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Alternative environmental friendly fine art printing

ImagOn is a polymer film that is adhered to a thin plastic sheet or metal plate. The plate is exposed with UV light source through artwork created on a transparent mylar film material. The plate is developed in a solution of sodium carbonate. The artwork plate is then printed on an intaglio press. ImagOn avoids the use of hazardous chemicals used in traditional fine art etching plates.

Relief printing plates can also be created using another polymer plastic product called solarplates. These plates are exposed by using the sun as a light source and then developed in plain water.

Akua printing inks is a water-based inks developed with gum arabic as the binder allowing for printing without the exposure to hazardous chemicals and solvents. The consistencies of the inks are changed through a series of modifiers that give the artists complete control of the ink material. Also by modifying the inks, a variety of painting techniques can be used to create your art.

InkAid is another exciting new product that allows the artist the ability to print on a variety of materials: plastic, metal, ceramic, and wood. The image can be printed directly or through a technique of gelatin emulsion transfers.

I will be exploring the use of these products through a series of hands-on workshops with original artwork created with the aid of the digital computer. The computer allows the artists the ability to combine drawn, painted and photographic images together into a single piece of art that can be printed on traditional etching press or state of the art digital printers.