Luminous Landscape Forum

Raw & Post Processing, Printing => Printing: Printers, Papers and Inks => Topic started by: mschechtman on June 19, 2014, 11:40:56 am

Title: Newcomer to wide format printing
Post by: mschechtman on June 19, 2014, 11:40:56 am

I recently purchased a wide format printer and laminating equipment to sell prints of my work.

I would appreciate some help about mounting. 

I plan to standardize on Gatorfoam.  Should I offer both black and white boards?  Can Gatorfoam be used if the buyer wants to frame the photo?

I have a pouch laminator.  Are photos with matte laminate popular?  Is it something I should offer as an option or always use?  Can prints with a laminate be framed?  Does a photo with a film laminate offer better UV protection?

Thanks very much for any help.
Marty

Title: Re: Newcomer to wide format printing
Post by: PeterAit on June 19, 2014, 01:17:15 pm

Quote from: mschechtman on June 19, 2014, 11:40:56 am

I recently purchased a wide format printer and laminating equipment to sell prints of my work.

I would appreciate some help about mounting. 

I plan to standardize on Gatorfoam.  Should I offer both black and white boards?  Can Gatorfoam be used if the buyer wants to frame the photo?

I have a pouch laminator.  Are photos with matte laminate popular?  Is it something I should offer as an option or always use?  Can prints with a laminate be framed?  Does a photo with a film laminate offer better UV protection?

Thanks very much for any help.
Marty

If you spend some time searching the forum archives here you will find scads of information.

Title: Re: Newcomer to wide format printing
Post by: John Nollendorfs on June 19, 2014, 02:35:21 pm

Marty:
As the previous poster mentioned, search the forums, most of your questions will be answered. But that requires some work on your side.

Regarding lamination, the reason for this is two fold:
1) to protect the image from physical damage if the print will not be framed behind glass.
2) to seal the microporous surface of the print from airborne contaminates which can attack the pigments of the inkjet ink and cause it to prematurely fade.

If the prints will be framed under glass, there is no reason to laminate the print.  Ordinary Window glass filters close to 90% of UV from sunlight. In most indoor display conditions using incandescent lighting, UV is not a consideration. Under florescent lights, there is a significant amount of UV transmitted, so framing under glass would be recommended. The pigmented inks from Epson, Canon & HP are resistant to UV fade, much more so, than dye inks of years earlier. The addition of a UV laminate would probably not add significantly to the fade resistance of the print.

 

Title: Re: Newcomer to wide format printing
Post by: dgberg on June 19, 2014, 04:25:34 pm

Quote from: mschechtman on June 19, 2014, 11:40:56 am

I recently purchased a wide format printer and laminating equipment to sell prints of my work.

I would appreciate some help about mounting.  

I plan to standardize on Gatorfoam.  Should I offer both black and white boards?  Can Gatorfoam be used if the buyer wants to frame the photo?

I have a pouch laminator.  Are photos with matte laminate popular?  Is it something I should offer as an option or always use?  Can prints with a laminate be framed?  Does a photo with a film laminate offer better UV protection?

Thanks very much for any help.
Marty

Many very good workshops available on the subject.
I would normally suggest you do most of your homework before investing in equipment that may or may not be suitable for your new printing and mounting endeavor.
Pouches are ok for the small work but for wide format prints you should have a good roll laminator.
You also may not even need one.
Lots of unknowns here.

Title: Re: Newcomer to wide format printing
Post by: mschechtman on June 20, 2014, 09:39:00 am

Thanks John.

Very helpful