Printing and Wheat Paste Tips
2023 Updates and Notes
Kinko's prints update. I recently found Kinkos / FedX has super low-priced ( b&w $10 ea) Architectural "Plotter Printing" for large 36 x 48" standard bond paper which is great for wheat pasting. You can order prints online. https://www.office.fedex.com/default/architecture-construction-engineering.html .
Test first.... i have not used used Kinkos FedX for several years. And it seems the low price is b&w only.
Wallpaper paste:
I have started to use Zinsser 62008 SureGrip All-Purpose Adhesive , It come in a light powder, mixes easy , is clear and easy, holds well and is super easy clean up. It costs about two dollars per gallon mixed paste. I can paste about ten large images (36x48") /per gallon. 
I also have been trying good ol Elmers ( gallon size) for more difficult surfaces, diluted to about heavy cream.
Printing images yourself?
Papers that work well for me and my printers are Inkjet coated Proofing Bond Paper. COLOR BOND PAPER Matte . It's very economical, The cheapest thin bottom of the line works well, it absorbs the the glue well. Proof Line Paper Company is a good place start.
Proof Line™
COLOR BOND
3O6O 823
42" X 150'
2" CORE 2PK
PART # ECM42150
ID#72237-G09 C0004
BJOS-55-23-22
Quality Ink Jet Media
__________________________________
Good old flour water sugar works great.
"I combine one keg of flour and a about a cup or two of sugar in five-gallon drywall bucket and slowly add water ( i found cold water is fine no need to go hot..but if you have hot use it) with a drill paint mixer mix until the mixture reaches somewhere between the consistency of cream and pancake-batter...Close to crepe batter. That should make around 3 - 4 gallons. The mixture needs to be thick enough to properly coat and stick to the surface without sliding off fast but still thin enough to absorb into the backside paper. 
Place the print
I chalk out the area around the print so i know where to paint the paste ... paint the wall and lay the paper down on the glue and in quick long motion smooothing down it down. I use a mini paint roller. ( With inkjet you have just a short time to push it down tight on wall before smearing starts from the wet paper from the back wets the ink. Then I seal the edges down with a brush and paste. "
Final coat ? I used to come back after it all dried quickly coat the outside with acrylic floor liquid you can get a gallon jug janitorial supply company in Denver one is on 12th and Kalamath. BUT in the long run i have found non-coated work weathers and lasts just as long as coated paper. So i stopped.
Sometimes it is good to use the acrylic to give work that has faded overtime in the sun ..it gives it new life.. a fresh look.
Place to Wheat Paste
Looking for best locations.
Keep in mind exposure to the elements. All will work but some last longer.
Northern faces tend to last longer then southern exposures..
Northern facing wall with a overhang protecting some from elements and the work will last for a decades.
Direct sun and rain is ok and will last 6 months to a year or more. Hail is not a friend of wheat paste. When the image is wet from the rain its very vulnerable to tearing. Hail will shread wheatpasted walls.
Out on the street. Approaching building owners.
When pasting the images, I find words like " beautify”, “ephemeral”, “short term” and “just paper, flour, water and sugar”, and “washes right off with water” helps the public/owner/police understand your artistic mission. However, words like “Street Art” or “Graffiti” tends to be met with stone cold looks by owners and or even arrest.
Should not wheat paste on historical brick surfaces.
______________________________
Old News
NEW PRINTER CHANGES TO NOTE:
Many print shops such as Kinkos have changed printers.
The old plotter printers are a electrostatic carbon process. (a large version of classic Xerox copy machines). These machines ( running on Windows 98) for archtectual drawings. They would not accept extra large files.
The current architectural plotter printers are standard inkjet technology. They accept large files. There is no need to as careful reducing file size. The dimensions of new printer dimensions are 36" inches wide (91.4 cm). ( the same as the old printer). You must ask for architectural plotter prints on the thin paper.
The instructions below still are good. In fact the careful sizing below will produce a high quality print. One does not need to send a giant file. The reality of blow up technology is a bigger more higher resolution (dpi ) file does not make a better print at poster or mural size. Again the sizes at ( 150 -200 DPI ) are more than enough pixels (5500 pixels on the short side). I print all our work at this size it looks great.
Find a copy shop with a large format plotter printer. Most copy shops and office print centers have these printers, generally called a Architectural Plotter Printer, for engineer and architect drawings and plans. Ask for the “Over Sized for engineering prints and architectural plans. The printers’ dimensions are 36" inches wide (91.4 cm). Schools, architectural practices and engineers all have this type of printer. It prints on thin cheap paper that absorbs moisture (the wheat paste glue) and attaches well on textured surfaces (brick and wood) but does not adhere well to polished surface (glass and metal).
Note that coated, thick gauge paper does not work well for the wheat pasting processes, ( flour water sugar ) .
Archtectual plotter printers. Xerox is over. It is now inkjet.
Note that coated, thick gauge paper does not work well for the wheat pasting processes, ( flour water sugar ) .
Archtectual plotter printers. Xerox is over. It is now inkjet.
Plotter images are cost effective and easy to make, amounting to less than $15.00 per large print. 36" x 48"
Xerox is still used and loved because it does not smear when wet.
Its hard to find. But does exsist. I often wornder where the thousand of Kinkos machines unplugged are today.
Top artist still use them ..last i left off JR had Xerox in his InSide Out project moble printing vans.
( my dream van ..mobile printing.. mapping any building wall and tiling many prints making one single image. omg )
JR (www.jr-art.net) - www.artsy.net/artist/jr .
This was the process of Shepard Fairey (www.obeygiant.com )
Lots of stories of artsts in LA meeting in the local Kinkos xerox centers.
My choosen Kinkos LOVED printing the artwork jobs it was a break from the boring business orders. They in fact gave be great discounts. Note: Not just the manager any staff can greatly reduce prices if asked.
____________________________________________
YouTube has instructional videos that may help but note that many of the videos available use expensive wallpaper glue. Personally, I use flour, warm or hot water, and dash of sugar, mixed hard ( with a paint mixer attached to drill ) mixed to a thin pancake-batter like consistency. I choose not to heat or “cook” the mixture, others choose to heat the mixture.
Using a cheap, plastic broom (some people use paint rollers), coat the paste to the wall. Apply the print to the surface and rub bubbles outwards from the center. I choose to not overcoat the paste directly on top of the print. Instead, I use a clear, floor acrylic to coat the top of the print itself and give it a final wipe with a rag. You can find jugs of acrylic floor shine at most custodial / janitorial stores.
Preparing Images for the Printer:
For many old slow Plotter Printers ( most common is the ICe ) , the files should not be much bigger than 5500px on the short side (of the image). Using greyscale is very important to reduce the size of the file. Note that Adobe Lightroom’s grayscale is still a color file. The image file must be a true greyscale file—not an RGB file.
This a electrostatic carbon process a large version of classic Xerox copy machines found at most copy shops.
( UPDATE PRINTERS ARE CHANGING BUT SIZING IS STILL THE SAME)
I save the file as a "greyscale" image ( removing the color) sized to 5500 pixels on the shortest side. Save your file as a pdf file—Plotter Printers love pdf files at 50mb or less and tend to freeze and stall with larger files. I keep the file size down to allow the printer to read the image quickly and easily and in general for easy sending.
The file sized around 36” x 78” and at 150 DPI and 5500 pixels along the shortest side. SAVE AS PDF. The final PDF print file should be around 30-50mb. If the file is much larger than this, you have not formatted your image correctly. Most likely not changed to Gray Scale.
Recommended Image Dimensions:
Portrait 36in width x 48in high (91.4 cm width x 121.9cm height)
Landscape 48in width x 36in high ( 121.9cm width x 91cm height)
Image resolution should have a DPI between 150-200 and 5500 roughly pixels on the shortest side. This jpg file should be 2-4 mb closed (compressed) and 40-60 mb opened (uncompressed).
Carbon Pigment Prints
Today most output is is Inkjet Prints on thin paper. The technique is to be careful not to smear.
Carbon Pigment Prints hold up well in weather / direct sun uncoated.
Sadly large format Xerox ( plotters are hard to find today). Why Xerox paper works well: Xerox paper is thin and absorbs the paste and adheres well to uneven surfaces. Most importantly the print does not smear, run or bleed when wet. The process is also carbon based and holds up well in weather and direct sunlight—even in direct UV light, the prints will not quickly fade.
Creating the Wheat Paste Glue:
Because the glue consists of just flour, water and dash of sugar, creating the wheat paste glue is simple and will cost less than $1.00/gallon to make.
Tools needed:
•Drywall pales and buckets for water.
•Large sponges/rags
*Chalk to mark exact placement and paste area.
•Work gloves (to quickly brush off wall of chipping paint and other objects)
•A set of wallpaper brushes, thicker the better, plastic brooms, large brushes.
• Rollers press work to wall and brushes for painting down the edges.
•Hand drill with paint mixing attachment (to mix the wheat paste)
•Though it is just fine to mix the wheat paste with your hands and paint sticks
•White/Bleached flour or cornstarch
•White sugar
•Water (hot or cold)
Wheat Paste that works well for me
I combine one keg of flour and a about a cup or two of sugar in five-gallon drywall bucket and slowly add water until the mixture reaches somewhere between the consistency of cream and pancake-batter...Close to Crepe batter. That should be around 3 - 4 gallons. The mixture needs to be thick enough to properly coat and stick to the surface without sliding off but still thin enough to absorb into the backside paper.
I chalk out the area ... paint the wall and lay the paper down back side only. With inkjet you have a short time to slap and roll the paper tight on the wall before smearing starts from the wet paper.
Old Methods
I have been successful without heating the mixture and just mixing the paste well with drill mixer. However, some people will choose to heat the paste while mixing or use hot water. Others will choose to make one thick “back paste” for the surface and a thinner paste to act as a “finishing paste”. The thinner mixture is then used to wipe over the final adhered image, which absorbs through the paper and combines with the mixed paste on the back of the paper. Some do a final finishing coat using clear acrylic floor shine as to give the image (after it has been adhered to the surface) a final wipe to clean the image and give it rain protection. ( I stopped final coating )
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.