I don't expect conservative gallery owners to accept the idea very quickly, but side-by-side with glazed B&W prints, the unglazed, coated inkjet prints will speak for themselves.
The usual print sprays that we can buy cannot give the dMax increase that I am looking for. A thicker coating is needed.
So far, I favor applying the coating with a #30 wire-wound ("Mayer") rod (from Diversified Enterprises 800-833-4644) for Epson Archival Matte ("EAM") and a #15 for Eclipse Satine. For 8x10" prints I've been using a 16" (12" of winding) 1/2 inch thick rod that sells for $22 (but there is a $25 minimum). It's the only process I've tried that can do a perfect finish in one coat.
For coating material, some on the Digital B&W Print forum like the Golden water-based acrylics for the first coat. The Liquitex version -- readily available -- at 3 parts Liquitex to 1 part water is also a good coating. In fact, I favor something like the Liquitex because it has no UV inhibitors, which often yellow the print too much.
I currently think polyurethane ("PUR") may be a better coating. It's superior toughness and resistance to humidity and chemicals may have significant advantages over the acrylics. The best practical answer I've found is the water-based (easy, even if not at tough as the 2-solution, solvent-based, industrial-strength ones), aliphatic (non-yellowing), Hydrocote (800-229-4937) Polyshield Gloss PUR. This is available in one-quart size via mail/telephone order. The wire-wound rods apply it easily with no dilution. It dries very quickly, but takes about 7 days to cure completely.
The two papers that I've used that work the best are Eclipse Satine and EAM. They both can be coated with a single application. The finish ends up a pearl/luster that is very nice, although this is clearly subjective. For a flatter finish, Legion Photo Matte may be a good choice. It also coats well with one coat using the #15 rod.
To apply the coating with a rod, I tape the "top" 1/8 inch of the print to a piece of 1/4" thick glass using Scotch Removable tape. (Have the print upside down so that the larger bottom border is the one taped.) The glass is for a smooth, flat surface that I can razor off dried coating if necessary. I've been using a couple sheets of copy paper under the print. For some papers it helps also to tape down the bottom corners, although I usually don't bother with this.
About 7 cc (for an 8x10) of Polyshield pulled straight from the can with a syringe fitted with an MIS bottom-fill attachment is used to lay a "bead" on the tape and glass above the print. I make sure there are no bubbles in the PUR not only before I lay down the bead but also after the bead is on the tape & glass. I pull some water into the syringe and discharge it immediately a couple of times to stop the PUR from setting-up in the nozzle.
Just before pulling the rod across the print, I use a blower to be sure there is no dust on it. Since the can of PUR is only open long enough to pull out what I need, there should not be any significant amount of dust in the coating material (I hope -- so far, so good).
After the "bead" (or small, long pool) of coating is on the tape and glass above the print, I pull the rod through the bead and down across the print. The weight of the rod supplies most of the downward force needed. I don't roll the rod, but rather drag it smoothly and not too slowly, keeping the speed of the pull as constant as possible. If I get horizontal banding, it is often because I've pulled the rod too slowly. After I've pulled the excess coating away from the bottom of the print, I immediately rinse off the rod. I definitely don't want the PUR to set-up on the rod.
I quickly remove the tape from the print. If the PUR sets-up too much before the tape is pulled off, it will pull off part of the print paper with it.
I usually put the 8x10 print on a dry paper towel as soon as possible. The screw-driver that I used to open the can makes a handy tool to run under the print edges to separate them from the paper and glass under the print.
A damp sponge soaks up the excess coating material and will clean the glass easily.
Once the glass is clean and dry, I usually pull the print on its paper towel back onto the glass and dry it a bit with a hair drier. By this time it is also dry enough to just hang up to dry.
Between the tape, handling and other problems, I lose a little less than 1/4 inch of each print edge, but that still leaves a good 8x10 print area.
I'm still experimenting with this, so my materials and methods may change.
While the coating process is still experimental, I think it holds great potential for taking our pigmented inkjet prints to a level that, in many respects, exceeds the quality of the traditional silver print.
If you have any comments or questions, please do not hesitate to
contact me.