The Art of Fine Art Printing

I would like to introduce you to Eric Joseph, who taught me how to produce exquisite archival fine art inkjet prints of my watercolors with beautiful, accurate color.  My printing process has catapulted from torturous to joyful!

Advances in technology have made it seemingly easy for artists to produce beautiful archival inkjet prints of their work. For some artists, with bold styles, the process is relatively simple and straightforward. But, watercolors are notoriously difficult to reproduce, especially mine, which are exceptionally delicate and detailed.

I’ve had a love/hate relationship with printing for over a decade.  I caught the digital printing wave early.  In 2002, Epson unveiled their revolutionary printer, the Stylus Photo Printer 2200.  I purchased one and bought into the dream of selling fine art prints of my art.  That is… if I could only make a decent print!

I wasted a lot of expensive ink, paper and time trying.  The only consultant I knew charged $2,500 a day, so I was stuck trying to figure things out for myself. Eventually, I got to the point in which the mere act of pressing the print button caused anxiety.  I put my dreams on hold.

Then, three years ago I had what I thought was a brilliant solution!  I set out to team up with a master fine art printmaker who would produce prints of my art on demand.

I live in Los Angeles, home to some of the finest printmakers in the world, so you’d think it would be easy to find the printmaker of my dreams, right?  Wrong!  There were a multiple problems with that business model: cost per print was way too high, paper choices were limited, and I either had to spend two hours on the freeway to sign a print, or sell prints with a digital signature. Most importantly, the color was way off.  I had test prints made by seven of the world’s best printmaking labs and only one of them achieved accurate color.

I finally came to the conclusion that the only way I could produce high-quality prints at an affordable price was to master the art of fine art printing.

The best thing that came out of my two-year search for this elusive master printmaker was a test print, a perfect print, by an out-of-state printmaker whose client list included the Whitney museum and a laundry list of famous artists and photographers.  That print became my gold standard, which I intended to match.

Meanwhile, Epson released the new SureColor P-series, which was reported to be a huge leap forward in technology.  I’d had prints made at a lab that was beta testing one and I was thrilled with the print quality. So, a friend loaned me the money to buy a 17” wide P-800.  I thought I was on my way until I tried to make a print on my new printer!

I spent the first few months in tech Hell.  I hated the way the P-800 loads paper.  It has a slow, front-loading paper tray that has trouble loading thick paper. That was a huge problem, because I love printing on thick watercolor paper. Sometimes I would get lucky, but more often than not, the P-800 would feed the paper into the printer, the paper would get stuck, it would eject the paper, and in the process it damaged the paper.

One day, when I was at my wit’s end, I reached out to the Hahnemühle Paper tech support rep for help. Finally, living in L.A. paid off.  I was referred to Eric Joseph, who is the Senior VP at Freestyle Photographic & Imaging Supplies in Hollywood.

I couldn’t believe my luck.  As a free public service, Eric offers what he calls “inkjet printing psychotherapy” consultations and inkjet printing workshops.  My timing was perfect.  I called Eric on Friday morning, met with him that afternoon, and went back the next morning, bright and early, for an all-day workshop.

I brought Eric my gold standard perfect print and a digital file of the artwork.  He made a print from that file that seemed better than perfect.  The color slightly more pleasing to the eye than my gold standard print!  And, his process was push-button.  He became my mentor and friend.  He changed my life.

Now, I’m launching a Kickstarter campaign to buy a new printer that is the size of a piano. Eric said I would be happier with a 24” wide or larger printer because desktop printers aren’t intended for professional production.  I’m raising funds to buy a 24” wide format Canon.  http://kck.st/2ARrQoQ

Here’s Eric’s advice on fine art inkjet printing.

To be honest, the fine art digital printing industry hasn’t done a very good job of educating us on how to achieve GREAT results from our printers. The cards are stacked against us and the resources for obtaining good, truthful, simple and relevant information are hard to find.

Photography has always been a combination of technology and art. The technology, in this instance, is understanding how to operate the software and equipment associated with printing and controlling all of the variables using color management. Ultimately we want to have controllable, predictable, repeatable and reliable results allowing us to simply create a product and not have to fight the technology. The art is in being able to apply your knowledge of the materials into a final product that is amazing and something that customers will eagerly pay for – and exceeds their expectations.

After investing years of time and resources in this subject, I have found that the number one factor in being able to create a print that matches my unique artistic signature is paper! Understanding paper is the key! All printers on the market can make great prints. All cameras can take great photos. You just need to choose the products that meet your needs in terms of final size, resolution, features and specifications. Paper is much more personal. The surface texture, weight, thickness, feel – the way it renders an image or original artwork and the issues associated with archival permanence are all factors worth considering.

Epson vs. Canon printers

Both manufacturers make great printers. Epson has the predominant market share because they perfected a relatively reliable and professional printing system and heavily marketed it for many years before Canon.  Today Canon makes a very competitive product from a price and quality standpoint while also solving many of the issues that have plagued people who have been printing on Epson brand printers for many years.

When Colleen first met with me and discussed her printing needs, she let me know that she was having great difficulty using an Epson Surecolor P800 desktop printer. Mostly she was having sheet feeding problems.  Moving to a wide format printer (one that could print on a roll up to 24 inches wide) would not only solve her sheet feeding issues but she felt that the features of the Canon imagePrograf Pro-2000 would suit her needs much better, solve her immediate problems and allow her to expand her output capabilities to match the requirements of her business.  We also settled on Hahnemuehle Museum Etching as the perfect paper of choice for her artwork.

Desktop vs. Wide Format printers

Most people I run in to ask about what printer will give them the best results for the lowest price. There a number of factors to consider.  How many prints will you be printing per week? How often will you be printing? What is the maximum size of the prints you want to make? Do you currently outsource your printing and how much does that cost? What type of paper will you be using (Glossy/Luster or Matte papers or both interchangeably?) How much room do you have for a printer? How long do you want your prints to last?

Desktop printers, in general, are designed to do basically two things.  Make beautiful prints and cost more per print in the form of ink than professional wide format printers. They are designed for the casual user making prints occasionally. The cost per ml of ink is much higher and they come with much less ink as well. They are also designed for a much shorter lifespan and have the potential to break down much sooner than wide format printers.  The cost of ownership in terms of ink price per ml of ink is higher on desktop printers than on larger wide format printers.  Wide format printers also print faster, have a longer duty cycle, are more consistent and reliable than desktop printers.

Pigment vs. Dye based printers and presentation of inkjet prints

So here is the real defining factor of archival permanence of inkjet prints.  Dye ink-based inkjet printers contain ink that is made up of colored water with lots of optical brightening agents in it.  Pigment-based printers use ground up stuff (pigment) suspended in a homogenous solution that is much more resistant to fading due to exposure to light.  This alone is the main defining feature of making prints that will last a long time.  For the best chance of success for long lasting prints consider the following: use a pigment based printer, 100% cotton paper with no optical brightening agents, spray your prints with a protective coating to insure that the inkjet emulsion doesn’t continue to absorb airborne contaminants, and make sure that your final print is sealed in a frame, hung or stored in an environment that isn’t too extreme and away from bright sunlight.

Advise for artists and photographers who want to produce their own prints.

Ask yourself the above mentioned questions.  Contact either myself or someone you trust for good, sensible advice including a product demonstration.  We offer through Freestyle Photographic & Imaging Supplies all of the above so that we can provide you with valuable information, via sample prints and one-on-one printer demonstrations so that you can make the right choice of printer that is for your specific needs. Some folks just want to create their art and have someone else print for them. Printing is an art in itself and if you are willing to make the commitment, we are willing to help. There is more to printing than just purchasing a printer.  Other more advanced topics such as Color Management (monitor calibration and custom paper profiles), choices of displaying prints and lighting are also worth discussing.

Colleen has chosen the very best printer and paper combination for her new business venture based on the specific requirements she has set for her art, without compromise. All factors have been considered including a paper that is consistent with her artistic signature and a printer that will yield cost-effective results, meeting the maximum standards of archival permanence.  The knowledge, training and understanding of the science of inkjet printing for her to be able to execute her unique artistic signature with efficiency and pride.  Her commitment to her art is unwavering as she marches towards her goal to produce a product of heirloom quality that will survive from generation to generation.

Please feel free to contact me for any questions you might have on the digital printmaking process.

About Eric & Colleen

Colleen Stratton

www.anamcaras.com

Colleen@anamcaras.com

Kickstarter: http://kck.st/2ARrQoQ

Eric Joseph

Senior V.P. Business & Product Development

Freestyle Photographic Supplies

etjoseph@freestylephoto.biz

www.freestylephoto.biz

Want more on making and selling prints?

• How to sell fewer prints and make more money
• Managing a successful print studio with Patricia Vargas (podcast episode)
• The best scanners, printers, and papers for printing your art at home.
• Color management for fine artists
• 8 creative ways to use prints