I don’t work with photographs but vector based works and can change individual colors, changing the color density setting is a viable option. But in any other situation any setting that changes the output colors will ‘mess up’ your print (I assume colors will change too) and soft proofing is out of the window. So additional color management (either in the program you are editing in, or in the printer settings if the printer determines colors) is necessary. And hard proofing is needed to test if the end result is what you expected.
Before applying matte varnish, use a thin layer of gloss vanish on your canvas. That will seal the surface, and make your matte top varnish process easier. (Sure you should wait the first gloss varnish dry then apply second matte varnish.)
This is what used to be recommended by Breathing Color too. But it does alter the finish of the print. Even 2 coats of matte Timeless increases the gloss finish to a level I don’t like. So, unfortunately this won’t be a solution for me.
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There is an option in the printer settings called Color Density that allows you to decrease or increase the amount of ink laid down by the printhead by 50%. I did some tests and it turns out I can go -30% without losing any richness of the black. It does however change the color grey (in ABW) which now doesn’t match with I see on my screen. So additional testing is done to match the colors to what I am seeing on my screen.
Hi, I think it needs to be re-profiled after changing the ink density setting. Each ink density would need its own ICC profile.
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Matte varnish is just gloss varnish with tiny flakes of mica added to dull it down. You're supposed to use gloss varnish for the undercoat(s) before applying the final matte varnish so it doesn't look too dull.
Also, is there some reason you're using Hahnemuhle canvas? BC's Lyve canvas is specifically designed to work with Timeless so it shouldn't cause any bleeding when applied with a roller.
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I'd also add that Breathing Color will supply a dedicated profile for your printer / BC canvas combination.
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Also the Saturation rendering intent is probably not optimized for the profile and laying down too much ink.
quote author=Jim Metzger link=topic=143854.msg1260934#msg1260934 date=1726090190]
I'd also add that Breathing Color will supply a dedicated profile for your printer / BC canvas combination.
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