Prints On Wood

Printing on wood allows for the project to potentially be ready-to-hang for the collectors that purchase and at a higher retail price than prints on paper. Once a layer of white is printed, the production is almost identical to paper. With some engineering and under certain circumstances, we could run an edition on paper and wood simultaneously.

We have a range of finishing options for projects printed on wood. These include: precision shape laser-cutting, routered bevels and precision shape routering.

Each finishing option requires specific wood thickness and has side effects that may impact the project. For example, laser-cutting will burn the edge, leaving soot and potentially burning into the image area. Having a printed black outline around the image shape will negate the appearance of this side-effect.

Prints On Wood Example 1: Max Sansing’s Firestarter (Print on Basic Wood Panel)

This 13-color project utilized our most basic print on wood panel. Any project on wood requires an added layer of white printing first. This ensures that all subsequent layers/colors are as vivid as possible. While printing the normal editions on paper, we simultaneously ran some on wood panel. We created a rig that would to switch between printing on wood or paper, which allows us to maintain the same precise registration on both substrates, without having to remove/re-register our screens. Additionally, both editions on wood and paper have a regular and color variant edition.

Prints On Wood Example 2: Hebru Brantley’s Calling All Cars (Precision Shape Laser-Cutting)

This 20-color project utilized precision shape laser-cutting as well as a French cleat for hanging. When laser-cutting is used, the edges of the printed image may be burned/chard. As such we cover the printed surface with a protective film before hand and once laser-cut, we wipe all cut edges to remove any remaining soot. Coating options are also available to seal in the printed area. Tests are usually done to ensure the coating doesn’t negatively impact our screen printed content.

Prints On Wood Example 3: Various POSE projects (Readymade Wood Panels)

The panels for this edition were purchased from art stores, though we currently work with wood-workers who can make specifically sized panels that will meet our requirements. During the printing process, we use blue masking tape in key areas to act as our registration. Once printing is completed, the tape is safely removed. The panels were then passed to POSE, who would collage and/or hand embellish on the panels, treating them more like his originals while also making them different from the editions produced on paper.