New alternative print media-Textured stone finish on metal

[dgberg]

Sorry in advance for those getting tired of my printing experiments. For those looking for something new to try. Here you go.
Rust-oleum textured stone finish sprayed on .028 aluminum. 3 heavy coats of Inkaid and then printed on my Epson 3800.
I will be putting up the step by step process on my blog.
Was going after that desert southwest textured look.

[Damir]

Great idea! Just keep us informed about it.

[dgberg]

For those looking for a more cost effective solution for metal printing. I purchased the .028 aluminum from A B Martin Roofing in Ephrara,Pa. for $1.15 a square foot plus $1.00 per cut. It comes in 41" x 10 foot sheets. They sheared both sheets into my 5 specified sizes. Martins also has .020 copper in the same size sheets at $6.20 a square foot. Both of these prices reflect a little over a 75% savings from the typical online retailer. If your in the area look them up. It's sort of a pain applying the inkaid but I have 2 porcelin heaters set up blowing hot air over 4 metal prints at a time. reduces the drying time from over night to 2 hours per coat. My normal 2 heavy coated prints are ready for printing in a half day rather then 2 days.

[RFPhotography]

OK, that's interesting.  Nice idea, Dan.  Do you find you get any 'gaps' in the ink coverage due to the texture on the metal?

[dgberg]

Bob,
The extremely rough texture was my biggest concern. I think the third coat of Inkaid really did the trick. No gaps or bleeds. The profile I used wasn't the best but then again it was for plain aluminum. The print  came out a little dark for my taste which is easy to fix. Used the Booksmart metal/Epson plpp profile.
You and I talked about 6 months ago about getting aluminum in large sheets cut into printing sizes. I finally got around to getting some and will be headed back for more.
Oh and anyone listening in wanting to try this . Do not forget to set your platen to "widest" My first print with the .028 aluminum I forgot to reset the platen on my 9900. Took a pretty good head strike. Everythings working fine so I think I lucked out. It must have spooked me because with the textured metal print I elected to run it through the 3800 which has a 1.5 mil max thickness.

[mstevensphoto]

Dan,
   I've been dying to print on copper for ages, are you able to put some work into the copper once printed w/o chipping off the image? I'd love to print on copper and then add light texture (basically what you could do with your hands to make it less than perfectly flat).

[stefano]

Dan,

As I am waiting for a new epson 4900 (and that could be a while) I have been following with great interest your posts about printing on metal. My question for you is what kind of laminate/overcoat do you use to protect the print after it has dried, and how do you apply it? Brushing/rolling, hvlp sprayer, spray can?

Some web research seems to point to solvent based coatings, which I'd rather avoid if possible as I normally use a Wagner to spray coat canvas in the basement, and would rather avoid having to deal with special ventilation and respirators...

Thanks for the great info you've been sharing,

Stefano

[dgberg]

Mark,
First of all welcome to the forum. I have seen your new posts and hopefully you are getting answers to your question. I have a good bit of info on my blog  when you have some free time. A wealth of knowledge here from other members as well.
I have not purchased the copper but plan to buy a sheet next week. The material I am looking at is quite thick at .020. Not sure what you mean by chipping the image? This material is a little too thick for the wrinkling you are referring to. Plenty of thinner stuff available that should work with that process.
I will let you know how the first couple print.

Stefano,
I use the Clearstar 2000 solvent product for metal. It is available in 12 oz.cans or gallons that you can run through your sprayer. It dries quickly and is available in several sheens. It is a little pricy so I am trying out Krylons Crystal Clear at a third of the cost. The Inkaid used as the receptor coating is a water based product. It would not work to brush or roll water based varnish products over Inkaid. I have not sprayed Timeless or Glamor II on metal and it may work. Someone else that has tried it might chime in.
The solvent dries so quickly and has virtually no clean up. If your just doing several prints it might be the way to go.

[stefano]

Dan,

Thanks for the quick reply! Looks like solvent based coatings it is... I might have to wait for better weather here in MI so that I can do the coating in the garage... Need to be mindful of wife and animals of course, at the pace Epson is shipping 4900s that might not be an issue!

Looking forward to experiment with metals and ink jet prints... I am collecting quite a few abstract macros of my wife's glass art that I think would look great printed on shiny aluminum, and I have a few IR shots that I want to try on copper! I just hate the wait!

Stefano