[MUSIC] All right. Let's get going with Printmaking 2.0. We're going to look at papers, inks, and other materials too. Well, we have certainly come a long way. From those little photo envelope days haven't we. Where we might not see prints from our film images until days or weeks or maybe months even from when the pictures were made. Folks generally did not have a darkroom in the home back then or now, although many hobbyists did. And even so there are many steps in the film and print developing process that took time, sometimes days before the home cooked photographs were held in the hand. Today within just a few minutes of when the shutter is released the memory card can be plugged into either a computer or a printer. An image file previewed on a monitor or a small LCD screen, and with a single mouse click the process of printing gets started. And it'll end just a few minutes later with a real print, dry and ready to view right there in the hand. That is actually just astonishing. From our last lesson we know a bit about printers and what to look for. And especially important we know what questions to ask ourselves if we think we would like to have a printer for our own use. Now let's look at the materials that couple with the printer to create the final image. Starting with paper. The printer, usually managed by Adobe Photoshop, or another image adjustment software program, must have its settings adjusted, so that its performance matches the parameters of the paper. Each printer has different settings for different papers, called profiles. A term you already understand that will assure that the right amount of ink is delivered based on the absorbency and other characteristics of the paper. I printed this photograph of an interpretive, long exposure of the sea, and the sky and shoreline lights, while I was on a sailboat on the Long Island Sound. I wanted the blues of the sky and the water to have distinctly individual contents. And, since the picture was made with a slow shutter speed, there was just sort of a wash of light and color that I was trying to generate, almost like a watercolor painting. I wanted to have a very smooth rendering of those color changes. I think it worked out pretty well. Pay attention to those subtle changes of colors in the blues In the upper right hand corner of this image. This is that same corner and you can see how it conveys that soft blending of the range of blues that I wanted and I finally got that in the second print that I made of the picture. Even if you're viewing this lesson on a small screen I am sure you can see the awfully mottled randomly stained looking awfulness that is in the same exact corner of that picture in this frame. How awful is that? Well, it's pretty awful and it is all because I'm neglected to change the paper profile in the Photoshop printer settings. I'd left them based on the paper that I have been using the day before which is a different brand, a different surface, and a different paper color too. Once I adjusted for that mistake, the print came out terrific. Because with my calibrated monitor, and calibrated printer, I had done the leg work before my printing session to assure success as long as I had the proper paper profile. So the first key to success in regards to papers and inks is the correct input of information in the printer driver or color management software. Relative to the print paper so the inks, the paper, the printer they are all on the same page. And that pun is intended. There is six major attributes that you'll want to be aware of when considering the type of print paper appropriate for any of your projects. In the past, it was not uncommon for most photographers to have settled on a fairly narrow range, of maybe just a few printers or maybe even just one. That they found match their expressive purposes. Today however, with the ease with which photographers can change their creative expressions. Working on multiple types of projects in any given week or even on any given day, it has become quite normal for a photographer to have more than one and sometimes many more than one favorite paper to work with. A paper for their portrait photography, another for landscapes, yet another for their conceptual art projects and perhaps more than one for each category too. One of the first things listed on most packages of paper is its weight. This attribute is listed in either in pounds or GSM. Grams per square meter. The higher the paper weight, the thicker the paper. Here in the USA, the weight is an actual measure of how heavy 500 sheets of 17 inch by 22 inch paper would weigh. That's size sheet is the equivalent of four US letter size sheets. So when it's cut up into letter size, you would have four 500 sheet reams of paper. The average office copy paper is known as 20 pound paper. But if you pick up a ream, you'd find it weighs about five pounds. And that is a bit confusing in some people. But now that you know the secret formula, you can impress all your photo friends who don't have any idea where paper weight come from. A paper's surface or finish as it is often referred to is just that, it's surface. Traditional darkroom photo paper was either glossy or matte or semi gloss and maybe you could find a stippled or canvas texture of some sort but they were fairly limited. Today those surfaces are readily available along with a wide variety of other options too. The more glossy and smooth the surface the more directly light will be reflected. And the higher the contrast and the richer and more intense the colors will appear. The opposite is true for very matte textured surfaces. Paper color has an important role to play in the impact of both the lightest areas of the image which will of course be made up mainly of that uninked paper surface. And also in the ways that ink colors are perceived relative to that paper color. Papers ranging from a brilliantly neutral white to a creamy color like egg shell or off white, are normal offerings by every major manufacturer. Paper manufacturers such as Canson Infinity, which has been in the business for about 450 years, are bringing their expertise to the relatively new field of ink jet papers. And making the range of color choices available for photographers wider every year. If you're new to inkjet printing or even if you're not but you're determined to boost your game, I would certainly advise you to order one of the sample packs like Canson Infinity and other companies offer. Voilà, I'll be that even under the conditions of looking at these papers on a small screen you can tell at least some differences between this can send an infinity photo high gloss paper meant to look like a pure white traditional dark room RC print. And this, Canson Infinity Arches Aquarelle paper, which has a distinct texture and a distinctly warm colored shade of white. Brightness is another factor to take into account, which you may not be able to see in the example of those two pictures on your screen. But, which I can assure you is apparent to me here in the studio. Paper brightness is usually expressed with a numerical scale, with 100 being the brightest. For something you're familiar with, think of the average office paper sheet which has the brightness of about 80. Most photo papers range in the 90s. Epson's bright white paper, for example, has a brightness of 96, while Ilford's gold fiber gloss is right up there at 98. Sometimes, you just need those extra two points. We have spoken a bit about size in our lesson related to printers, but it bears repeating here, because, as with so many other things, size does matter when it comes to papers. In fact, knowing what paper sizes you are or you would like to print both now and in the future, should be one of the key elements in your decision on which printer to choose. In looking for a paper that has the surface, color, brightness, and other characteristics you desire, you may well find one that is perfection. But also you might find that it's not available in the size that you want. For whatever reason, I've found a number of instances of papers that I enjoyed using in letter size, but I could not purchase on rolls for much larger printing. While I hope that changes. I want you to do better research that I did at one point. Where I had promised a client a print. Larger than the one they had seen. But I couldn't deliver. Because I had not realized that the paper was not manufactured in that larger size. Finally, check on the contents of the paper is it archival quality, meaning is it made of the materials that will hardly deteriorate at all. Under ideal storage conditions for hundred of years, if not you may have some explaining to do to collectors who purchase your expecting that they're made to the highest standards possible. Are there optical brightener chemicals or other chemicals infused in the paper that might make it less stable over time? A paper that is listed as 100% rag content might sound like something awful, I mean who wants rags around the house? But actually that description indicates that the paper is among the highest in quality, consisting of cotton rag material that is first of all very clean and second of all acid free and this is highly desirable having acid free materials. Let's shift over to the material that will give paper life as a picture and that is the ink that fills our printers. There are a few important aspects to keep in mind in this area as you consider your options for printing purchases and for the type of photographs you want to print. The first aspect relates to the material that makes up the color of the inks, and whether it's a dye or a pigment based solution. Dye based inks are less expensive. They can have a vibrant color palette, dry quickly, and tend to lead to fewer problems with clogging of the ink jet printer nozzles. Pigment based dyes on the other hand are thicker, a bit more expensive, they can lead to more problem with ink jet printer nozzle clogging. But and this is a big but for fine art photographers, the inks are among the most stable and they are what we call archival. Rated at up to 200 years storage, without noticeable change, I think that we all wished we could personally have such a rating. Some lower cost printers come with an equally low tech way of handling color inks and that is to have a single cartridge. With a set of siam, magenta, and yellow color dye inks all in one. And then one separate cartridge for black. While such cartridge systems are cheap, they can also be kind of expensive actually. The cheap part is in purchasing the individual cartridge to begin with. The expensive part is the fact that when one of those three colored dyes is used up, even if the other two are still at healthy levels the whole thing has to be replaced. In printers that have six or eight or even more individual color cartridges Including different shades of gray. While the cartridges is more expensive individually they also usually hold more ink and when one of them runs out it's the only color that you have to replace. Another element of concern in looking at inks in relation to the printer Is whether the cartridges are refillable, and if so by whom. There's probably a booming small business near you that specializes in refilling the small inkjet cartridges found in the all in one printer scanners that are usually found in homes and small offices. You know it can be done, but it is a dirty business, and it requires some specialized equipment, so you've probably never done it yourself. However, that reality is changing rapidly. Epson's introduction of the EcoTank system has revolutionized the approach to ink jet ink purchasing. And maintenance, and lowered the cost across the board as competitors line up with their own products for this more convenient and cost efficient system. You'll want to take this option under strong consideration as you look at ink systems yourself. Finally, let's look at just a few of the many options that we have for combining ink and printers and materials other than traditional paper in the pursuit of creative excellence. Some we'll be able to make ourselves, while others we'll have to farm out. But all of them will have in common that they were made with ink jet printers. The first it to put something other than paper in your ink jet printer. These stained glass windows were the result of MSU photography student's efforts under the direction of my colleague Professor Rachael Cox. They printed their photographs onto a clear plastic material that was dispensed on a roll. So we could be as long as the students wanted. The material is manufactured with an adhesive backing so all they had to do is strip off the paper protective sheet and carefully press out the air bubbles and the entrance way to press the art center is transformed. Another unusual material that I found perfect for some of my own artwork is glass itself. No, I have not yet found a way to put a piece of glass through my ancient printer although I'm working on it. In the meantime, I found a company here in the USA with a funny name related to the product. Fracture. I think it is a perfect medium for the series I'm working on. You've seen some of these before related to landscapes in Paris, France using this wonderful Polaroid SX 70 material made by The Impossible Film Company. Well, I love these little pictures and I think they show up really well in a gallery setting. But sometimes I'd like to see them bigger. And I think this is the perfect medium for me to enlarge them. This is glass. I scanned the Polaroid at high resolution, I sent it off to Fracture, and this wonderful object comes back. This 23 by 23 inch size is just astonishing in its presence. And I like the fact that I can get them in either square or rectangular shapes, and also, that the edges are not sharp, I'm not going to cut myself. The last item is another thing that you can print on your own ink jet printer. But I would recommend dedicating that ink jet printing machine, right out of the box, to a very different set of inks than normal. Whether you're celebrating a hockey victory, or a birthday, a cake is a traditional item on the table in many parts of the world. Well, you can't print a whole cake out, that's for the oven. But maybe here in the USA on the next Fourth of July we'll have a cake in my house that looks like this one on top. Yes, that is an ink jet printed cake decoration. This one is from the US company named, Tasty Creations, as believe me they are. Believe it or not, you can do this yourself. But again, only with a system exclusively dedicated to this use. With a set of edible dyes to load into your ink jet printer and a rice wafer or sweet sugar based sheet material. Your photographs will be transformed into even sweeter things. You just go ahead and hit the print button, and then enjoy the cake. Well, I hope you enjoyed this survey of issues and options related to inks, papers, and other things too. See you on our next lesson I'm going to go have some cake. [MUSIC]
