Portrait of a “printer beyond compare”

Lorenz, you are a “creator and silkscreen printer”, I believe? Could you describe what you do?

Yes, I define myself as a creator and silkscreen printer. I am continually developing a range of original and varied effects with new techniques, such as printing an image in half-tones, using iridescent or metallic pigments or whites on white.
My customers mainly come to me for that, for they are looking for matchless printing results. Today innovation and creativity are essential added values for a successful silkscreen printer.

The Siebdruck-Lorenz Boegli workshop is in Müntschemier in Switzerland. You have built up an international reputation and won many prizes. What is the secret of your success?

Last year, my leitmotiv was “Headline/Handmade”. I think my success in this craft profession is half due to the intellectual side of the work. You have to find a balance between craftsmanship, manual and intellectual work and aesthetics if you are going to turn your customers’ ideas and wishes into something sublime.

You are a creator, constantly researching new possibilities. Recently you have developed a unique printing technique: RGB printing. Can you reveal the secret behind it?

What is amazing in the RGB printing technique is that on a dark background, superposing red, green and blue gives you white. White is not a colour, it is what you get when you mix light in all the colours. Until now this effect was something you only achieve on screens, but now it is transposable to paper printing and in a large range of colours by mixing pigments. The result is mind-blowing for a professional.
You need to use the special iridescent “Spectraval” pigments produced by Merck, which are made to my recipes.
This RGB system only works on a black backing. Silkscreen printing allows you to obtain a stronger inking than with other printing techniques like the gravure process or flexography. This is why RGB silkscreen printing allows for better light intensity and offers a wider range of colours.

You have used this new technique on black Velin d’ARCHES^® 250 g/m² paper. How do you find the results?

I can take my inspiration from pigments, but also from paper.
Black Velin d’ARCHES^® paper is particularly special.
Thanks to its 100% cotton composition, it has a surface that is incomparably soft to the touch, and above all a very intense rendering of black, which never ceases to surprise me. The texture of this paper, which is relatively present, combined with very fine printing makes it possible to achieve an interesting contrast.
That why I was pleased to take up the challenge of RGB printing on this paper.