3. Equipment

In addition to the materials in the last chapter, you’ll need some equipment to do the processes in this book. While some processes may require advanced printers or printing services, most can be done on a desktop printer, as long as they use pigment inks.

As we work though this book, you’ll need to be familiar with creating or installing printer profiles on your particular system (see Chapter 2 for details). You’ll also need the imaging software of your choice (I recommend Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Photoshop Lightroom) and need to understand how to create and print images in it. I’ll give you some specific tips for these processes in this chapter and throughout the book, but if you need more information, I’d recommend the many helpful guides to using Photoshop and Lightroom published by Peachpit Press (www.peachpit.com).

For an updated product list (since products may change over time), see the book’s website: www.hackingthedigitalprintbook.com.

For those who have read Digital Alchemy or The Last Layer, most of the information in this chapter will be familiar, though there are a number of updates throughout. I recommend reviewing the section on backups, and it’s always a good idea to review the safety warning at the end of the chapter.

One caution: Be careful relying on some of the modern RAID array devices that use a proprietary format as a sole means of backup. If the company goes out of business or the enclosure dies, you’re facing an expensive data recovery effort or you may simply be out of luck. Archival copies should be in formats that are as close to universal as possible.

Printer models are changing almost as often as software versions, so check out the book’s website (www.hackingthedigitalprintbook.com) for more information.

The Epson 3880 is an excellent mid-sized printer that can produce very high-quality work. This one uses Epson UltraChrome K3 Ink with Vivid Magenta in 80 ml cartridges. These larger cartridges save a lot of money in ink costs, but you do have to be careful when switching between Matte Black and Photo Black ink. The printer has both, but since they share ink lines, every time you change between the two types of black ink you’ll lose some ink when the printer purges the lines of the other type.

Some desktop Epson printers, as well as many other brands and models, have what are called pizza wheels or star wheels in them. These are rollers that help hold down a print as it passes through the machine. Unfortunately, they can cause marks on your final print. The transfer film that I recommend usually will not be a problem if you select a wider platen gap on the printer front panel and slow the time between print head passes (Figure 3.4).

Note that some printers like the Epson 3880 keep the wheels up when flat loading from the front, so that’s another way to avoid the problem—check your printer manual for details. This is particularly useful when loading custom collage substrates into a printer (Figure 3.5).

For Epson, I recommend the 7900 series 24-inch printers as a good starting point for wide format printing. The Epson 7800 and 9800 printers are available used and are real workhorse machines, so that’s another option. Keep an eye out for any of the Epson printers that use the 350 ml ink cartridges, which can save a lot of money on ink.

When you build a custom substrate, the Epson 7900 or 9000 series (24 inches or wider) work the best (Figure 3.7). They have a vacuum platen that holds the media down and away from the print heads, with a platen gap of 1.5 mm (see below). And as a bonus, they don’t have the pizza wheels. Good examples of these printers are the Epson 9800 or 9900, which can print on a variety of custom substrates as well as on paper and transfer film.

Read the manual to determine how to set the platen gap, and be very careful: Many printers unexpectedly reset this to the default.

Software has taken advantage of all this computing power—the latest versions of Lightroom and Photoshop are nothing short of amazing. While those are the tools that I use and recommend, you won’t need heavy image-manipulation skills to use these processes—in my workshops, we shoot pictures with our iPhones and print directly to an Epson printer with very little manipulation. For most work, though, you’ll probably need to be able to do some basic image manipulation and to print using a specific printer profile.

The carrier sheets (Figure 3.12) we’ll use most often are made from polypropylene or polyethylene, both of which release almost every coating that we can put on them. Other plastics won’t work; for example, we can’t use polycarbonate because the decals cannot be removed from this plastic.

These sheets come in a variety of thicknesses, and I recommend using an ultra-thin (0.016 inches) carrier sheet made from polyethylene. The material is flexible yet rigid enough to avoid warping. Check the book website or your Internet search engine for sources for these sheets. I also like to work on ¼-inch thick white polypropylene slabs (Figure 3.13). These are super smooth and stay flatter than the sheets, so they’re great for building decals.

Two other options are a polyethylene sheet, like those used as laundry bags, or a cellophane sheet, like the ones used to wrap flowers (Figure 3.14). I really like the bag flowers come in because it’s water clear and I can flip it over to see what my substrate is going to look like. I avoid using plastic sheets from the hardware store (except as drop cloths) because many of them have an oily surface and are cloudy.

To roll your film down using an alignment board:

1. If your printed film has the white edge-tape, go ahead and remove it.

2. Place a second panel, the same thickness as your substrate (I’m using a second white polypropylene panel in this example), on the work surface against the edge of your substrate. This is your alignment board.

3. Place your printed film, printed side down, on the substrate surface (Figure 3.15).

4. Tape one edge of the film to the alignment board using blue painter’s tape. This is why we leave an extra 3 to 4 inches of blank film around our printed image (Figure 3.16).

5. Roll the imaged film around a cardboard tube from the substrate to the alignment board. Make sure that the ink is on the outside of the tube—the ink side is a bit dull. For small images, it may be easier just to fold the film back, as I’m doing here.

6. Move the alignment board off to the side and then prepare your substrate with the transfer medium (Figure 3.17).

7. When you’re ready to do the transfer, move the print and alignment board back up against the substrate, and then carefully unroll the print onto your transfer medium. Make sure you do not let the film flop down at any point or you’ll end up with a distorted image (Figure 3.18).

8. Carefully press the surface of the film down to the substrate to ensure that it’s completely in contact with the transfer medium. By rolling down the film, you’ll avoid having bubbles trapped between the film and the surface. Remove the tape, and push the alignment board aside (Figure 3.19).

9. After waiting the required time, pick up the far corner of the film and diagonally pull off the substrate in the opposite direction you rolled it down. Discard the film (Figure 3.20).

Another coating tool we’ll use is a foam brush. This is an inexpensive alternative to the coating rod, but the downside is that because there are air pockets in the foam, you can get bubbles trapped in thicker precoats. I’ve found that many of the cheap foam brushes just don’t hold up very well, but the ones from Jen Manufacturing are excellent. It’s always best to apply just a single coat, so it’s worth spending a bit of time practicing.

Don’t shake the coating because it’ll create bubbles in it. If you accidently do shake it, either pour it through a very fine strainer to filter out the bubbles or wait for the bubbles to rise to the top and skim them off.

To apply a precoat to a substrate:

1. Put a little double-sided tape on the back side of your substrate; press it to your work surface.

2. If you’re using a coating rod, apply a thick line of the precoat to your work surface but above the top of your substrate. Place your coating rod above that line, and draw the rod across the substrate in one smooth motion. Hold the rod still without twisting—draw it, don’t roll it (Figure 3.22).

3. If using a foam brush, apply a thick line of precoat directly to your substrate, and lightly spread it across the entire substrate with the foam brush. Make sure that your last run across the substrate is in one direction so that you remove any excess precoat and leave an even, smooth layer.

Some of these processes require specific temperature measures. While candy or probe thermometers work, I strongly recommend investing in an infrared thermometer. They are accurate, read instantly, and allow you to measure temperatures without handling the materials or containers.

Many of the coatings can have bubbles after applying them. To pop them, use a Rocket Blaster, found at a photo supply store, or something similar to have precise control as you force the bubbles to pop with the air blast. A small hair dryer also works well. To pop bubbles that appear between the image and the substrate as you do the transfer, while the transfer is still wet pop the bubbles with a pin dipped in isopropyl alcohol. Wait until the surface is dry to the touch (about two hours), cover the image with a polypropylene plastic bag, and then use a foam block or your fingertips to rub the spot down to the substrate.

To heat materials, you’ll need a microwave. And if you really get hooked on these processes, you may want a small refrigerator that can be dedicated to your artwork.

Most of these processes also involve specific times, so you’ll need an accurate timer, either an iPhone for a single job or separate inexpensive 3-minute egg timers for multiple jobs.

Last, you’ll need a random orbital sander for some processes. These sand a surface evenly without leaving swirls, and really save your arms and hands.

You’ll need a good pair of safety glasses or eye shields. While it’s tempting to rely on eyeglasses, they’re no substitute for real safety glasses. These should wrap around your face and protect you from splashes. Make sure you get ones that are impact resistant or impact proof. Always wear them when doing any of these processes. They should also provide 100 percent protection from UV light.

You’ll need appropriate protective gloves. Make sure you wear them any time you’re working with liquids or powders. You’ll also need work gloves to wear when sanding materials.

Many of these processes involve fine-powdered pigments or vapors, so you’ll need a safety mask suitable for that particular use.

SuperSauce Solution and isopropyl and grain alcohol are volatile and flammable. Keep them away from heat and ignition sources (including the inside of your car on a hot day), and ensure that you have adequate ventilation. I prefer to use these outside to avoid problems. You should also have a fire extinguisher suitable for alcohol fires available in your studio.

If you have questions about exactly what safety equipment to buy, ask at the store when you purchase the items (Figure 3.24).