Printing on Lutradur...

Printing.... 

Wow what a month this has been .... I have had so much planned for you and I am only on printing.... 

Well here goes! 

Running Lutradur straight through an Ink Jet Printer.


Lutradur goes through your home printer like a dream. I have done it with sheets purchased and with cutting my own sheets from the yardage. 

An old picture from our families albums printed onto Lutradur...

 This picture was of a ship that was in Toronto Harbour, Ontario Canada in around 1905. It was a replica of Christoper Coloumbus Ship according to the caption. I printed it onto Lutrudur and mistakenly ran it through the printer twice but the print was interrupted. It shows how you can get a darker image on your print by running the piece through twice. 

In order to insure a good crisp print that lasts you have to treat the Lutradur. You can do this several ways.  

Note: Bubble Jet set and Pym II will not change the hand or fiber look of the Lutradur but  Matte Medium and Gesso will.

You can use Bubble Jet Set like you would with fabric. The Bubble Jet Set will help keep the colour to fade. See Carol Bryer Fallart-Gentry website for tips on how to use this product. 

 You can also go to the manufacturers’ website.  C Jenkins Company Note: I was thrown off when I went to this link because the Jenkins seem to be operating a restaurant as well now so they have their business on the same web page but there is still lots of good info if you go to the left hand side of the web page. 

You may also spray with a protectorant  Pym II (Preserve Your Memories) (see book for details) to keep the colour from fading. Or as a alternative you can use a product from Krylon which I have which sayes it is a UV protectorant.

 

 In turn you may use a soft gel matte medium painted onto the surface of the lutradur and then left to dry. The matte medium can be also applied after printing to protect the surface. The matte medium will decrease the amount of transparency of the Lutradur. I have used Golden Matte Medium 

Painting a layer of Gesso on the lutradur before running it through the printer (and letting it dry thoroughly) will provide a different look for the print. The Gesso will allow for a different texture for you print.

Leslie's Tip
lesleyriley.com

Jo:  I really seem to enjoy printing with my printer on Lutradur. I have tried both putting a matte medium on and bubble jet set. Since I am new to this is there any one way that the printing is more stable… longer lasting colour then another?

Leslie:  In this case, it’s not the Bubble Jet or the Matte Medium that matters, it’s your printer inks. Pigment based inks will last longer than dye based. The matte medium will give you better and brighter color because the medium seals the fiber and spaces in between so you get a clearer image than you would with Bubble Jet Set which will help hold the printer ink, but is also absorbed into the fibers dulling it down and does nothing to help retain the ink in the “holey” part of the Lutradur. TAP is the perfect solution for images on Lutradur.

I am splitting this up into two posts because I have limited internet this weekend. So I am posting this now and will have a bunch of posts to go this week. 

Thanks for your patience! 

Jo