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From the list below, select the category in which your question best fits.
A. General/Presales
B. Compatibility
C. Application specific questions
....1. Procedures
....2. Media and substrates
D. Fabric Art (not wearable)
E. Canvas
F. Metal
G. Finishing
....1. Postcoats
....2. Framing
H. Troubleshooting
I. Related products and services
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A. General/Presales
Q. Can I get free samples?
A. A sample set, including approximately 4 oz. of six inkAID products, is available to first time customers at a cost of $27.00, including ground shipping within the Continental United States. Shipments to Alaska and Hawaii, as well as International destinations, will incur additional shipping costs.
Q. What is the shelf life of the products?
A. It is best to use products within 1 year from date of purchase.
Q. How should the products be stored?
A. Store containers at room temperature. If the product is frozen it will not be usable. The solids in inkAID precoats will settle and should be stirred thoroughly before each use.
Q. Have you had any tests performed to determine how your product affects the archival properties of the print?
A. Because of the almost limitless possible combination of inksets and media, no formal tests have been done on inkAID products. We suggest you create a side-by-side set of prints; one with inkAID using your specific ink/media/ combination and one with prints on media and ink that has been tested. Place both in a south window and compare them after several months. In one test with Epson 9500 Ultrachrome Inks, there is no visible fading difference after one year in the sun.
Q. Do inkAID products contain any acids that would cause damage to the substrate over time?
A. inkAID products are acid free and neutral pH.
Q. Do inkAID products contain any optical brighteners?
A. inkAID products contain no optical brighteners.
Q. Does inkAID application require any special equipment or ventilation?
A. When used properly these water-based products require no special ventilation equipment and present no hazards. Read the MSDS sheet for proper use and safety guidelines.
Q. What is the average surface area (in square feet) I might expect to get using either a sponge brush or HVLP spray gun?
A. You can anticipate coverage of about 250 square feet per gallon, however this number is quite variable depending upon the applicator used, your technique, and the surface to which you are applying the product. A sheet of aluminum will absorb considerably less precoat than a handmade sheet of paper with no sizing.
Q. Can these products be used by children?
A. These products are not recommended for use by children. Read the Material Safety Data Sheets.
Q. The bottle lids are very difficult to remove. Do you have any suggestions?
A. The caps are secured to insure that we don’t spill or leak any material during shipment. They can at times be hard to unscrew, but a regular “jar cap opener” (such as that used to open vegetable or sauce jars) will do the trick. You could also run them under hot water (top side up, not down) for a few minutes to help expand the cap and loosen it.
Q. I bought your gallon size inkAID and have tried very hard to open it. What should I do?
A. There are several thin "slots" around the outside edge of the cover. Simply cutting through the slots will result in individual "tabs". Gently pull up several of the tabs and the cover will begin to come off.
Q. Where can I find the MSDS sheets?
A. They are on the website, linked from the products page, and also come packed with your first order.
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B. Compatibility
Q. What printers and substrates can I use with inkAID-coated media?
A. Any inkjet printer with dye or pigment ink can be used. Printers with greater head clearance offer more flexibility, as you must not exceed the media thickness recommended for your printer. Be sure to read the information about “pizza” wheels, which may track through ink freshly printed on non-porous surfaces coated by clear inkAID products. (Not a problem with inkAID White Matte Precoat!) Inkjet printers like the Epson 4000 and the Epson 7600 and later models are easy to work with if you plan to make your own substrates as they take media the thickness of a mat board and do not have wheels that touch the printed surface after printing. Any paper or substrate that can feed through your printer can be used with inkAID.
Q. Where can I get media to coat with inkAID? I'd like to try artist's papers and also non-woven fabric.
A. Locally you will find most art supply stores carry a wide range of papers from sheer handmade rice papers to heavy watercolor papers while fabric stores and garden shops carry non-woven fabric. To order from the web, our Resources page provides links to some of the vendors.
Q. I would like to print onto aluminum foil or other thin metal sheets and wonder which product to use. I have an Epson 2200 which has "pizza" wheels.
A. Metal coated with White Matte inkAID can be printed on printers with “pizza” wheels because the ink dries immediately on contact and will not track, however the white color will cover the metal. The "pizza" wheels will track through the either the clear Semi Gloss Precoat, Clear Gloss Precoat Type II or the Clear Gloss Precoat and Adhesive. Some websites have information on raising or removing "pizza" wheels, but doing so may void your printer warranty. See the answer above for additional information.
Q. Do the inkAID products work with both dye and pigment inks?
A. Both pigment and dye inks work well with all inkAID products.
Q. Should I use matte black or photo black Epson Ultrachrome inks with inkAID products?
A. Both matte black or photo black work well. With inkAID Clear Gloss Precoats, some artists prefer to use photo black ink.
Q. Are there printer profiles for the product, or equivalents?
A. There are no profiles available as application uses vary. But try a canvas profile (sometimes referred to as “paper choice”) or enhanced matte profile as a starting point for inkAID White Matte; gloss surface profiles for inkAID Clear Gloss Precoat; and semi-gloss profiles for inkAID Clear Semi-Gloss.
Q. Do the coatings provide the equivalent of the types of coating used on say, Epson pre-coated canvas?
A. The inkAID White Matte Precoat will produce a surface very similar to commercially precoated matte canvas and flat white papers. The clear inkAID precoats have a shiny finish very similar to commercially precoated semi-gloss or gloss surfaces like stretch canvas.
Q. I need to print white from my inkjet printer. Can inkAID be used as an ink, in an inkjet printer?
A. Absolutely not. It would damage the print heads. inkAID is applied to the substrate as an ink receptive coating
Q. Can I apply inkAID as sealer or postcoat over my inkjet prints?
A. inkAID is never used as a postcoat. It is an inkjet receptive coating that is applied to the substrate to create an optimal surface on which to create an inkjet print. See Section G1, Finishing/ Postcoats.
Q. Do the clear inkAID products dry absolutely clear.
A. Yes, they dry absolutely clear.
Q. Are their any known adverse reactions to paper sizing agents such as Hercules's 'Aquapel', polyvinyl acetate (PVA), sodium carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), rice starch, wheat starch, or to additives such as titanium dioxide (I sometimes use Liquitex acrylic gesso) and calcium carbonate?
A. The ingredients in inkAID will not adversely react with the materials that you mentioned. These are all common “papermaking” raw materials and inkAID is regularly used with paper.
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C. Application specific questions
1. Procedures
Q. How do I apply inkAID?
A. The simplest way is to use a sponge brush. Detailed procedures are given in the Application Instructions section of the inkAID website.
Q. What is the solvent for cleaning?
A. All inkAID products can be cleaned from brushes using soap and water before they dry. Once the White Matte Precoat or the Adhesive are dry they cannot be dissolved in water. Remove spills or spots on clothing and surfaces immediately.
Q. Can inkAID be diluted and sprayed with a spray gun? I want to coat papers so that no obvious coating layer is visible or felt on the surface.
A. An HVLP sprayer (high volume, low pressure sprayer), such as the Campbell Hausfeld HV3000, is recommended. Good results have also been obtained using a Paasche VLS Airbrush with the No. 5 tip and 50 lbs. of pressure. Spray several light layers using the 7 ml (one large color cup) evenly on an 11" x 22" piece. inkAID products can be diluted with 10% distilled water to aid in spraying.
Q. I tried mounting a print with your adhesive but the print will not adhere well to archival foam core or masonite. What am I to do?
A. inkAID adhesive is designed to be used as a primer adhesive when you want to print on non porous surfaces. After the inkAID adhesive is dry, gloss inkAID is applied. inkAID adhesive is not formulated to be used for mounting artwork or other purposes.
2. Media and substrates
Q. What are some of the media I can use to print on?
A. Almost anything that can feed through your printer can be precoated with inkAID products. Check the printer manual to determine the maximum thickness your printer can accommodate.
Q. Do you have a clear matte coating that with work with art papers with deckle edges?
A. Use the inkAID Clear Semi-Gloss Precoat. If after printing you want a more matte surface, spray it with a matte acrylic varnish.
Q. Would you recommend inkAID Clear Semi-Gloss Precoat for handmade or rice papers?
A. Yes. The inkAID Clear Semi-Gloss Precoat will retain the character of the paper.
Q. How can I make my own substrates?
A. Some artists use a nonwoven material that will not buckle when coated as the base for their substrates. Pellon, an interfacing purchased from a yard goods store, can be painted with traditional media then coated with inkAID. Strathmore Aquarius paper is thin and will not buckle when wet making it another good choice for collages and paintings that you plan to precoat and overprint with an inkjet print. Both tend to stay flat, thereby avoiding head strikes.
Q. Will encaustic wax adhere to inkAID?
A. Encaustic adheres well to surfaces coated with inkAID.
Q. How does inkAID react over acrylic grounds?
A. There’s no problem using any inkAID problem over an acrylic ground.
Q. Can I put inkAID on top of a painting then print on it?
A. You can use inkAID over any water-based media but it may require fixing first. Don’t use any waterbased media, including inkAID products, over oil or other solvent-based media.
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D. Fabric Art (not wearable)
Q. Can inkAID be used to precoat fabric for printing?
A. inkAID can be used to precoat fabric for use in collage, banners or stretched art. inkAID White-Matte is a very water resistant coating and can be machine washed. For best results use pigment ink for these applications. The clear inkAID pre-coats cannot be used on fabric that will be washed. For washable fabrics with a clear coating see information in Related Products and Services.
Q. What backing can I use to get fabric through the printer?
A. You can stretch your fabric on stretcher bars, coat it with inkAID, let it dry, trim it from the bars and iron it to freezer paper to feed thru the printer. You may want to consider buying a precoated inkjet fabric with paper backing attached from a supplier like Jacquard Inkjet Fabric Systems.
Q. Do you have any advice for printing on silk with a desktop printer like an Epson 2200?
A. Be very careful and test using a light colored print first. The “pizza” wheels can cause problems printing on some materials because they track on the image after it is printed and can gum up the printer. In general it is not recommend doing experimental work using printers with “pizza” wheels. If you find the wheels track, consider an Epson 4000 or other printer without these wheels.
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E. Canvas
Q. Can inkAID be applied to artist's canvas?
A. You can apply either of the clear inkAID products (for the canvas surface to show through) or inkAID White Matte Precoat to raw or gessoed canvas.
Q. How can I apply inkAID to canvas so that it doesn’t warp or buckle?
A. For coating canvas, mount the uncoated canvas on stretcher bars 6” wider in both directions that your final stretched canvas will be. (The 6 inches will be lost in trimming and mounting the printed piece.) Apply 1 coat of gesso to the mounted canvas. When it is dry, apply 2 coats of inkAID, allowing the surface to dry 24 hours after each coat. Trim the canvas off the front surface of the bars with a razor. Set your media thickness or head height to the maximum before printing.
Q. Can I paint acrylic or oil paint over a print on inkAID coated canvas?
A. An inkjet print on inkAID White Matte coated canvas is waterproof and can be painted over with either acrylic or oils. An inkjet print on a clear inkAID coated canvas is water-soluble and may move with acrylic. Use a spray-on acrylic varnish to stabilize the surface before adding acrylics to prints where you have used clear inkAID.
Q. How can I store the canvas or other fabric I make using inkAID?
A. Roll it face out on a 3-inch diameter cardboard tube. Then roll paper on the tube. Store rolled till you are ready to use it.
Q. What is the best product to seal canvas with?
A. See Postcoats in the Finishing section below.
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F. Metal
Q. What type of metal should I buy to print on using inkAID precoats?
A. Due to its light weight, aluminum is best for most printers. It comes with many surfaces and in many thicknesses. A good thickness is .024 gauge but up to .04 gauge will feed through the Epson 24" or larger format printers. You can buy a "mill" finish which means there is no treatment or coating to the metal, but it will require a good cleaning to remove oils (see the following two questions). Other more refined surfaces will work as well and may require less cleaning to coat them successfully. You should plan to test any materials, cleaning/ precoating methods, and printing to be sure they work in your setup, and to refine your technique. Some metals are treated in ways which are not suitable for precoating and printing. For example, aluminum roof flashing found in many hardware stores is treated to resist weather and will not hold the inkAID precoats. Other light metals like copper or tin may also work if you can find thin sheets or foils.
Q. How do I thoroughly clean metal for the most uniform coating of inkAID?
A. We recommend the following steps to remove all surface oils that can keep the inkAID from going on smoothly without scratching the metal.
1. Wash the surface of the metal with water and while still wet, sprinkle dish washer powder (like Cascade) over the surface.
2. Scrub the surface and wet powder using a Mr. Clean Magic eraser. (Buy these where you buy cleanser.)
3. Rinse the metal with warm water and dry it.
4. Wipe the surface with isopropyl alcohol using a scratch free cloth and let it air dry.
Now you are ready to apply the inkAID using a sponge brush. It should spread evenly without "crawling away" from any part of the surface. If you see areas where the coating pulls away from the metal, you should stop and rewash the metal.
Q. Which inkAID product do I use to coat metal?
A. When the metal finish is to be part of the image use inkAID Type II. When you want a white surface use the white matte inkAID. Iridescents also work well with metals.
Q. The ink on the printed metal surface does not seem even. The surface sheen seems mottled.
A. Incomplete cleaning will prohibit the inkAID from coating your metal evenly. Do a thorough cleaning of your metal before inkAID application as described previously. Also, if the inkAID coat is unevenly applied, the surface sheen will look uneven.
Q. My prints seem to puddle the ink and it looks like it curdles on the inkAID.
A. Always use 1440 x 720 or higher resolution when printing onto any inkAID product. Higher resolutions put the ink down slower and keeps it dryer. With separate RIPS, like Ergo Soft PosterPrint, use 8 pass 1440 x 720 or higher.
Q. I would like to postcoat my prints on metal to protect them, but preserve the metallic finish. What is a good post coat?
A. Krylon Crystal Clear Satin lets the color glow like the natural metal. Matte sprays will deaden the color and gloss sprays will be reflective and shiny. You will get then most natural look from 2 light coats of the Satin spray.
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G. Finishing
Q. How do I frame prints created using inkAID precoats under glass?
A. As with any art print the images should never touch the glass or Plexiglas. Use a spacer to keep an air space between the image and the glass. Let the print dry for several days before framing.
1. Postcoats
Q. I’m using the clear semi gloss precoat. Do I need to postcoat my prints?
A. Postcoating will help to protect finished images from water, fading, airborne contaminants and fingerprints, however they may also change the character of the print. On the Clear Semi-Gloss and Gloss inkAID precoats, where a water-based postcoat might move the inks, use a solvent-based product such as one or two coats of Krylon Crystal Clear spray or Golden MSA (mineral spirit acrylic) Varnish.
Q. Is there a protective coating I can apply over prints on canvas or other materials precoated with the White Matte Precoat?
A. White Matte inkAID precoat contains calcium carbonate. While it is water-resistant, it can be damaged by solvents found in products like Golden MSA (mineral spirit acrylic) Varnish. The solvent can dissolve the binder in the dry precoat and give the appearance on streaks or dust. Be aware that this “dust” may not appear for months. Golden Polymer Varnish and ClearShield Type C liquid laminate are good postcoats for this product.
2. Framing
Q. How do I frame prints created using inkAID precoats under glass?
A. As with any art print the images should never touch the glass or Plexiglas. Use a spacer to keep an air space between the image and the glass. Let the print dry for several days before framing.
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H. Troubleshooting
Q. There are streaks in the inkAID after it has dried on the media. What do I do?
A. Use a sponge brush instead of a bristle brush for application. Apply two coats brushing the second in a direction perpendicular to the first coat. Dilute with up to 10% distilled water for a smoother flow.
Q. I am double coating a sheet of paper with inkAID White Matte Precoat and after printing the finish is interrupted by shiny areas where it appears the ink is most heavily applied. What can I do to eliminate the patches of shine on my matte print without sacrificing print quality?
A. There are five things you might try.
- Epson Ultrachrome has a photo black ink and a matte black ink, if you are using these inks you can try switching sets.
- The white particles can settle to the bottom of the container which may result in uneven coating. Be sure you mix the precoat thoroughly before each use.
- In dark areas of a print more ink is put down and may not be absorbed fully if this ink load is too high. Try reducing the ink load below 400% by using a RIP or lightening the darker areas of your image in Photoshop.
- Touching a precoated surface prior to printing can leave oil residue that can effect the print quality.
- A postcoating of Matte Acrylic Varnish may eliminate shiny areas.
Q. Do you have suggestions for applying inkAID with an automotive paint spray system?
A. If you're using a sprayer, make sure it is set to handle thicker, heavier materials. That way you should be able to apply enough coating to handle 200 - 300% ink loading. Be sure that the coating is flowing and self leveling in the areas where you've completed spraying. This can be done in one spraying pass if the sprayer is set to apply enough material through the orifice. An HVLP sprayer like the Campbell Hausfeld HV3000, a high volume, low pressure sprayer, is recommended. Good results have also been obtained using a Paasche VLS Airbrush with the No. 5 tip and 50 lbs. of pressure. Spray several light layers using the 7 ml (one large color cup) evenly on an 11" x 22" piece. inkAID products can be diluted with 10% distilled water to aid in spraying.
Q. The surface of my paper is buckling as the inkAID dries causing printing problems. How can I keep the paper flat?
A. Coat the entire surface evenly so it hydrates evenly. After coating, some media may need to be pressed flat to fit into the printer. Hanging paper as it dries often helps minimize wrinkles, as does giving the whole sheet an even coat of the adhesive. When all coats have dried to the touch, press the sheets flat under a heavy board overnight. On large sheets to be fed through large format printers, you may find rolling the paper into a soft roll (6" diameter or larger) with inkAID side out, will even out bumps in paper so that it will feed easily through the printer.
Q. How can I stop ink from puddling on an inkAID coated aluminum print?
A. Two or more coats of inkAID will give more coating to hold the ink.
Q. My images seem to have areas of wet ink and a speckle like pattern in heavy areas of ink when printing on nonporous material. The ink is slow to dry.
A. If you print 1440 x 720 the printer uses less ink and goes slower giving the ink more time to dry between passes. When using any of the clear inkAID product on nonporous substrates the highest resolution will give the best results.
Q. I am working on a very large piece on aluminum. When using the gloss precoat over the adhesive coat, I occasionally get milky colored streaks that do not dry clear.
A. Try the new inkAid Clear Gloss Type II which has adhesive built in, or apply only a very light adhesive coating
and allow it to dry thoroughly - usually 24 hours - before applying the precoat. If the problem persists it may be an uneven application of either the adhesive or the precoat or the aluminum may not have been sufficiently well cleaned. You may want to consider using a sprayer, as described in an earlier response.
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I. Related products and services
Q. I want to print my own wallpaper. Would inkAID work as a coating for blank wallpaper? If so, which product would I use and how would I apply it?
A. The inkAID White Matte Precoat will work, however, pre-made blank wallpaper media from Intellicoat Technologies is a much simpler alternative.
Q. I am looking for a way to transfer my photographs to ceramic tiles. Will your product help me with this?
A. You can use any of the inkAID products to precoat tiles for printing on a flexible media or flatbed printer like the 880 from Encad. Or you can use an emulsion transfer process. Your best bet for durable tile, however, is dye-sublimation from a company like Sawgrass Solutions.
Q. Is it possible to print on glass and other clear thick substrates?
A. You can use any of the inkAID products to precoat glass or polyarbonate for printing on a flexible media or flatbed printer like the 880 from Encad . Or you can use an emulsion transfer process. Your best bet for durable glass and tile, however, is a flatbed UV printer. Applied Visual Concepts has a process for glass imaging with UV inks on the Zund.
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