Thick/Dense Prints?

[stockjock]

I'm sure this is a stupid question and is more a result of my not looking closely enough but I thought I would ask anyhow.  At a recent art fair I saw a very vivid photo printed on matte paper that seemed to have the ink applied so thickly or densely that it almost seemed like it stood up from the paper.  Think of the difference between an oil pastel and a watercolor, or a silkscreen print and a wood block print or etching.  I stupidly didn't note the gallery or photographer and this may all be a trick of the eye or a false memory.  But I wanted to ask if anybody was familiar with a printing technology or technique that might achieve an effect like that.

[mearussi]

I can think of two possibilities:
1. the artist increased the ink density when printing
2. some photographers will add additional paint on top of their print to make it both one of a kind and to give it a 3D look.

[Jeffrey Saldinger]

If you try paint, I recommend gouache or acrylic. They would be stable on matte paper, I believe even over the ink. Oil paint made for canvas or panels would not be suitable on a ground (i.e. matte paper) not prepared to resist the damaging effects of paper/oil paint chemistry, unless longevity was not an issue.

[stockjock]

If you try paint, I recommend gouache or acrylic. They would be stable on matte paper, I believe even over the ink. Oil paint made for canvas or panels would not be suitable on a ground (i.e. matte paper) not prepared to resist the damaging effects of paper/oil paint chemistry, unless longevity was not an issue.

It wasn't paint.  I haven't been able to achieve that kind of ink density with the Canon iPF8400.  Do the Epson printers permit that or could it be one of the UV/Solvent based printing technologies?

[Richard.Wills]

I recently saw a Mimaki UCJV300 printer - designed to lay down up to five coats of ink. Designed for amongst other things, print double sided window decals and promotional materials.
This could certainly create an output looking like paint. Inks include white (so you can print on any base colour) and spot varnishes.

[Ernst Dinkla]

I recently saw a Mimaki UCJV300 printer - designed to lay down up to five coats of ink. Designed for amongst other things, print double sided window decals and promotional materials.
This could certainly create an output looking like paint. Inks include white (so you can print on any base colour) and spot varnishes.

Yes, a UV curing inkjet ink can be laid more on top of the paper, curing them fast helps to keep the layer on top. There is no or little solvent in the ink that can evaporate or let the ink penetrate the media, just prepolymers and monomers that solidify when UV light exposes them.  Also similar to some wax/resin inkjet printers like the old Tektronix models and the recent Océ Colorwave models. Latex inks that are squirted hot through the nozzles and solidify on the media could create a similar effect. In theory all can lay down more coats to increase the effect.

In theory the 3D printers based on the combination of powder layers + inkjet squirted binders could be used too for that effect. The old bronzing machines in the label printing industry worked in a similar way, a glue is printed and a metal powder bound to that glued area, usually an aluminium powder with the particles colored to create a gold tone. Luxurious stationary paper could have thick layers of ink, similar technology but with a resin powder that then is heated to create a thick glossy layer.

Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst

http://www.pigment-print.com/spectralplots/spectrumviz_1.htm
March 2017 update, 750+ inkjet media white spectral plots

[deanwork]

With water based pigments you run up against the limitations of the ink receptor coating of coated inkjet matte and gloss media ( and canvas).

I occasionally see people printing on uncoated printmaking papers like Arches cold and hot press and laying down a lot of ink, and looking more like what we used to do with silk screen. Of course you need to create specific custom profiles and watch that you don’t lay down too much shadow ink which actually reduces the dmax if one wants dense max black.

Of course the issue with that situation is, media not taking advantage of quality inkjet receptor coatings don’t generally have photo quality resolution and have a softer appearance as a result.

However, I have a friend who has been making beautiful landscape split toned prints on uncoated Arches Hot Press with Epson printers and Studio Print rip for years. Studio Print allows a super precise ink limiting capability and can do it for each ink channel independently, often giving better resolution and denser zones while actually laying down less ink. But this is far from a plug and play workflow and takes a lot of work and it’s not going to look like painting.

I do a lot of work for a painter who has me print 40x60 portraits on canvas and paper where she successfully goes back and paints images  over them with acrylic paint .  She gets the best results when I spray a print varnish over them before doing the art work on top. The canvas works the best and with normal canvas varnish like Lyve.

John

I'm sure this is a stupid question and is more a result of my not looking closely enough but I thought I would ask anyhow.  At a recent art fair I saw a very vivid photo printed on matte paper that seemed to have the ink applied so thickly or densely that it almost seemed like it stood up from the paper.  Think of the difference between an oil pastel and a watercolor, or a silkscreen print and a wood block print or etching.  I stupidly didn't note the gallery or photographer and this may all be a trick of the eye or a false memory.  But I wanted to ask if anybody was familiar with a printing technology or technique that might achieve an effect like that.

[Martin Kristiansen]

I have a client from Korea who makes illuminated signage. I have been photographing the led lights that go into them for him. I dropped some work off at his factory a month ago and he showed me a printer he has imported.

The printer is about 3m square and prints so thick it looks like an original Van Gogh if you know what I mean. I thought it was quite amazing. Never seen anything like it. He wants to look into a collaboration with me of some sort but I can’t quite see what form that would take.

I will see if I can find a website to point you to. Everything shut down here for the holidays at the moment.

[Stephen Ray]

But I wanted to ask if anybody was familiar with a printing technology or technique that might achieve an effect like that.

Possibly (and most likely) you’ve seen a water based latex ink print product from Dimense by Veika.

[stockjock]

Thanks for all the input.  It sounds likely that the image I saw was printed on a UV curable solvent based printer or possibly with a specialty RIP.  Does anybody have a recommendation of a print shop, preferably in the Seattle area, that might be able to offer those services? 

The Dimense looks amazing but the print I saw wasn't trying to look like a painting or have that kind of 3D surface.