Saturday, January 26, 2008

Tintypes for the Rest of Us

When I used Lightroom to apply an aged, antique filter to this image of Yellowstone National Park , I started wondering if I could somehow print the image on metal to give it the look of an authentic tintype.

I searched the Web looking for tips to accomplish this and basically came up empty. Oh, there are plenty of sites out there that give you insight into creating an authentic tin type, which unfortunately involves all the hassles of applying chemicals to a piece of tin or aluminum and then exposing the plate while the chemical is still wet. I mean, it sounds awesome, but come on. Plus, I've already captured the image I'm interested in - so the authentic tintype just won't work for me. I'm looking for a method to create the 'look' of a tintype; I'm not interested in creating a real one - no matter how cool that might be.

That's when I found the Web site for Digital Tintype, an outfit that creates metal media for use in ink jet printers. Really?

Now, let me start by saying that the stuff is not cheap - in fact, an 8x10 sheet will set you back $6 each ($150 for a box of 25). I outsource all my printing - I don't even own a high-quality photo inkjet printer - so I'd like to be able to upload this photo to a vendor who is able to print it on the metal sheets offered by Digital Tintype. Unfortunately, I'm yet to locate such a vendor, and an e-mail and phone call to Digital Tintype asking for a referral have both gone unanswered.

So I'm at an impasse. I certainly can't be the only one out there who has had this idea of 'printing a tintype'. I don't want hassles (i.e., an authentic tintype process), I just want to see my image on a piece of metal - and I'm willing to pay a few bucks for the privilege. Because I don't own my own printer, I can't just order up a box of 8x10 sheets and give it the old college try - not that I'd be too excited about learning the tricks of the trade at the tune of $6/failure.

Any readers have suggestions or experience with Digital Tintype's product? Let me know and I'll post an update...

Posted by Tim Leonhardt at 9:52 PM

4 comments:

  1. It would be another great option if a Print on Demand service could print on tin... Unfortunately, I haven't heard of one that does it.

    The closest thing I know to printing on metal is the Glass cutting boards Printfection does:

    http://tinyurl.com/ysa4r5

    I'll ask some of my POD friends if they know of a metal printer... If anyone knows, I'll get back to you.

    Good Luck in your search,
    Kent
    ReplyDelete
  2. I did find a place that prints on metal... BooksmartStudio:

    http://tinyurl.com/2gdcvy

    Looks like they offer quite a few options for size and coatings. Could be a tad spendy, but for just a few prints, maybe not so bad.

    It'd be nice if one of the PODs like Cafepress or Zazzle offered metal printing. I'm sure many folks would like to create art that looked like the old metal advertizing signs or tintypes.
    ReplyDelete
  3. Well, this isn't exactly what you had in mind, but I know of two different ways that I've seen people get "tintypes" from regular photos. One is to silk screen the image onto a metal plate, but you have to have had some experience with silk screening before hand to be able to do that.
    The other one is much more straight forward and just involves taking a picture of the desired picture with a tintype camera. The latter technique is the one that I have seen done more often, simply because it's more convenient, and much cheaper than spending $150 on metal printer sheets, then searching for a place that will print for you.
    I'm not sure if that has helped you, but I hope if not you, maybe it can help someone else
    ReplyDelete
  4. That sounds interesting - I'll have to investigate tintype cameras.

    I recently paid $30 for an Epson 1280 13x19 printer at an auction - I now have a printer capable of printing on metal media. But I certainly appreciate the alternatives you've suggested - thanks for reading and taking the time to leave a comment!

    Tim Leonhardt
    Editor
    Photo Freedom
    ReplyDelete

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