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AUTOTYPE'S FINER-ART FILM
'It’s about trying to square the circle' explains Mike Robinson, Production Manager at London Contemporary Art. The company's migration from traditional inks to UV has taken Mike nearly three years to perfect, and would have taken him longer if it had not been for Autotype and its CP Capillex photostencil system. 'Perfecting what is a unique process has taken some time,' Mike explains, 'but we are now there thanks, in part, to Autotype's help.' London Contemporary Art is the largest fine-art publisher in Europe and produces work for more than 100 artists, much of which ends up on the traditional English gallery circuit or is exported to the US where it is displayed on luxury cruise ships. Mike says that some of the artists' work represents challenges not usually associated with mass-print production. 'The operators in the pressroom are artisans, real print makers. They must have a good eye and a lot of experience because in any given area, 10 or 15 overlays may be used? It is more like painting than printing.' Mike’s responsibilities at the Chelsea-based Company include ensuring that its renowned print standards are maintained. “It is about producing high-quality prints in the most efficient way. 'CP Capillex is very beneficial in this process, as it has extremely low ink build, which is particularly important when you're using up to 140 colours.' Mike has dedicated many hours to perfecting what he believes is a unique printing process that produces high-resolution prints with no additional varnishes. The 'icing on the cake' has been Autotype's CP Capillex low profile system with optimised Rz, which offers superb resolution and minimised skipping, effects. Mike says the company's adoption of UV would have been impossible without it: 'Our development into the UV arena was completed when we got CP Capillex.' Mike explains that London Contemporary Art has been operating as a beta site for CP Capillex for about a year, during which time he has been extremely impressed with its reproduction of detail. 'It's a very useful medium for us, because it gives us excellent resolution and we can print the finest of information in a practical way. It also gives us a relatively low ink build which is important because, we use numerous colour layers and we must ensure each one is accurately reproduced.' Mike explains that the company's movement away from more traditional forms of printing was instigated by the limitations in print quality. 'With direct emulsions, you cannot achieve the required resolution or detail. With CP Capillex and UV we are able to get the high print qualities and the low build that are so important to our business.' London Contemporary Art has now used CP Capillex on a number of fine-art jobs, which, Mike says, have managed to capture the tonal depth of the original paintings. However, Mike notes that he has also noticed falling costs thanks to CP Capillex low-build characteristics. 'Although UV is a very free-flowing ink, we use less of it because CP Capillex has a lower build attribute, therefore less ink is used and the process is more economical.' With prints taking up to eight months to produce and selling for upwards of $3,000, Mike is all too aware that quality is of a premium. 'Our operators recognise the need for optimum quality and are prepared to put in the time to achieve this. We have developed an excellent relationship with Autotype, with CP Capillex playing an instrumental role in helping us to meet our business objectives.'
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