Fine Art Printing

Why make Fine Art Prints?

The simple answer to this question has to be... ...because you can!

Advances in digital technology have now made it possible to reproduce paintings and photographs to standards virtually impossible to achieve using conventional printing processes. In addition, the practicality and cost effectiveness of the Giclee process offers the artist an opportunity to keep a digital ’master’ of a treasured work, even when the actual original has been sold. This can offer an extremely important extra lease of life for an image, with the option of an open or limited edition print run, thus maximising the revenue and profitability of each original. It also broadens the market for your work. Prints can be ordered on demand so the artist doesn’t have the ’up front’ cost of the whole run and has no need to hold hundreds of prints in stock.

How?

The first and most important step in the process, is to make a digital copy of the artwork. This can be done in some cases by scanning the original, but more often my preferred method is photography, using professional digital equipment. This allows for a non invasive approach, essential for works like Pastels and Oil Paintings on stretchers, often still ‘soft’. Photography also allows for the use of studio lighting, giving the opportunity to use techniques to better capture texture and control colour. The creation of a high quality digital file capable of reproducing all the subtle detail, colour, tone and texture in an artwork, requires a degree of skill, knowledge, and some serious hardware. Any printing system is only as good as the quality of the input, or digital ‘master,’ and in many ways this is more critical with Giclee printing, as it has the ability to reproduce very high levels of detail.

Once your original has been digitised it is then ‘proofed’, or test printed. This is done preferably along side the original work; so as to make direct comparisons. Some colour balancing will almost always be required at this point, as some pigments used in paints and pastels can often display different characteristics when photographed or scanned. This can be corrected in a retouching process, so as to achieve the best possible match with the original.

Quality

Unlike conventional printing, Giclee uses no photomechanical methods, no screens or printing plates. It delivers the image to the media directly, via special software, which interprets the image file and drives the printer. A ‘closed loop’ system, with cameras, scanners, monitors and printers all calibrated to work together delivers consistent results. The printer uses a sophisticated set of pigmented light fast inks of archival quality, and a wide range of superb acid free, fine art quality papers and canvases are available.

I am an artist myself, but have spent many years in commercial art and design and have been involved in photography and print since well before computers and digital technology played any part in the process. In light of this experience, the Giclee process is a revelation, offering true Fine Art quality, hitherto beyond the reach of the self-publishing artist.

What does it cost?

Giclee printing is all about quality, and just like fine art, the materials used could be considered relatively expensive. This though is offset by modest set up costs and supply on demand printing. Typical costs for producing a print are as follows:

• Create a digital master of the original - from £65.00
• Set-up and proofing £45.00
• Print 10 copies on 310 gram fine art paper A3 sheet size £180.00 or £18.00 each
• Print the same image on canvas and mounting on a wooden stretcher £35.00 each

Prices subject to V.A.T.

Tresco Studios offers a bespoke printing service tailored to the needs of individual artists and photographers.

For further information, advice or a quotation, contact: Andrew Allanson on 01793 762852

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