Master printer and the evolution of fine art printing: Mark O'Donnell and Pixel2Editions

Like many artists who do printwork, I have used a variety of digital inkjet printers.  Over time, I decided the hassle of maintenance and upgrades, the wide variety of papers and inks, as well as the expectation of editions led me to the inevitable:  Let someone else do the printing. 

There are many print services available, locally and online. However, I am an experimenter and most print services do not want to spend time with a one-off experiment that might or might not lead to more work. There are some exceptions.  Mark O'Donnell at Pixel2Editions is willing to work with fine artists on small runs, partly because he is also an experimenter and a painter.  

Part of my journey in art was walking into Pixel2 and seeing a metal print on the wall. The metal print was really an image printed on mylar and then laminated onto distressed metal. The metal print had been damaged and so the discarded artwork became an objet d'art - a wall object. I was fascinated and commenced to distress metals with patinas and get them printed and laminated. 

This is the adventure of walking into Mark's business and his experimenting with new technology or old technology optimized in new ways.

Joe Nalven:  How long have you been working with printing machines?

Mark O'Donnell:  I started with an advertising company in Chicago in 1991 right after art school. I mostly worked in the color proofing area with silk screening. After purchasing the first (and second) Iris printers in Chicago for color proofs, we were asked to print on shrink wrap in order to pitch soda can ads for Leo Burnett. The Iris, which was the first fine art printer, had dye inks which you could actually drink! The lack of stability and inability to adhere to non- coated substrates presented an excellent challenge for us to print on unique media. We were forced into extensive R & D in uncharted territory. By using combinations of emulsions in the color proofing department we came up with what would be the first inkjet coating allowing us to print on virtually anything. 

The process was then shared with Nash Editions in Manhattan Beach in return for ideas on how we could retrofit our Iris, which was like theirs, to be able to print on thicker media such as watercolor papers. Today I believe that the Iris printer Nash had is in the Smithsonian Institution.

Mark O'Donnell / The flatbed printer optimized for fine art

Joe Nalven:  Why the new flatbed printer?

Mark O'Donnell:  The new flatbed decision came about when we finally saw decent resolution and density for fine art printing. Flatbeds have been around for a long time, but this model made the choice easy. While incorporating a white ink, these UV cured inks last a very long time outdoors. This is indeed rare combination to have a good color gamut, resolution, longevity, and white, spot white, or varying opacities of white.

Joe Nalven:  You're also a painter.  Has your printing influenced your painting and vice-versa?

Mark O'Donnell:  Coming from a painting background my strong point is what most clients regard as our company’s strength - the ability to see and match color while paying close attention to detail and quality. Sometimes I see this as a curse because I find myself spending all my time on other artists’ works while little to no time on my own easel! 

Joe Nalven:  What are you planning over the next 5 years?

Mark O'Donnell:  In our field five years represents an incredibly long time. We only look at year to year for major decisions because technology changes so rapidly. Who is to say where we’ll be in two years let alone five? This said, UV direct printing will only get cheaper, better, and faster so we are constantly looking into the latest models that could fit our needs. We hope to eventually evolve into a Gallery, with the printing facilities obviously still taking center stage. We will be purchasing a new online store front to compete with companies such as Fine art america and picture it on canvas. The difference we’ll have will be to pick and choose the artists we’ll represent and we will continue to reproduce with the finest papers (and other surfaces), inks, and machinery. 

Joe Nalven:  Who would you consider to be to be a major influence in your life and work?

Mark O'Donnell:  I would have to say believe it or not, not an artist! Dr. Martin Luther King jr. said something which gave me pause and I feel is one of the greatest quotes. I continue to live my life based on this:

If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michaelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, 'Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.

Mark O’Donnell Pixel 2 Editions, Inc. 858-549-7299 www.pixel2editions.com

Read a complementary artblog concerning an institutional response to transitions in technology:  Photographic Conversations at MOPA: Deborah Klochko and Andy Grundberg