articles/Paper/cottonmattcanvas-page1
by Mike McNamee Published 01/11/2005
Paper Mill Direct recently introduced a true canvas to their media line-up, along with a Giclee Varnish. Under their Impart banner, True Cotton Canvas is a 340gsm, 50 micron, cotton Oxford twill with a slightly cream, matte coating. It does not appear to have any optical brighteners added to its coating and is available in a wide range of widths including 330, 432, 610, 915, and 1067mm. We tested it on an Epson 7600 using the Photo Black ink set.
ON TEST
As with all canvases the tone depth is lower than a paper surface but the canvas achieved a creditable Paper diagram Dmax of 1.27 (27.6% on the Lab lightness scale). A bespoke profile was made to create the normal Paper Chase audit target and this was tested before and after two coats of the DCP giclee gloss varnish. In common with previous findings, the Dmax was substantially improved by the gloss varnish pushing it out to 1.50 with a loss of just 1.7% of brightness in the highlights. The tone was warmed by the varnish, bringing the whites about 3 Lab points more creamy. The flesh tones followed this trend, with the effect being more pronounced on the paler, less saturated skin tones. Overall the colour errors were highest in the lightness channel and much improved by the application of varnish. The varnish has an important secondary effect of toughening the surface, sealing it against airborne contamination and protecting it against moisture. Regular contributor Andrew Williams reports a spectacular test in which a spillage of paint onto a newly prepared, varnished canvas was mopped up with turpentine with no ill effects - what were you doing with paint out in the vicinity of a giclee Andrew?
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