Daniel Sommer: Printing photography with character

Arizona flatbed printers bringing vibrant photography to life

Capturing the atmosphere of country and people

In 2019, photographer Daniel Sommer took an assignment for SLANTED magazine which brought him to Rwanda. There, he visited artists, studios and workshops and took many photographs that focus on his personal experience with the country.

When preparing an exhibition with those portraits Daniel remembered the artists in the streets of Kigali. These artists created vibrant, unique artwork on recycled media such as used wood, discarded cardboard and even plastic that would otherwise go into the trash. Rwanda is well known for its upcycling efforts and for being one of the few countries that has established a ban on plastic bags. Daniel knew that the prints of his own photographs needed more than regular photo paper or Dibond if he wanted to make his photos pop and capture the atmosphere of the country and its people.

Daniel partnered with Canon to work on a number of exciting applications to bring his vibrant photography to life. The goal: carefully produced prints, done on wood and cardboard, as you would find them in the streets of Kigali.

Objective

Photographer Daniel Sommer wanted to use recycled material as the media for his photos and to capture the atmosphere of Rwanda and ist people. Rwanda is well known for its upcycling efforts.

Challenges

• To give the visuals more relation to the theme through unique media selection

• To make the photos special and individual and transmit the sustainable ethos

Approach

Daniel needed a digital printer that could support his vision. Reliable, sustainable and able to print on odd-shaped media. This includes wood, cardboard and waste paper.

Solution

In consultation with Canon, Daniel printed his applications on the Arizona 1380 GT flatbed printer, producing near-photographic image quality on almost any material or substrate.