The printing industry has often been the servant of art. The French impressionist Henri Toulouse Lautrec experimented with lithography to get the exact colours he wanted for his famous posters of the Moulin Rouge. Advertising art has blossomed with the development of large format inkjet printers able to add resolution and clarity to indoor and outdoor signage.
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| David Gordon of the School of Art, Architecture and Design with his new Arizona 350 GT. |
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| David Gordon inspects a piece of art printed on a ceramic substrate on the Arizona 350GT. |
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A student uses a router to finish a wooden carving, initially printed on the Océ Arizona 350 GT. |
Now the School of Art, Architecture and Design at the University of South Australia, is using an Océ Arizona 350 GT flatbed inkjet printer to strengthen the arm of students undertaking arts-linked courses and putting it to uses seldom imagined by the manufacturer.
While many universities use wide format equipment for use of students in their art courses, Océ says the use of an Océ Arizona flatbed in such a course is very unusual.
The Océ Arizona has joined other equipment in the School’s workshop, such as a 3D printer, laser cutters and a plan printer, as well as standard workshop machines.
Workshop technician David Gordon says the school has hundreds of students undergoing courses of up to five years so there is plenty of demand for the printer from students in disciplines such as art, architecture, industrial design and photography.
“One of the primary reasons for its purchase was the exceptional quality of the printing which makes it very suitable for quality presentation work,” he says.
“Students at the school though are encouraged to experiment and quickly develop other interesting uses for all our equipment.
“This was the case with the Arizona 350 GT. When they realised it could print on virtually anything, they came forward with a variety of fascinating techniques and substrates. We have used it to print designs on handformed glass, wood, doors, all forms of plastics and metals such as corrugated iron.
“Their use of the printer for fabrics has been interesting too. They have used it on cotton, silk, lace and even hessian, often stretching the material for ultimate effect. One student mounted leaves onto a backing board and printed on those.”
David Gordon says one of the most unusual uses of the Arizona by a student has probably been to add colour images to castings of road potholes which they use as artistic wall hangings.
“We also used it to print on filo pastry, although this was less successful as the pastry crinkled after it dried. But, who knows, maybe this was the effect the artist was looking for.
“This type of experimentation is exactly the kind of creative expression that we wanted to bring out with the purchase of the printer. We always encourage students to prototype work – to try things out to observe the results. In fact we discourage its use for simple printing tasks that can best be done on a plan printer or desktop digital device.”
The reputation of the School of Art, Architecture and Design is enhanced by the equipment available to students and this is used to good effect by the university in attracting students both locally and from overseas.
David Gordon says the school frequently plays host to groups of prospective students anxious to see the studio/workshop conditions and the equipment that is available.
“Quality equipment that is used in industry, such as the Océ Arizona 350 GT, is an excellent recruiting tool for the University, particularly when prospective students see the quality of the work that can be produced on it.
“We have been very impressed with the quality of the printer and the technical service from Océ. It’s been a great boon to the school,” David Gordon says.
The School of Art, Architecture and Design has a history dating back 150 years and incorporates one of the oldest art schools in Australia. Alumni include Margaret Preston, Hans Heysen, Stella Bowen, Ivor Hele, Jeffrey Smart, Barbara Hanrahan, Mandy Martin, Aleks Danko, Hossein Valamanesh, Zhong Chen, Gavin Walkley, Paul Hecker, Nik Karalis, Caroline Lieu, Melinda Kate Hill and Debra Little.
Océ Australia
www.oce.com.au
