“Each request, each project, each artist brings with them their own questions and challenges, every one of which helps us further improve our elevated print technology.”
Clemens Weijkamp
The innovation behind the experience
In this final article of the series exploring the impact of elevated digital print art reproductions and unique tactile photographs, we discover more about the roadmap for the technology that enables their creation. Clemens Weijkamp, Domain Architect Elevated Printing Technology, tells us about the journey and gives fascinating insights into just how an elevated print experience is developed and designed.
Pioneers
“I first started working on elevated printing in 2013. Although we had an idea about how we could produce the prints, we didn’t really know this would be technically feasible and commercially viable,” he admits. We certainly couldn’t have imagined that we would achieve what we have done.”
“The initial idea was that we would offer a print service for end customers. That way we could explore both the technology using the Arizona flatbed printer, and the market at the same time,” Clemens explains. “In 2018, we introduced Touchstone software, which was limited to a maximum print height of 1mm. Since then, we’ve made incredible progress. In early 2022, we created a roadmap which led to the launch in 2023 of PRISMAelevate XL. We were able to improve the quality and to increase the maximum print height from 1 to 2, and then finally to 4mm. We also continued to add more new applications.”
Customer-driven innovation
To define technology releases as efficiently as possible, the team has always worked closely with partners, including academic institutions, museums and technology companies. “This helps us discover what’s really important,” Clemens explains. “We’ve developed specific aspects for projects, which we continue to use in the current release. Some of which are highlighted below.”
Brushstrokes
“Working with Mauritshuis and other museums, we discovered that the height of brushstrokes in paintings is much lower than you’d expect. In Johannes Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring, for example, the maximum height differences are about 0.7mm. Even in paintings by Van Gogh and Rembrandt the height difference is rarely more than 2 or 3mm. The step from 1mm to 2mm is then already a very big one. With a maximum height of 4mm you can actually handle more or less anything.”
Detail of Theo van Doesburg’s painting Profile Portrait of Petró Nelly, ca. 1922, Lakenhal museum, Leiden, the Netherlands. The image clearly shows the fine details in the brushstrokes recreated using elevated print technology
Mold mode
“In a project with the Design Academy Eindhoven, a student showed that elevated prints could also be used as molds. We have developed this idea further. And because color is less important for molds, we now offer a mold mode with almost twice the productivity of our usual high-quality prints. This feature has turned out to be a big plus for some of our Arizona customers.”
Quality to reflect our cultural heritage
“Our partnership with the Factum Foundation dates back to 2015. The Madrid-based not-for-profit organization is dedicated to documenting cultural heritage sites and objects to the highest possible standards. Having seen the potential of elevated printing, they pushed us to increase the quality to meet their requirements. We did this step by step: height gradients are now better reproduced and by cleverly adding a varnish overcoat, we improved the color depth and gloss. These improvements are now standard in PRISMAelevate XL.”
“Elevated printing without the visible steps associated with 3D printing is a breakthrough. The work done by Canon Production Printing is helping Factum to merge surface and color to transform the ways in which paintings can be studied and shared.”
Adam Lowe, founder, and CEO of Factum Foundation.
Ink-only elevated printing
“We work closely with a number of academic institutions, here in the Netherlands and abroad. These collaborations with highly talented students continue to lead to new developments in our elevated print technology. A simple example is the ink-only print option, whereby the image is printed on a removable liner so it can be attached to another object, such as an ornament, or used as a business card or key ring. This technique was also used in a project with Factum, in which we printed a 2mm skin containing the fine details on the huge facsimile of the sarcophagus of the Egyptian pharaoh Seti I.
Facsimile of the sarcophagus of pharaoh Seti I, Antikenmuseum, Basel, Switzerland
Source: Factum Foundation
Detail of the ink-only elevated printed sarcophagus skin
A great team
“The elevated print team is quite small, so we work with various colleagues across our organization. These include the software developers in Timisoara, Romania as well as colleagues from our headquarters, our Customer Experience Center and our Sales Regions.”
New challenges
“Each request, each project, each artist brings with them their own questions and challenges,” Clemens says with a smile. “Some are trickier than others. And sometimes I have to draw the line at how far we should go. But every project helps us further improve our elevated print technology. So much already is possible and the potential for the future is more exciting than ever. The publicity generated by success stories like the wonderful Ode to Joy initiative ,the incredibly popular reproductions of masterpieces and, more recently, the elevated photographs is resulting in more and more enquiries for new collaboration.”
“Museums around the world are looking at ways to enhance their own collections with elevated prints and an increasing number of artists and designers are keen to work with local Canon teams across the globe.”
“Museums, artists and designers are keen to work with local Canon teams across the globe.”
Perfecting the results
Despite the extremely positive reviews, Clemens is constantly working to further perfect the results. “I love working closely with the artists, to help them finetune their designs and get the most from the technology. “I have to say that as well as a sense of pride in the impact our elevated prints have, it’s also tremendous fun to produce them. And, in fact, anyone can do it. If you can use Photoshop, for example, you can create elevated prints.”
“It’s not only about the impact our prints have, it’s also tremendous fun to produce them!”
Kyosei
When asked why Canon is investing so much in supporting elevated print projects, Clemens sets this in the context of Canon’s corporate philosophy: kyosei. “Kyosei conveys our dedication to seeing all people, regardless of culture, customs, language or race, harmoniously living and working together in happiness into the future. And this, of course, also applies to making our world accessible to people of all abilities,” he explains. “For example, Daphne Wageman, with her “Feel the News” project, and Mariko Tagashira, the artist who photographed the Ode to Joy performance and created the tactile prints, have helped us explore how elevated prints can reflect our Kyosei philosophy.”
“It’s a privilege working to make the world more accessible for people with visual disabilities,” Clemens adds with pride. “In fact, it’s hard to express the joy I’ve seen when blind and visually impaired visitors to exhibitions with elevated prints are able to experience art for the very first time. Our prints are also being used for education purposes, including on television. And our own “World Unseen” exhibition has really brought elevated print technology to the attention of a much broader public.
“It’s hard to express the joy I’ve seen when blind and visually impaired visitors to exhibitions with elevated prints are able to experience art for the very first time.”
Discover more
For further inspiration, check out the other articles on elevated print:
Girl with a Pearl Earring gets new dimensions – graphiPLAZA
Salvador Dali Elegraph Prints – graphiPLAZA
How elevated print created new dimensions to special photo exhibition – graphiPLAZA
Elevated printing – Factum Foundation
Seti’s sarcophagus: recording and facsimile
Interested in exploring elevated prints further?
If you’re interested in exploring the possibilities elevated prints can offer your museum, project or customers, contact your local Canon office.
About Clemens Weijkamp
Clemens joined the then Océ-Technologies’, which was later acquired by Canon, back in 1987, as a young graduate in Chemical Technology. Over the years, he has worked in various R&D project teams on the development of photoconductors, inks and printheads. From 2013 to 2016, as a member of the elevated printing Technology Development team, he worked on developing the elevated print process and applications. It is here that his chemical technology background and his hobbies, photography and design, came together. Since 2022, he has been responsible for leading the R&D team for PRISMAelevate XL. His research and development work on elevated print technology has resulted in numerous patents, and there are more to follow.