You Decide: What topic should we cover next?

by BC Admin on May 22, 2011 · 34 comments

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Well, its taken about six months, 40 posts, a contest, some interviews, some experts, some DIY tutorials, some guest posts, a ton of tweets, comments, and Facebook likes, and a fair amount of work, but we felt it was finally time for a blog post roundup — the first of what we hope will be many. So this week we offer you the top ten posts from the BC blog in case you missed them over the months. As judged by hits, comments, likes, and tweets. Also, we need your help.

We need your help

In the spirit of full disclosure we are here to formally and officially admit — believe it or not — we are indeed a media company selling products for printmaking. That, coupled with the fact that this is a company blog immediately leads one to believe that we are only out to tow the company line and shill the company products. For us nothing could be further from the truth. We put a lot of time and effort into this blog and one of our primary goals is a making it a valuable resource for those that print. A resource that helps you grow your business, your craft, your photography or your art and makes your time printing easier, more efficient, and more productive — whether you are using our products or not. That being said we also place a big importance on listening. Listening to what issues you would like to see us address, devote resources to solving, wrangle up experts to talk about and to properly cover in a post. Which brings up where we need your help. What would you like to see us blog about? We are planning out our next weeks and months of posts and we want your feedback. There are no ideas too crazy, random, or nuanced. If you have something in the general genre of printmaking, have questions of one of our experts, or would like to see us print your name vertically in the Swahili language on en entire 44 inch roll of canvas while driving down the 405 freeway in Los Angeles with a second chase car doing the varnishing — we will consider it. Let us know in the comments — you decide . Moreover, to make it worth your while — we will select the best 3 topics, and if yours was chosen we will present you with a breathing color gift card in the amount of $35. Post your proposed topic in the comments below as soon as possible, first come first serve.  Be as detailed as possible.  Now then, without further adieu:

The top Ten posts from the BC blog

in no particular order…

1.ARE YOU A CRAFTSMAN DEDICATED TO MASTERY?
A guest post from Professor David Ulrich about mastery and the craft of printmaking

2.DIY HVLP SPRAY BOOTH FOR UNDER $125
A “Do it Your Self” spray booth for under a$125.00 bucks — you must be kidding.

3.TOP 5 PRINTMAKING TIPS,TRICKS,TECHNIQUES – FEBRUARY ’11
All things varnish. A post dedicated to tips and tricks with varnish.

4.4 OPTIONS FOR STRETCHING CANVAS PRINTS
The pros and cons of all the techniques out there for stretching canvas.

5.WHAT IS THE REAL COST OF A CANVAS PRINT?
Costs breakdowns for canvas — different types — along with a downloadable xcel doc

6.EPSON 9900 COLOR MANAGEMENT, ICC PROFILE CREATION, COLOR WORKFLOW TIPS
If your are printing on an epson 9900 this is a must read article.

7.CAN YOU COAT FINE ART PAPERS?
Well can you? Its an important question.

8.TOP 5 PRINTMAKING TIPS,TRICKS,TECHNIQUES – APRIL ’11
A mixed bag of valuable tips and tricks

9.TOP 5 PRINTMAKING TIPS,TRICKS,TECHNIQUES – MARCH ’11
This post is all about the Easywrappe.

10.TOP 5 PRINTMAKING TIPS,TRICKS,TECHNIQUES – APRIL ’11
Another mixed bag of ninja tricks including dealing with page curl, cleanup, and snow leopard.

Comments

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  • http://twitter.com/NineTomatoes NineTomatoes (Dana)

    Just did a show using all your products and wowed a lot of people! Most interesting – the artists who’ve been stretching the usual way for 20+ years were fascinated and impressed with your system. You thought of everything – it’s awesome and we love it! Thanks!!  Next blog post - how ’bout highlighting some artists who are using your products.  :) ))

    • http://breathingcolor.com Breathing Color

      Good idea Dana.  Did you happen to take any pictures or videos of the EasyWrappe being demonstrated at your show?  let us know…

      • http://www.facebook.com/dana.weekley Dana Weekley

        Just the finished product – made a great presentation. May try the demo next time tho!

  • David Drufke

    How about an article on traditional stretching of canvas?

    • http://breathingcolor.com Breathing Color

      Good idea too.  keep em’ coming!

  • Charles Showalter

    I think an article that goes in depth with all aspects of traditional canvases stretching would be killer. I would start off with details about the fir stretcher bars, explain their unique characteristics, corner key options, and cross braces with detailed images.

    I would then advance the post to canvas printing and explain sizing, cutting the canvas from the roll, using the automated rotatory blade or advancing the canvas and cutting it yourself. I would also discuss canvas trimming, keeping about 2″ additional whitespace on all sides for stretching, and what the best method would be for doing so. Eg: 26″ (Print) + 3.5″ (Sides) + 2″ (Whitespace) = 31.5 on a 44″ roll 12.5″ would need to be trimmed off. Ruler & Clamps?

    Next I would discuss assembly of the stretcher bars, and discuss should you or shouldn’t you glue the corners or screw on the cross braces. Traditionally frames and cross braces are held together by the pressure of stretching. I would also discuss what to look for while examining the stretcher bars. I would also discuss when it is necessary to use cross braces. Typically 20×24″ wrap and smaller do not need them.

    Lastly I would discuss the tools and demonstrate the actually stretching on the canvas and explain how to properly and neatly wrap the corners. How the corners are wrapped are just as equally important as the print itself. They must be tight, flush and straight.

    • http://breathingcolor.com Breathing Color

      Now this is the type of detail we are looking for!  Thanks Charles…

      • Charles Showalter

        Your welcome. I have asked dozens of questions on twitter and they all have been answered. A few days ago I raised the idea of a new blog post on these particular questions. Since it was so extensive it couldn’t be answered on twitter and I was suggested to call Paul. Then this post came up. I decided it would be best to provide the idea here in hopes that it gets selected. I know there are people who do not feel comfortable asking for help, so some of the ideas I provided might help them out as well and it would tremendously help me out.

        I sometimes ask so many questions that I sometimes wonder if I drive people nuts. For a while there I was messaging you guys on twitter like every other day with questions and emailing Paul back in forth. You guys have been a great support.

      • Charles Showalter

        Your welcome. I have asked dozens of questions on twitter and they all have been answered. A few days ago I raised the idea of a new blog post on these particular questions. Since it was so extensive it couldn’t be answered on twitter and I was suggested to call Paul. Then this post came up. I decided it would be best to provide the idea here in hopes that it gets selected. I know there are people who do not feel comfortable asking for help, so some of the ideas I provided might help them out as well and it would tremendously help me out.

        I sometimes ask so many questions that I sometimes wonder if I drive people nuts. For a while there I was messaging you guys on twitter like every other day with questions and emailing Paul back in forth. You guys have been a great support.

        • http://breathingcolor.com Breathing Color

          Thanks for the compliment Charles.  Never hesitate to ask us any questions you might have.  Like you said in your comment — for every question that does get asked there are probably 10 people that have the same question and don’t ask.  In taking the time to answer it properly you can end up helping a whole bunch of people which we are thrilled to do — so don’t worry you are not driving us nuts. :D

          • Charles Showalter

            I know this is off topic, but what do you guys think about the Wagner Control Spray Plus. I noticed that you use it quite a bit in your videos. How does it compare to the Fuji 2903 XPC Mini-Mite 3 which you recommend on the timeless page. I know the Wagner is about 4x cheaper, that’s why I am asking.

            On Lyve with Timeless, I know it can be both rolled and sprayed with a HVLP gun, but which method is preferable. I know Lyve and Timeless requires pressure, but does the HVLP really provide enough pressure? Also I know it was posted before about different drying methods, but is it really safe to dry canvases on a cloth-line setup. I thought it would cause imperfections in the varnish, since it hangs.

          • http://www.breathingcolor.com Paul Morales

            Hi Charles,

            Great questions! Let’s begin by discussing the HVLP guns. We use the Wagner Control Spray Plus in house because it is affordable, does not require a compressor, is easily adjustable, easy to clean, and runs on a standard 120 volt outlet. I enjoy using it and I strongly recommend it for first time users that want a great package ready to go right out of the box. Every customer that I have recommended the Wagner to has experienced stellar results on just their first few prints so it seems like a very great HVLP gun to use. To elaborate a little more, I say “first time users” for anyone that has never sprayed varnish on their prints before.

            We recommend the Fuji Mini-Mite for customers that have been spraying for a while and are familiar with the technique. This gun is housed in a heavy-duty metal case and is an industrial-rated machine. This works well in a high volume, high production environment where spraying multiple prints are a daily task. The Fuji has more adjustable features like an air control valve, a pattern control knob, stainless steel components, an air cap that helps control overspray, and has a wider variety of nozzles available to use.

            Both spray guns have a turbine included (no compressor is needed), and both will work well under any condition. You can look at the Wagner as a product that will deliver great results without the bells and whistles. When you are coating large prints (and lots of them), a gun with more adjustable features will come in handy.

            To answer your second question, the preferred method is both methods! Actually, the preferred method is whatever works best for you. When rolling Timeless onto your Lyve prints, it requires pressure since there are no leveling agents present (as there are in Glamour 2). The reason why pressure is needed when rolling is that it is acting as a method for leveling the varnish yourself. The canvas needs to “drink” the varnish so it can protect every weave and corner from cracking. Even though there is no pressure evident when spraying, it will still work since the coating is being applied with a lower viscosity. Lower viscosity means less resistance to friction, or in simpler terms: more liquid like. The turbine effectively lowers the viscosity of the varnish, so it basically acts more like a liquid. Lower viscosity means the canvas will “drink” the varnish much like rolling and thus pressure is not needed. 

            As far as drying the canvas: I’ve heard of all sorts of different ways to do it. Hanging the prints on a clothesline will not hurt the drying process unless you have applied far too much varnish to the print. This will be easily noticeable as you will see the varnish drip from the top of the print. As long as you have applied steady, even coats you should not experience this at all.

            Keep the questions and comments coming Charles. We really appreciate your enthusiasm!

          • Charles Showalter

            That makes total sense. I didn’t think about the friction aspects of rolling, which like you stated required pressure for the canvas to soak up the varnish. As with HVLP gun I think I would start with the Wagner since I have never done spray coating before, but I will eventually upgrade to the Fugi. I just started canvas printing late last month using prebuilt kits, then I found BC. Not only did you guys save me 50%, your excellent archival certified materials boosted my sales as people knew what they were getting. I have only been doing smaller 10×16 canvases and smaller, but now I am being pressured to go large wide-format and starting a local business. This is what sparked my initial post. I am equally passionate about fine-art printing as I am with photography. As I am genuinely interested in this field, so I do have some more questions and ideas that I would like to toss around.

            I know that BC EasyWrappe system is provided by IGWrap, so the stretchers bars are branded. I am wondering if it would be possible if BC could work out a deal with IGWrap to offer unbranded version. I know this may initially raise the cost, but I feel this option (optional of course) would win over more professionals world wide.

            Fir Stretcher Bars: Are you Fir Stretcher Bars unbranded? I would assume they are since they are designed for professionals who prefer to wrap the traditional way. I am in my early 20′s and I would still choose the traditional method over the newer EasyWrappe. The traditional method, to me shows the customer that you care about your work and the craftsmanship that goes into it.

            Also could you tell us if you stretcher bars are harvested from managed forests and how they are dried. It would be nice knowing that they are harvested from managed forests and kiln-dried so that we can share with our customers that the products we use reduce environmental impact, and keep our air and water clean.

            EasyWrappe Cutting Device: For the cutting device, how long do they typically last and are the blades replaceable? Researching on cutting canvases, I have noticed that most people recommend a xacto knife and the blade should be replaced after 8-canvases.

            Pavox: Are you discontinuing Pavox as I noticed that its no longer available for purchase. It was a great idea that I think needed to be marketed a little more and with more sizes.

            Canvas Sizes: I know that BC canvases are sized at professional printers, but I am wondering if there are plans to offer sizes for prosumer printers. Not saying you have to go crazily small, but I think 13″x20′ rolls would make a great addition.

            Boxes: It would be very lovely if BC could offer custom size print cases. I know that it is relatively new, but I see great potential there. I have been make shifting boxes to hold 6×8 and 10×16 canvases and praying that they arrive safely.

            If I come up with more, I will be sure to post them.

            Sorry about the different sizes and color in this post.

          • http://breathingcolor.com Breathing Color

            Whoa Charles whoa. Now that, is a plethora of questions. Twitter is great for the short quick questions, the blog for a question or two and some discussion, when you have this many its time for a phone call. Let me know when a good time to call is and I will have a rep give you a call.

          • Charles Showalter

            LOL, BC, was just getting everything out at once. I am busy this entire week and I don’t know what my next week will look like, but when I get a chance I will be letting you know. I know that last week I did hear from Brian with some good news.

    • Alexandru Cardaniuc

      I would also like an article about all the above. 
      Especially on assembling the fir stretcher bars. I tried to call 3 times, left a voice mail. Was told that will receive a call back which I never did.Should I glue the stretcher bars? Staple them? nails? Or the canvas will hold them in place?
      I bought 5 boxes of different sizes fir stretcher bars. The website said tat i should contact customer support if I never used them before for special tips.  
      Looks like calling doesn’t help. Will try twitter.

    • Alexandru Cardaniuc

      I would also like an article about all the above. 
      Especially on assembling the fir stretcher bars. I tried to call 3 times, left a voice mail. Was told that will receive a call back which I never did.Should I glue the stretcher bars? Staple them? nails? Or the canvas will hold them in place?
      I bought 5 boxes of different sizes fir stretcher bars. The website said tat i should contact customer support if I never used them before for special tips.  
      Looks like calling doesn’t help. Will try twitter.

      • http://www.breathingcolor.com Paul Morales

        Hello Alex,

        I believe we also answered your question on Twitter, but the best method is to staple the canvas. Usually, the corners are cut and folded into the stretcher bars and the result is that they are tucked in neatly and stapled for a professional look.

        If you are having trouble getting a hold of somebody, please feel free to call me directly. I will be happy to help!

        • Alexandru Cardaniuc

          Thanks Paul for answering on twitter, emailing and calling me to answer my questions. I really appreciate that. 5 star customer support! Thanks again!

  • Joey Welsh

    I would like to know what type of pens other artist/photographers are using when signing canvas prints sealed with Timeless or Glamour 2?

    • Charles Showalter

      @29abccceee9396adfb5498f4502550d3:disqus  I use Pigma pens and markers. They are archival, and uses pigmented ink resistant to fading and water. Nowadays you will find most people, including museums, and art galleries do not want the front of the print signed. The best practice is to sign, date, and list the print number on the back.

    • Brad Grigor

      I’m using Gelly Roll pens by Sakura. They write over Glamour II, are archival and permanent, but require a couple of minutes to dry completely.

      @WorldDrknss:disqus Why are folks against signatures on the front, when artists have been signing the fronts of paintings for centuries?

  • Scruffyy

    Great Blog.  Good work.  Keep the info coming.  In particular, I would like to read about successful print setting when using Silk and the Epson Stylus Pro 3800.  Your silk broadcloth is incredible.  I have been making pillow.  Thanks.  Bob

  • Todd

    Hardwoods Vs. Softwoods:  which is really a better archival stretching bar wood and why.

    I have yet to see anyone write about this, but lots of talk about the archivability of canvas products.  The whole idea is to eliminate the acid exposure of the print – but when the print is stretched over a coniferous wood product, what’s the point?  Coniferous woods are inherently acidic, as opposed to deciduous woods.

    I’d very much like to see a study, and subsequent article on the effects of stretching with both wood types.  I currently recycle old oak and alder wood trim into stretching frames, each hand made, to avoid laying any acidic woods next to my prints.

    thanks!
    Todd

    • http://www.breathingcolor.com Paul Morales

      Great idea Todd. I think we really should have an in-depth article about that. Hardwoods have the  benefit of being stronger and straighter (which is ideal for stretching), but have a higher cellulose content. Softwoods have a lower cellulose content, but don’t have the same strength as hardwoods.

      As an example, our EasyWrappe Pro is made from American basswood, which has the lowest density of any of the commercial hardwoods. This gives us the benefit of a hardwood but with a much lower cellulose content (like a softwood).

  • Dave Wetterstroem

    I would love to see a blog about fine art reproduction including everything form capture to workflow on a realistic budget. I have found very little information on this, but what I have found deals with Betterlight scanning backs and North Light HID copy lights. This is fine if you have $30,000, but for the rest of us that would like to offer this service have little to go on. 

    My thoughts are using more moderate equipment that is easier to source and lighter on the wallet. Today’s DSLR are quite reasonable and can capture 18+ mp. While this may not be large enough for very large originals, with a little bit of stitching it should be more then adequate for the average job. 

    I am right in the middle of setting up my art reproduction studio including a sliding copy stand that allows me to photograph sections of a painting without moving the camera or lighting. While I am able to get a beautifully detailed image, I am still struggling with a workflow that will allow me to create matching reproductions without creating a bunch of proof prints. 

    Dave

    • http://www.breathingcolor.com Paul Morales

      Thanks for the comment Dave. That’s a very good idea, and I certainly agree that it’s difficult finding this type of information on the web. You can take a look at PhaseOne P 30+ Digital Back as an alternative to the Betterlight scanning backs (for about half the price). I’ve spoken to a handful of our customers who love the PhaseOne digital backs so it’s worth checking out.

      The process you are currently doing sounds very interesting. Do you have a ColorChecker Passport or something similar? If not, check out a previous post I wrote on How to create Camera profiles using the ColorChecker Passport with Adobe CS5. This should help cut down the proofing process and allow you to print exactly what you capture.

      • Dave Wetterstroem

        Yes, I purchased one after reading your blog post. It does get me closer, but not all the way to a match. 

        As to the Phase One P-30, these are still out of my price range and that of many artists. Today’s DSLR are doing everything that these expensive units did 5 years ago. The further benefit to me, is that I already own one :) I am guessing that many of your customers do as well. 

        Feel free to contact me if you would like to see my copy stand that I built for under $100 and to share some other ideas. 

        Dave

        • http://www.breathingcolor.com Paul Morales

          Thanks for the feedback Dave! You are correct; it is difficult to find a great working system on a budget. The P-30 is about 15k so that’s better then 30k, but there should be something more affordable.

          I talk about this with our team and see if any customers of ours can offer some insight as to what else may be available.

  • Brad Grigor

    I’d like to see an article on decurling (e.g. Elegance Velvet Platinum and other rolled papers) and trimming solutions.

    For decurling, I built a device consisting of two sheets of 44″ wide canvas, front to front, which sandwich the print, and the sandwich is rolled up in a roll of 52″ wide photo background paper on a 1 1/2″ ABS pipe. Since you had a blog post on this recently, I have since added two sheets of 1/16″ foam within the canvas. Works well and prevents ridges from forming on the print.

    Elegance Velvet Platinum will decurl in about 15 seconds. However, Epson Premium Luster can sit in the decurler for hours and still have a curl. What to do?

    On trimming, I use a 48 inch metal rule that I clamp with two spring clamps to my drawing table that has a cutting mat on it. I use an Olfa-style blade to make the cut. This gets pretty tedious when a lot of pieces need to be trimmed out of a roll. Sometimes the metal rule has to be placed on the printed area which could scuff it. And sometimes, accidents happen and prints get ruined or fingers get cut. So, it’s a cheap, very flexible but labour intensive and error prone method. Are Rototrim or Dahle trimmers more efficient, worth the high cost and will they do canvas?

    • http://www.breathingcolor.com Paul Morales

      That’s a fantastic idea Brad! Much better than my original idea. Do you perhaps have a photo of the device?

    • http://www.breathingcolor.com Paul Morales

      That’s a fantastic idea Brad! Much better than my original idea. Do you perhaps have a photo of the device?

  • Brad Grigor

    Cost-effective dust removal methods, both before, during and after the print and before, during and after coating.

    I doubt that I am the only one who suffers with dust (and other airborne bits). For example, if there is dust on the canvas before it enters the printer, it will fall off when the print comes out of the printer, leaving a tiny (or sometimes not so tiny) white spot. This is a real PITA on large expanses of black ink that photographers love so much!

    However, a few little white spots in a sea of black can be easily retouched with black acrylic paint, even after coating. Other colours can be more of a problem and I am becoming adept at mixing acrylic paints to match the print. I apply the touch up under a head-mounted magnifier with a very fine brush.

    I have also installed swiffers on a long dowel behind the printer. The swiffers rest on the media and pick up dust and lint as the media enters the printer. I keep a Bionaire UV ionizing air cleaner running as well. Seems to help. Well, that’s how I’m doing it–how do others try to deal with and/or prevent this problem.

    The other issue are airborne bits (tiny hairs and fluff) that land on the print while the coating is drying. This is a real PITA on those large expanses of white or saturated blue skies that photographers also love so much! Any circulation in the air in the vicinity of the drying print will bring these bits over the print and then like a magnet, they seem to be drawn down to the surface. I can lift the more visible ones off with a very fine paint brush if I’m monitoring closely. Keeping three or more prints clean can be a challenge. Again, retouching with a bit of white acrylic paint can heal the smaller bits. The complex multi-coloured images aren’t a problem, but I dread the high-key images on white backgrounds. :-)

    Cheers!
    Brad

    • http://www.breathingcolor.com Paul Morales

      Great ideas Brad. And I agree: dust removal is a pain! With the printer in mind, most of the time its debris collected on the print head from cutting rolls with the printers cutting blade. The swiffer idea is really good.

      In regards to dust settling while the coating is drying, I’ve heard that using drying racks similar to what screen printers use is extremely helpful. You can sometimes find used racks for sale on your local craigslist or similar site.

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