.......................Giclee Printing Services

Color Correction

.....Color correction and minor retouching are part of a $35 setup fee. We employ Photoshop layering techniques tuned to maximize tonal rendition and minimize degradation in your giclee print. Adjustment layers prevent the original file from being affected until we are ready to print. For extensive retouching and composition an estimate will be provided and it is based on the time involved. Only one setup fee applies to multiple prints of the same artwork . In some cases, different art pieces on the same order can share setup fees providing that the color gamut of the individual art pieces is similar.

UV protection

.....A giclee print can be coated with a degree of proofing against water and UV damage. Some of our papers and pigments do not require any post-printing treatment. As with anything printed or painted, it is recommended to keep your work away from direct sunlight. Coating is a must for canvas. The only time canvas coating is not recommended is when the artist prefers to paint and varnish on his own.

Proofing

....Upon receipt of your images we will proceed to scan and output a proof and send it to you. Generally proofs are either test strips measuring 4 inches wide that encompass some important visual elements of the art piece (scaled to the exact size of the final print), and provide good information about color and sharpness. Or, for larger print sizes, beyond 30”, you have the choice of either a test strip or an 8X10" for your visual evaluation. You have the option to call, e-mail us, or visit us in person to OK the proof or you can mark it up and send it back for correction. Proofing is included as part of the setup fee, plus shipping and packing should we be required to mail your proof. We do not mark up shipping fees. A “full service” print with color correction workflow has an expected turnaround of approximately 7 days.

Print-ready files

.....Artists and photographers with inkjet print ready files are void of setup fees and are eligible for quick express turnaround. The lower prices reflect the same care as our giclee service in printing your own expertly prepared file, but without any color corrections or Photoshop work on our part.

.......What is a Giclee?..........

.....In general terms giclée is a French term meaning something is being squirted on. In the case of printing the paper is being sprayed on with pigments by a printer nozzle with an approximate diameter of one millionth of the diameter of a hair (measured in microns).

"What is a giclée print?", the answer is: a digital printer makes it, similar to the inkjets many have at home. Contrary to a popular belief, there are some major differences between a home inkjet and a giclée printer. But as inkjet technology develops and RIPs (Rasta Imaging Processors) become more readily available for desk top printers, A skilled printer can approach print quality that respectfully competes with their large formet printer counterparts.

Both desktop and Large Format inkjet printers can have 4 to 8 colors, and in some cases as many of 12. All of our Epson line of printers use piezo heads. The nozzles vibrate with a crystal, similar to a quartz watch.

The beauties of Giclee printing are the number of mediums available to print on. A variety of canvas, watercolor paper, cotton rags, and velvium (textured) fine art papers from numerous manufactures are readily available, many of which carry a receptive coating particularly for inkjet printing that highten the quality and archivability of a Giclee Print. In fact, a giclee print demands specific quality standands in terms of materials and workmanship to be classified as a "Giclee".

The quality of a giclée print is determined by a few factors, most importantly the quality of the digital file. A giclée print is only as good as the digital file used to make it and without a good scan or capture the best results simply cannot be achieved.

The best possible prints are made with the finest papers available. Top brands like Hahnemule, Innova, and Epson (to name a few), are profiled for the printers used and printed using a RIP (a printer driver on steroids) used to control optimum ink lay down for better color accuracy, density, saturation, and gradation (the smoothness of tonal transition from light to dark.

Pigmented inks combined with a RIP are the core to a successful recipe for Fine Art reproduction, along with proprietary we make for our combination of papers, inks, and printers. The resulting print is a museum grade archival print with a longevity that commonly surpasses 80 years.

Your giclée printer is another important factor. Although major players like Epson, Roland, and Canon etc make excellent prints, many companies that use plotters and market giclées are usually not specialized in fine art reproduction.

Printing Methodology

...The most common inquiries are resolution and color space. Generally speaking we recommend a minimum resolution of 150-200 ppi at the size the image is going to be printed. (An in depth explanation of the difference between ppi and dpi is available here.> DPI and PPI for giclee printing.

...All digital cameras or scanners are not created equal. For example, an image created by a professional 5MP digital SLR with pro lenses will produce a much better file that a 5 MP point and shoot. Most individuals don’t have a digital camera capable of producing native resolution for a 30X40 giclee at 150ppi. Knowing this, We can use image interpolation to compensate.

Example: if ordering a 30X40" print, we normally require a file that measures 30X40" at 200 ppi. The color space we work in is Adobe RGB, an industry standard, because it offers a wider color gamut and therefore better color range. If you send us a CMYK file, we convert it to our working space. Because RGB has a wider gamut than CMYK, There is no gamut loss going from CMYK to RGB.

...Whether we’re the ones to scan your originals or not, we print with one of three RIP software programs designed to apply very smooth curves and achieve the best possible image rendition. We build our own proprietary profiles designed for the papers we use. RIP stands for Raster Image Processing: software interprets the digital data to apply colors and tones to an extent not possible with printer supplied drivers.

...We use an 8-pass, uni-directional pigment layering system we regard to be the best in the industry. There is a belief held by an old school mentality that Iris printers are the best. Iris technology is more than 15 years old and the new generation of printers such as Epson, Roland and others are far better and more sophisticated than Iris. Another advantage of these new giclee printing systems is that (opposite to the 4 color Iris) they use 6, 7 or even more colors. Metamerism is almost non existent because of the advances in pigment based inks.

Color Adjustments

It’s typically accepted that local color corrections are necessary to match the tones of the original art to a giclee print.

...Pigments used by artists are “seen” differently by scanners and cameras compared to the naked eye. CCDs are so sensitive to the chemical composition and consequent spectral properties of oils, acrylics and watercolor media that it’s nearly impossible for a straight scan can to be printed as a giclee and be perfect in any way.

...The process requires a post scanning general and local color correction. Some earthy pigment blends loved by artists may look one way when seen with a naked eye and a complete different way on the screen after being scanned. Furthermore, the reproduction process throws in a curve in regards to the inherent gamut of papers and pigmented inks.

...The first step is not make a general correction if necessary. This step is only necessary if the file is too flat, too bright or dark or if there is an overall colorcast. A good scan, with no highlight or shadow clipping should not make overall corrections necessary.

...Local corrections on the other hand may have nothing to do with how well a scan is produced. A giclee proof may be perfect in tonality and colors except for areas where a particular pigment is used. The only step that can be taken is to isolate such areas and color correct them in Photoshop.

...A color range needing adjustment can be selected using a mask as an adjustment layer or alpha channel, and can be refined with a brush to account for uneven feathering. Another technique is to use the Quick Mask tool and manually create the mask.

...Once the mask is created, it is time to decide which type of adjustment layer to use. Often it can be a combination of two or more layers such as hue/saturation and curves or levels. Brightness/contrast or color balance controls should be avoided as much as possible. These tools don’t have the necessary control to achieve the best correction.

...The beauty of keeping the corrections in adjustment layers is the freedom to go back and edit the color without further degrading the background layer. Also, these layers have many options themselves such as opacity and multiply, screen, darken etc. Photoshop books have extended sections regarding the subject. It is definitely time well-spent reading and practicing these techniques if you decide to have full control over your digital files for giclee reproduction.

Marketing Giclees - Limit Edition Print advantage

From a pure marketing standpoint, artists can now suggest Giclees to potential buyers.

...High-end digital printmaking has opened a new world for artists: more paper choices, better color, limited production. Giclee printing has revolutionized the marketing and quality of commercial art.

...When pricing your giclee edition for sale the general guideline is to go between 1/2 and 1/5th of the price of the original. The pricing is influenced by the number in the series as well the print number in relation to the edition. As we approach the end of the series ex. 95 of 100, the value increases. Collectors in particular want to buy art that is not made in mass quantities. When buying Limited Edition Giclees they are assured to possess something rare and exquisite.

...In some cases artists only sells giclees and retains the original to establish a solid giclee market and attract clients who are only interested in the original artwork, which would command a high premium. In regards to digital art, it’s up to the artist to price the market.

...Artists are encouraged to pre-sell the complete limited edition. You may want to track the collectors and notify them when the particular edition is sold out. This reinforces the added value of their purchase. All giclee prints should have a Certificate of Authenticity from the printmaker: it is a service we provide for free with each giclee print you order.

Digital Files and Printing

What is PPI and DPI and how do they affect printing?

...While high fidelity professional inkjet printers can render a DPI (Dots per Inch) of 1440 to 2880, this is not how a file should be prepared. Let's take an example. You have a file that measures 20X30" at 150 PPI. If you want to print on a fine art paper, this is all is needed. The confusion comes as of why it is sufficient to have a file at 150 PPI when the printer is imaging at 1440 DPI. The answer is that PPI and DPI are two very different measurements.

...PPI refers to the number of pixels per inch in a file. It is an electronic figure, purely digital. PPI is important because it affects print quality and even the way an image displays on a screen. While about 72 PPI is all is needed for web images, it is generally too low for printing. The result would be jagged edges and pixels showing in the print. Giclee printing in particular is demanding because professional grade nozzles are not very forgiving of low resolution files. Generally speaking, textured materials such as canvas or watercolor paper will print well at a lower resolution. Smooth, photo type papers will need a higher PPI.

...DPI on the other hand refers to the printer resolution. One pixel does not equal to one dot. One dot represents one color while one pixel will render 4 or more. DPI is an important measure of quality for printers but not the only factor. There are expensive machines that only have a 300 DPI capability but produce extremely high end because of the screening technology employed.

...Interpolation of a file to boost PPI before printing can help but must be done with care. Generally an interpolation factor of about 200% will create a good print. Be aware not all files size up with the same quality. Digital photographs are easier to enlarge because there are no dots to start with. A film scan from a 35mm negative will not be as easy to interpolate because of the inherent film grain. A well-exposed image with good values is also a better candidate than a poorly prepared file.

..."Garbage in, garbage out" is true. Start with a good resolution file, proper highlights and shadows, and you will be able to produce outstanding prints. A poorly prepared image can’t be salvaged to create an equally beautiful reproduction.

Image Interpolation

...It is a fact of life that many digital cameras do not produce enough native (true) resolution to print large format giclee.

...It is possible to increase the file size of an image by interpolating. Interpolation can be done in many imaging programs and it increase the file size by adding pixels to make up for the lack of resolution.

...However, In terms of quality, all pixels from various digital cameras are not created equal.

...The way interpolation works is by averaging adjacent pixels in the file and "guessing" what values to put in. By doing so, the image will soften a bit and detail is not really gained. What is gained though is the chance to reduce or eliminate pixelation (providing the interpolation is performed correctly and within limits). Photoshop has 3 ways to interpolate: Nearest neighbor, Bilinear and Bicubic. For most purposes the latter two are fine. Nearest neighbor is better used for line work.

...A picture taken with a pro level camera will interpolate better that one taken with a point and shoot camera even if the two have the same resolution. This is because a high quality file can hold better when inflated. It is a good idea to do an unsharp mask after interpolating to reduce the softening.

...We have seen 5MP cameras that produce good large format prints. This is because the photos were taken with quality cameras and skill.

...We do not generally recommend to increase file size more than 200%. It is unrealistic to expect to see a 2 or 3MP producing an acceptable 30X40 giclee.

...Some images will also interpolate better than others. A very sharp image (not a sharpened digital file) with a good histogram without any clipping in highlights and shadows is a good candidate.

...If you have doubts about the quality of your file, please have us take a look at it. At no cost to you, we will analyze it and provide advice.

What is the suggested DPI for quality print reproduction?

We suggest a minimum of 150 PPI for all papers and if possible 200 for our Photographic papers.