Printing with inkjet onto metal surfaces can be especially challenging and requires a special combination of materials, equipment and techniques. The surfaces can be problematic because they are smooth and shiny and don’t encourage adhesion. The application of transparent inks produces reflections that can either be distracting, or – if properly worked – stunningly beautiful. Metal is usually thicker than vinyl or paper substrates and needs to be fed through the printer flat.

INTRINSIC LUMINOSITY
Introducing Aryen Hart, an Arizona-based artist who has developed some innovative methods to get the most out of the intrinsic luminosity and brilliance of sheet metal. Originally from Holland, and now living in Tucson, Hart began as a painter creating unique pieces called Meditative Geometric Abstractions on burnished, galvanized steel, imaged with pigment and polymer to take advantage of the reflective surface depth of the material. These images have a flawless high-tech appearance while their multiple layers of color and light convey a sublime and luminous tranquility.

Hart shown here in his shop with the HP ColorSpan CS 5440 UV flatbed printer he uses to create his artwork.

His process began by roughing up sheet metal a surface with an angle grinder in order to insure adhesion and also take advantage the layered, reflective arcs produced by the circular grinder. Then, using a paint pad he applied translucent washes of pigment. Small details were added with an air brush and stencils. When dry, he coated each painting with a thick layer of automotive lacquer to create a deep, glossy surface. Finally, he would frame the work and ship it off to one of his seven galleries throughout the country.

Because the work was of such a high caliber – unusual, colorful and compelling – it soon became popular among collectors and demand quickly exceeded supply. Hart reckoned that instead of meticulously painting each piece by hand using masks and airbrushes, he could produce all of the same effects without loss of quality using a computer and an inkjet printer to produce multiple images in limited editions. It was only a matter of learning to work in an entirely new medium, and finding the right tools for the job.

DIGITAL EXPERIMENTS
Unlike many artists faced with digital challenges, Hart was undaunted by the prospect of learning a new skill set. He began by purchasing a Macintosh G3 tower and a copy of Adobe Photoshop with which he generated his first images. He originally subbed out the printing portion, but quickly realized that he would have greater control of the product, and could keep a bigger percent of the profits, if he purchased his own printer and developed his own print production environment.

Artist Aryen Hart with one of his burnished aluminum inkjet printed creations.

A little over a year ago he sprang the 60 grand for a Hewlett-Packard ColorSpan CS 5440 UV, a 54"-wide four-color UV-curing printer with a flatbed capable of printing onto media up to one inch thick. He immediately began experimenting with various substrates and surface treatments to develop a technique that could produce the superb quality that his paintings are known for. His trials took him through a variety of materials including 24 gauge galvanized steel and one sixteenth inch 6061 brushed sheet aluminum.

He ultimately settled on quarter inch Plascore aluminum honeycomb sheet panel on which he prints most of his pieces. Although Hart still occasionally prints onto galvanized steel, he prefers this material because it is durable, extremely rigid, offers excellent ink adhesion without priming, and responds well to his surface treatments.

He employs several different tools to the face of the aluminum – everything from a Dremel tool to an angle grinder to produce unique abrasions that reflect light in a multitude of luminous patterns. In fact, he has categorized fifteen different methods of stylized burnishing that he employs depending on the image he is creating.

OVERCOMING CHALLENGES
When he first purchased the UV-curing printer he says he was “underwhelmed by its performance,” and he faced a number of new challenges to get it up and running and into a production mode that would address his unique needs. It took five days just to pull the first print due to incorrectly connected ink lines. There were Media feed issues too; the heavy substrate moved at an inconsistent rate under the printing heads causing horizontal and vertical banding.

Ultimately, after several months of poor performance he had the machine recertified by an HP ColorSpan technician who spent five days at no charge overhauling the printer and replacing critical parts like the processor and the head board. He also realigned the printheads and the print carriage relative to the platen. Hart says that he was very pleased with the top-notch service that the company provided to help resolve his problems — though he feels the printer may have been put in the field prematurely.

Color calibration was also an issue so Hart hired a local color consultant to create a new set of ICC profiles for the substrates and ink set. These profiles are unusual in that they are scanned with a spectrophotometer on an inconsistent reflective surface. But apparently they work like a charm in that they are extremely accurate in their ability to match color.

PRODUCTION MODE
Now that the printer is running up to its promised performance level, Hart is in full production mode, and quite content with his extraordinary ability to mass produce fine art. He’s very happy with the wide gamut and rich colors that the printer produces. Sometimes he enhances the surface with additional washes of pigmented polymers for a truly custom work of art creating multiple pieces that are similar, but not identical.

With the instant drying time afforded by UV-cure chemistry, the ink is ready for coating as soon as it is printed. Hart applies a post-print high gloss surface coat to add even more depth to the work, but finding the right coating presented a new set of challenges.

To create his art, Hart uses aluminum honeycomb sheet panel which he burnishes in patterns using an angle grinder and various Dremel tools. The surface is then printed with his custom designs using a UV-curing flatbed printer which maintains the intrinsic luminosity of the metal.

First, he tried the automotive finishes he had used on his earlier paintings, but UV-cure inks are not compatible with solvent-based clear coats. Next, he tried epoxy with a 130 degree Fahrenheit limit used for marine applications. Unfortunately, the surface coating occasionally softened in shipping. If you’ve ever spent a summer in Arizona you can understand the oven -like heat that crated objects are exposed to. To resolve this problem Hart hired a chemist to mix a custom formulated 200 degree Fahrenheit, UV-resistant, low amberizing epoxy.

Hart says he is very happy with the wide gamut and the depth of rich color that the printer produces. He developed a special two-part acrylic-based clear coat to finish each piece.

To apply this special two-part acrylic-based clear coat he built a dust-free, magnetic table that assures that the metal is absolutely clean and level. He pours the viscous liquid onto the surface and distributes it with a foam spreader. While still in liquid form he gives it a light once-over with a propane torch to eliminate air bubbles and dimpling. The epoxy dries and cures in about 12 hours at 70 degrees.
He prints many images at 24" x 24" but more commonly uses 36" x 36" and 44" x 44" sizes, and occasionally creates prints as large as 48" x 84". The finished aluminum piece is unframed and floated away from the wall using foam that is glued to the back of the print.

To learn more about Aryen Hart and to see more of his work, visit his Web site at www.aryenhart.com.