When Big Picture Magazine approached us to participate in a feature article for their January 2010 issue discussing commercial printing companies who use large format printers with white ink, we jumped at the chance to share our expertise.

White Ink is Revolutionizing the Printing Industry

Our Océ Arizona 350 GT Large Format UV Flatbed Printer is widely recognized by the commercial printing industry for having a superior print quality. But, did you know it also has a white ink option?

Here is an excerpt from the original article:

The company’s latest acquisition: an Océ Arizona 350 GT flatbed printer.

“We have the roll-to-roll option and can print up to 86 inches wide, and we can print on the flat substrate up to two inches thick. With the white ink option, it opens up new markets. We do a lot of work on supplied materials—artists bring in ceramic tiles and can we output images onto those.”

Cook recently called on the 350 GT’s white ink capabilities in a job for Barret Jackson, an auction house dedicated to classic and high-end automobiles.

When a car is sold, the auction house has a photographer take pictures of it from multiple angles. “For years, they just archived those photos and never did anything with them,” Cook says. “They wanted to expand, and we were asked to come up with ideas highlighting our capabilities for their marketing group”

One result: a 24×30 inch print of three views of a 1940’s Buick station wagon. The image was provided by the auction house, archived by Artisan, and then printed on 3mm brushed silver Dibond aluminum composite. “The photos have white elements that would not work without white ink, such as the whitewall tiers and the chrome highlights,” Cook says. “In addition to printing white in those areas, we put white spot channel behind the whole image to ensure it would be opaque and the colors would pop.”

Chrome Capabilities: Artisan Colour – written by Jake Widman for Big Picture Magazine

Many thanks to the folks at Big Picture Magazine!

If you’re looking to design custom fine art prints for your business, visit our e-commerce site at Artisanhd.com to see what we can print for you.