Information for Artists.

So if you are at this page you are a traditional artist and would like to know how to make prints from your original work. First of all you should look at our page on reproductions.

We need to print from a digital file and we can make that file in one of several ways.

1. From a direct scan of the original work
   We scan the original work in on a high resolution large format flat bed scanner or a Cruse scanner if it's bigger than 30" x 30" (up to 4 feet x 6 feet)
   Direct scans give the very best results, capturing not only the image but also the texture of the substrate.

2. From a Film negative or positive
   It's not that easy to shoot art and in order to get the best from your work we need a very good image. If you have taken 35 mm slides they may not be of good enough quality. We generally recommend a 2.1/4 or 4 x 5 transparency to work from. If you have a transparency send it to to us and we will scan it. If we don't find the image to be of good enough quality we will not charge for the scan.

3. From a Digital Camera File
   While digital cameras have come a long way in the last few years, only the most expensive can offer the kind of resolution that can do justice to your art. We have made some good prints from a 12.9 Mpix camera and some excellent work from a 22 Mpix camera. Anything less than this is going to give you limited results.
   For example if we are making a direct scan of a 20" x 30" we would be working with a 160 Mbyte file. A 12.9 Mpix camera's maximum equivalent would be only 38 Mbytes and a 22 Mpix only 66 Mbytes - less than a third the size! If in doubt call or e-mail and we would be happy to talk to you or your photographer to ascertain the viability of the digital file or you could simply upload it and we could take a look.

If you send us your original artwork or a transparency please a) Do not sent it via FedEx as they do not cover art in their insurance policy and b) if you send via UPS make sure it is packed carefully and check with UPS about the insurance - make sure it's insured for the full value of the piece. We would recommend that you make duplicates of any photographic media you send.

Once we have the digital file we will make an 8 x 10" proof of the image for color and we can also make a proof of a section on the image so you can see what it looks like at final size.

If you are going to print on canvas we have a means of making a wrap around the edges which does not make the original art smaller or have a white edge. Click here for more information on "Ricks Wrap"

Some people like to call their prints on canvas (and sometimes on paper) "Giclee" or to be more correct "Giclée" prints.

Editions
What is an edition and how many should you print

Color Management
Some tips on getting good results

Giclee
What is a Giclée
Everything you wanted to know and more!

Galleries