The diversity of digital print technologies used in the creation of high quality Fine Art

The Centre for Fine Print Research in Bristol UK undertakes research into print technologies from the traditional 19th Century to the latest digital capture and print. Outcomes of this research are often realised in collaborative projects with well-known artists. The breadth of technologies used in the creation of printed digital art is huge, and often mixes analogue and digital techniques. At the CFPR we print artwork using digital photographic technologies that range from, fired enamel on metal for largescale public art projects, continuous tone photo-ceramic relief panels, digital moulds for glass artists. On-glaze ceramic print, Digital photogravure, flexographic print both intaglio and relief, Helio-relief, collotype and Woodburytype, as well as large-scale digital inkjet for Blue chip artists such as Richard Hamilton. In order to understand and quantify colour and surface print quality differences between each process, colourmetric measurement is available alongside microphotography to support and back up the subjective analytical data that is collected during a project. Examples from this data will be used to illustrate the differences between digital print techniques and explain why the artist has chosen a particular print technique. In order to fully explain the breadth of technologies available this paper will also demonstrate the work other studios from Europe and the USA that develop projects using digital technologies to print artists work

Computational colour, the visual artist and the printed artefact

A peer reviewed journal article published in the Journal of the International Colour Association (JAIC). This paper outlines the limitations of digital printing in respect of its ability to replicate the nuances of colour that might be achieved by the artist. It is proposed that there is now available an opportunity for artists and colourscientists to work together to innovate new multi-head printers that could render the ‘tactile surface qualities and opaque ink set’ of the painter

Modulated extrusion for textured 3D printing

This research utilises a Fused Deposition Modelling 3D Printer to investigate the aesthetics of 3D printing and it's broader applications. The presented research re-evaluates the 3D printer as a tool to manipulate materials, as opposed to a machine that discretely reproduces digital models at a fine resolution. The research questions the utility of automation, and attempts to find a level that permits materially expressive modes of fabrication. The exploration of aesthetics has uncovered a variety of unexpected textures and interesting material properties that may have wider use. For instance, rigid plastic has been extruded and manipulated finer than the extrusion nozzle diameter, which confers flexibility and fabric like qualities to the printed object. The discovered techniques for 3D printed aesthetics are reproducibly reliable and can be incorporated back into orthodox digital-model driven fabrication

A self-healable fluorescence active hydrogel based on ionic block copolymers prepared via ring opening polymerization and xanthate mediated RAFT polymerization

YesIn this work we report a facile method to prepare a fluorescence active self-healable hydrogel via incorporation of fluorescence responsive ionic block copolymers (BCPs). Ionic block copolymers were prepared via a combined effect of ring opening polymerization (ROP) of ε-caprolactone and xanthate mediated reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization. Here polycaprolactone (PCL) was modified with xanthate to prepare a PCL based macro-RAFT agent and then it was utilized to prepare block copolymers with cationic poly(2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyltrimethyl ammonium chloride) (PCL-b-PMTAC) and anionic poly(sodium 4-vinylbenzenesulfonate) (PCL-b-PSS). During the block formation, the cationic segments were randomly copolymerized with a trace amount of fluorescein O-acrylate (FA) (acceptor) whereas the anionic segments were randomly copolymerized with a trace amount of 9-anthryl methylmethacrylate (AMMA) (donor) to make both the segments fluorescent. The block copolymers form micelles in a DMF : water mixture (1 : 4 volume ratio). The ionic interaction of two BCPs was monitored via Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) and zeta potential measurements. The oppositely charged BCPs were incorporated into a polyacrylamide (PAAm) based hydrogel that demonstrated self-healing behavior and is also highly fluorescent.IIT Kharagpur and MRC (MR/N501888/2

Medical student attitudes to mental health and psychiatry: the use of a patient-experience short film

Background: Medical student attitudes to mental illness are significantly influenced by their undergraduate educational experience. Medical education therefore has a key role to play in challenging the stigma associated with mental illness. We developed a short educational film aimed at challenging stigmatising attitudes to mental illness and explored its effects on undergraduate medical student attitudes. We hypothesised that levels of stigmatising attitudes in medical students would reduce after students viewed the educational film. Method: We used a validated scale (Mental Illness: Clinician Attitudes, MICA) to examine undergraduate medical student attitudes to mental illness at two time points - prior to (T1) and following (T2) viewing the short film. The film focused on patient experiences and was designed to highlight personal experiences of mental illness. Results: 92 students completed the MICA before the film and 73 students at both time points. Having a personal history of mental illness was associated with less stigmatising attitudes (t=2.4, df=87, p=0.019). Stigma scores were reduced following the film viewing (t=7.101, df=72, p<0.001). Discussion: This study suggests that patient experience films, used as educational tools, can challenge student perceptions of mental illness and lead to a reduction in stigmatising attitudes, at least in the short term. Future studies are required to examine the longer-term effects of such educational interventions in terms of student perceptions and attitudes towards mental health and psychiatry

Core (Polystyrene)−Shell [Poly(glycerol monomethacrylate)] Particles

YesA set of water-swollen core−shell particles was synthesized by emulsion polymerization of a 1,3-dioxolane functional monomer in water. After removal of the 1,3- dioxolane group, the particles’ shells were shown to swell in aqueous media. Upon hydrolysis, the particles increased in size from around 70 to 100−130 nm. A bicinchoninic acid assay and ζ-potential measurements were used to investigate the adsorption of lysozyme, albumin, or fibrinogen. Each of the core−shell particles adsorbed significantly less protein than the noncoated core (polystyrene) particles. Differences were observed as both the amount of difunctional, cross-linking monomer and the amount of shell monomer in the feed were changed. The core−shell particles were shown to be resistant to protein adsorption, and the degree to which the three proteins adsorbed was dependent on the formulation of the shell.EPSRC and MR