EB Forum

I thought that what they ment by adding a varnish Finish. Maybe they had that idea in mind but it didn't have the affect they wanted..

Jasper73 wrote:Maybe they had that idea in mind but it didn't have the affect they wanted..

I'm thinking this might be the case. So they went with the logo spot varnish instead. Could be way off base, but it seems reasonable.

^this, my thoughts exactly

From what I remember hearing while at Gilded Age, "Rotting Time" was also supposed to be varnished. However they ran into a slight problem. The giclees were produced on more than one printer, and while they looked very close in color when side by side, not so much once a varnish layer was applied. Because the variation between printers was more than expected, they scrapped the varnish layer altogether to keep the prints consistent. Maybe they ran into a similar situation with "The Snare" and just used the varnish layer for the logo? I can't verify what I heard about "Rotting Time" is completely accurate, so maybe Mitch can chime in with the details?

sidewaysscott wrote:seeing the og vs print is nice. When i opened up the print, i thought the colors seemed muted. I really think that in comparison to the OG. I wish the colors were a little brighter. Still nice nonetheless.

Mine just showed up yesterday. I haven't spent much time studying it, but my initial reaction was that it didn't look all that . . . sharp. I haven't seen the OG for comparison though. I'm still happy to have it.

Seeing the comparison with the original it makes me disappointed that the varnish wasn't on the whole print. It would have looked so much nicer. Has anyone framed a print with varnish on it? Does the glass mess with the reflection of the varnish?

Hi guys. The varnish is covering the whole print with a knock-out on the logo. I'm not 100% sure of Mitch & Aaron's reasoning to do the varnish besides the logo thing but I will say that the black inks in digital prints are RIDICULOUSLY fragile. They can get scratched just looking at them. Not really but I can guarantee that even if the prints left the shipper perfect, by the time you guys opened them there would be imperfections in that black. So even though the varnish did soften the image a little, it is protecting the overall print. Also to whoever asked, Danny in our studio (aka ohdanielsan - does all the DKNG prints etc) did the varnish. He also did the Gilded Age prints and one of Joao's for Vacvvm.

Thanks for the info soma!

KSUvet wrote:

sidewaysscott wrote:seeing the og vs print is nice. When i opened up the print, i thought the colors seemed muted. I really think that in comparison to the OG. I wish the colors were a little brighter. Still nice nonetheless.

Mine just showed up yesterday. I haven't spent much time studying it, but my initial reaction was that it didn't look all that . . . sharp. I haven't seen the OG for comparison though. I'm still happy to have it.

I got mine last week and this is the first thing that struck me as well. It just looks blurry.

The varnish covers the entire image area, with the exception of the Osprey logo in the bottom right. The reason the logo stands out is because that's the only area that IS NOT varnished. To get an idea of how deep the blacks are pre varnish, you can see them inside the osprey.

(Gently) touch the varnished black inks. Nothing happens. If they weren't varnished, you'd chub rub that black ink with the slightest touch. Giclee inks, while lasting about 80 - 400 years longer than most screen printing inks, are also much more susceptible to external damage. If it weren't for that varnish the prints would be riddled with imperfections, scuffs, and scratches regardless of how much care was put into their safe transport. #nerdyprintingfacts

StaticMedium wrote:The varnish covers the entire image area, with the exception of the Osprey logo in the bottom right. The reason the logo stands out is because that's the only area that IS NOT varnished. To get an idea of how deep the blacks are pre varnish, you can see them inside the osprey.

(Gently) touch the varnished black inks. Nothing happens. If they weren't varnished, you'd chub rub that black ink with the slightest touch. Giclee inks, while lasting about 80 - 400 years longer than most screen printing inks, are also much more susceptible to external damage. If it weren't for that varnish the prints would be riddled with imperfections, scuffs, and scratches regardless of how much care was put into their safe transport. #nerdyprintingfacts

Interesting. I thought it was exactly the opposite - the osprey logo was varnished and the rest wasn't. The more you know...

StaticMedium wrote:The varnish covers the entire image area, with the exception of the Osprey logo in the bottom right. The reason the logo stands out is because that's the only area that IS NOT varnished. To get an idea of how deep the blacks are pre varnish, you can see them inside the osprey.

(Gently) touch the varnished black inks. Nothing happens. If they weren't varnished, you'd chub rub that black ink with the slightest touch. Giclee inks, while lasting about 80 - 400 years longer than most screen printing inks, are also much more susceptible to external damage. If it weren't for that varnish the prints would be riddled with imperfections, scuffs, and scratches regardless of how much care was put into their safe transport. #nerdyprintingfacts

StaticMedium wrote:The varnish covers the entire image area, with the exception of the Osprey logo in the bottom right. The reason the logo stands out is because that's the only area that IS NOT varnished. To get an idea of how deep the blacks are pre varnish, you can see them inside the osprey.

(Gently) touch the varnished black inks. Nothing happens. If they weren't varnished, you'd chub rub that black ink with the slightest touch. Giclee inks, while lasting about 80 - 400 years longer than most screen printing inks, are also much more susceptible to external damage. If it weren't for that varnish the prints would be riddled with imperfections, scuffs, and scratches regardless of how much care was put into their safe transport. #nerdyprintingfacts

Ahh, thanks for the info. When I hear "varnish," I definitely think of something more glossy. It's too bad that it muted the blacks, but it sounds like the right choice. People say you can't even think of breathing on the black Geddes cosmonaut without scratches. I actually put a pretty big scuff on a different print of his with a . . . let's say momentary lapse in concentration .