arrk! any suggestions?

[harlotpress]

Hey guys. I have been lurking around gigposters for a few months, and I really enjoy how helpful and (overall) friendly everyone is, so I thought I would put my specific issues out there and see if anyone had any suggestions for me... On my own I am starting to run myself in circles, so any advice will help!

Oh! Just FYI...I took screenprinting in college and have a background at small publications, so the basics of actual printing, registering, ink etc... while frustrating, I understand. I ain't scared...I also have a pretty big studio here in Brooklyn that I share with a really cool t-shirt printer, so I have all the space I need.

What I want to do: I want to make very large art prints/wallpaper. I want it to be as eco-friendly as possible, because the designs I have made are for kids...(who will try to eat the grapes off the paper, if you know what i mean.)

What I am really hung up on:
I want to make really, really large posters or for use as wallpaper... I want to produce in rolls of 2 or 2.5 x8 feet, or 3x3 feet sheets, I haven't decided which yet. So my largest and most difficult problem is paper supply. Everything else depends on that, it seems. But I am stuck. NYC is not a great place to find paper wholesellers, etc.
I need to find paper thin enough to paste/handle in large sheets (maybe I could get away with a 60?), but not buckle or warp...
Anyone worked with a large-sized project and had good luck? I've always used cougar 100lb cover, and that is way too thick for this, so now I am at a loss. Also, I can't find anyone who supplies it in roll-style, so I would have to abandon my roll idea...

Secondly, anyone tried soy based inks? I have no clue about them, they are used in newsprinting and I don't think they would be a good candidate for screenprinting, but hey...someone's bound to experiment.

Lastly, anyone use a good eco-friendly protective coating?


thanks, everyone in advance...

[dspring]

what about vinyl or linen rolls... isn't that what commercial wallpaper is printed on? That will give you the flexibility withou tearing and probably comes in rolls... or what about canvas rolls used for large format printers?

[steve w]

paper on rolls is not hard to find.
do you have an 8-foot press?
an 8 foot exposure unit?
10 foot screens?
degree of difficulty: 9

[dspring]

I am assuming it would be tiled? correct? A girlfriend of mine used to print fabric that way.

[fantasygoat]

It would probably have to be UV printing, so it could be dried quickly, because you sure can't roll it back up while waterbased is wet...

[steve w]

I've seen that done.
You can lay it out on a long table, print every other one, and go back and fill in the spaces.
There was an episode of This Old House where they went to a factory
that printed custom wallpaper.
Intricate vines n' shit.
The table was, like 50 yards long, though.

[squeegeethree]

First, NYC is a great city for paper distributors. Most are headquartered here. The problem is more the paper stock selection which is specific.
There are at least 3 handmade wall paper studios in NYC. One of them rents time even (but I forget their name sorry). EFS studio is pretty amazing and you should work out a visit (but be diplomatic) EFS = 610 Smith St (71 852-9511
Second, use waterbased inks and forget about soy for now. Soy inks aren't lightfast and I've yet to find one for silkscreen. UV is not for kids to munch on.
Lastly, acryllics are your most eco friendly option for coating, but there really should be a need for this if you print on a coated stock.

[the hipoisie]

I've seen that done.
You can lay it out on a long table, print every other one, and go back and fill in the spaces.
There was an episode of This Old House where they went to a factory
that printed custom wallpaper.
Intricate vines n' shit.
The table was, like 50 yards long, though.

I remember that episode! And they were doing all kinds of crazy stuff with borders and fills papering a ceiling too.

I've also been to a fabric workshop in Philly that's set up like that. Long long table with stops/hooks along them that they attach the screen to. Tacking the paper down tight without any wrinkles seems like it would be difficult.

And I would think UV or oil based ink would be the way to go. Speedball can smudge if you get it wet, so that could be a problem for pasting the paper. Maybe TW or other brands dry better.

[Jono]

I am assuming it would be tiled? correct? A girlfriend of mine used to print fabric that way.

Remember seeing this crazy video posted a while back and thought thats what they were doing, but I think I was wrong.

[steve w]

And I would think UV or oil based ink would be the way to go. Speedball can smudge if you get it wet, so that could be a problem for pasting the paper. Maybe TW or other brands dry better.

you've been using the water-soluble ink?
acrylic doesn't smudge.
I think they were using oil-based on the show, though.