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Logo Printed on Mats (kind of) and mat openings

Mo Elyas

Frequent Poster
Messages
325
Location
New York, NY
Company
Big Apple Art Gallery
Just finished a large corporate job. The intention was to print the logos on the mat then cut an opening. However, I was unable to print directly on any mats that looks good. I printed this on Epson Cold Press Natural paper, then mounted than on a mat. I then cut that mat for the opening.

I think it came out pretty well but it would have saved me a ton of time if I could have printed it directly on the mat. Any ideas on which to use? Or possibly find a thick Epson printer compatible paper and print and cut that as a mat?

https://www.dropbox.com/s/0eyltsm7r2l1ys2/IMG_1106_logo.jpg?dl=0
(I cannot upload images here for some reason)
 
Mo, Epson has a printer that will print on matboard. And I think Canon has introduced one, too. And if you can find someone that has a functioning Iris printer, they print on a flatbed and can print on about any thickness. But if you are using an Iris printer, be sure to coat the final product. The inks are not as stable and the modern Epson and Canons.
 
Mo, Epson has a printer that will print on matboard. And I think Canon has introduced one, too. And if you can find someone that has a functioning Iris printer, they print on a flatbed and can print on about any thickness. But if you are using an Iris printer, be sure to coat the final product. The inks are not as stable and the modern Epson and Canons.

Thanks Gregory. Do you know which Epson or Canon models would print on mats? and which mats would work well with them?
 
Not really. But supposedly the 9800 series will, but I have never tried it. I would be concerned about getting a clean matboard out if the printer were used for other purposes.

But they have some new models out there that are using a different method of feeding but the same print head technology. I meant to track them down in Vegas, but that was not to be. My rep left to go to Colorado and be a guide and pursue his passion in photography, so I am not much help. But I would say, find a rep. They usually have a good idea of what their printers will do in the real world.
 
Not really. But supposedly the 9800 series will, but I have never tried it. I would be concerned about getting a clean matboard out if the printer were used for other purposes.

But they have some new models out there that are using a different method of feeding but the same print head technology. I meant to track them down in Vegas, but that was not to be. My rep left to go to Colorado and be a guide and pursue his passion in photography, so I am not much help. But I would say, find a rep. They usually have a good idea of what their printers will do in the real world.

I used a 9890 and it did not print too well on a bunch of different mats.
 
That is what I was afraid of. There are lots of places for little bits of dust and ink spots to get embedded in the matboard. And I just remembered, you need a very smooth facing paper on the matboard for these printers.

One of the mfg's made a board just for printing, but I can't remember which one. It had a very smooth surface. I think Peterboro's purified alpha celulose board might do well. Something dense with a very smooth surface. Probably not Crescent rag, but maybe some of the Select whites. I am less familiar with Bainbridge products. This might be worth pursuing with one of the reps. They will know if they have a customer printing on matboard.

Sorry I can't be more help. I have never had to do more than one, and I just print it out then drymount it to 4-ply rag. It is a little tricky, but after some practice I could get something centered right to cut the opening on my Wizard. I hear this is less of a problem on Valiani machines because they can cut without the extra board required for the clamps on the Wizard.

Some of the mfg's were experimenting with printing color directly on matboard, but I don't know what kind of printer they were working with. I think Wizard was one of them, and if they have abandoned the idea, they might tell you. The rumor was they could not find a cost effective way to do it.

It reminded me of the old days when all matboards were white and framers applied color with an airbrush. I always wanted to experiment with this, but that will have to wait until retirement. I am just too busy doing what we do now!

And one last thought, the other thing I looked into some years ago was a hot stamping machine that would allow you to use a die to stamp gold and any of the colors available in hot stamp material on matboard. It seemed a tremendous amount of money for something I wasn't sure I could sell. But it was only about $1800. And there is also the heat transfer they used to use for Tshirts before screen presses were so popular. That could be transferred directly to matboard in a hot press.
 
That is what I was afraid of. There are lots of places for little bits of dust and ink spots to get embedded in the matboard. And I just remembered, you need a very smooth facing paper on the matboard for these printers.

One of the mfg's made a board just for printing, but I can't remember which one. It had a very smooth surface. I think Peterboro's purified alpha celulose board might do well. Something dense with a very smooth surface. Probably not Crescent rag, but maybe some of the Select whites. I am less familiar with Bainbridge products. This might be worth pursuing with one of the reps. They will know if they have a customer printing on matboard.

Sorry I can't be more help. I have never had to do more than one, and I just print it out then drymount it to 4-ply rag. It is a little tricky, but after some practice I could get something centered right to cut the opening on my Wizard. I hear this is less of a problem on Valiani machines because they can cut without the extra board required for the clamps on the Wizard.

Some of the mfg's were experimenting with printing color directly on matboard, but I don't know what kind of printer they were working with. I think Wizard was one of them, and if they have abandoned the idea, they might tell you. The rumor was they could not find a cost effective way to do it.

It reminded me of the old days when all matboards were white and framers applied color with an airbrush. I always wanted to experiment with this, but that will have to wait until retirement. I am just too busy doing what we do now!

And one last thought, the other thing I looked into some years ago was a hot stamping machine that would allow you to use a die to stamp gold and any of the colors available in hot stamp material on matboard. It seemed a tremendous amount of money for something I wasn't sure I could sell. But it was only about $1800. And there is also the heat transfer they used to use for Tshirts before screen presses were so popular. That could be transferred directly to matboard in a hot press.

i think a dye sub process might work out well too.
 
I have not tried printing directly on mat boards, but would the amount of sizing in / on the matboard also influence how the printing would appear? For example, when I do french lines / ink lines on some mat boards I have no problems, but with others I get bleeding. I have learned to test before I commit.
 
I don't think printing directly on matboards is really ready for prime time. But I would look to the sign industry. Most of the news I have heard about the ability to print directly on matboards has come from there, and that is where I heard about these new Epson printers. Most of the sign industry printing is done on plastic and metal these days. Sublimation inks have improved considerably and are both more light fast and UV resistant, but 5 years is usually the standard they seem to work by.

Another odd bit of trivia is that Epson now has a white ink for some models.

It is worth considering that technology suitable for signs is not always adaptable for framing purposes, particularly if preservation is an issue.

If I were going to need printed matboards in quantity though, I would start with my local sign shop. Screen printing is very effective and not terribly costly, and it is possible to use light colors on dark matboards. There was a local framer here for a while that did sports photography and invested in a basic screen printing set up to print logos and statistics in white on dark green mats.

When I first opened up in the 90's, I contacted Epson, Canon and HP about printing on matboard. Even though our industry was much larger then, none of them could see the potential for a market with picture framers. But Windows 95 was also the latest & greatest. They probably would be more interested in coming up with ways to help us accomplish this now.
 
I have not tried printing directly on mat boards, but would the amount of sizing in / on the matboard also influence how the printing would appear? For example, when I do french lines / ink lines on some mat boards I have no problems, but with others I get bleeding. I have learned to test before I commit.

Yes, this is exactly what happened with me. The inks bled and looked terrible.
 
Mo, some folks will let you believe sublimation the the "new" thing, but it has been around for decades. Most Kodak prints used the technology. The problem has always been that the inks were fugitive. There have been some great advances in recent years, and the heat transfer process has also improved. It is not good on porous surfaces, for example T-shirts that are sublimated have to be sublimated on 100% polyester. Look to the engraving industry to find out more about it. One of my friends has a video course on the subject, but it aint cheap. (Picture framing education is one of the greatest bargains there is!)
 
Screen printing is very effective and not terribly costly...

That was my first thought for the type of thing you did in this project - 3 colors, high quantity. Perfect screen print application. Check with a t-shirt printing place or a sign shop. Do you know Ylva? Pretty sure she and her husband have a t-shirt company - maybe she would be able to give you some input.
 
That was my first thought for the type of thing you did in this project - 3 colors, high quantity. Perfect screen print application. Check with a t-shirt printing place or a sign shop. Do you know Ylva? Pretty sure she and her husband have a t-shirt company - maybe she would be able to give you some input.
Yes, I know her very well. I will contact her. Thanks David.
 
Mo, some folks will let you believe sublimation the the "new" thing, but it has been around for decades.

There are people claiming that dye sub is the new thing? HAHAHAHAHAhahha! *ahem*

Yes, it's been around for many, many years. I think it was invented in the late-80s, shortly after the laser printer was invented.

Andrew
 
There are people claiming that dye sub is the new thing? HAHAHAHAHAhahha! *ahem*

Yes, it's been around for many, many years. I think it was invented in the late-80s, shortly after the laser printer was invented.

Andrew

Andrew, what's your problem with me? I get that you know a lot more than anyone about anything but come on!
 
I'm sorry, Mo, you mistook my post. It was most certainly not directed at you, but at those telling you that dye sub is new. You are the victim. It's not new. It would be like sales people claiming that manual mat cutters are new. It's an amusing sales claim. My apologies if you took my post as disparaging to you, that was not my intent at all.

Andrew
 
Mo, If I understood correctly, you were able to successfully print on paper, mount that to the matboard, and then cut the window & perimeter. Right? Maybe that's still the best way to achieve the results you want without having to deal with unknown disparities between mat surfaces and inks.

Inkjet technology is versatile, easy to access at reasonable cost, and has progressed to the point of excellent durability. Sometimes it's best to go with what we know works.
 
Mo, If I understood correctly, you were able to successfully print on paper, mount that to the matboard, and then cut the window & perimeter. Right? Maybe that's still the best way to achieve the results you want without having to deal with unknown disparities between mat surfaces and inks.

Inkjet technology is versatile, easy to access at reasonable cost, and has progressed to the point of excellent durability. Sometimes it's best to go with what we know works.

Yes and agree.
 
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