Tag: bespoke

Choosing your Print size for Giclée Printing

Choosing your Print size for Giclée Printing

When giclée printing whether you’re an artist, illustrator or a photographer, the same principles apply when choosing print sizes of your art and photo images.

It is important when choosing sizes for giclée prints that you make decisions around the artworks and photos you create and consider your brand and image as part of this.

To begin you need a digital file of your artwork or photograph

For photographers and digital artists, you need to use software that allows you to scale up or down your image, to avoid pixelation and you need to make sure your file is saved as a tiff, psd or good quality jpg.

For artists you need to ensure your artwork has been digitally captured to a high standard, preferably photographed by a fine art photographer. Photographing art is highly technical. By ensuring a high quality digital file, you’re protecting the quality of your giclée prints.

 

Technical Considerations

Firstly the major factor having an impact on the size of giclée print that can be ordered, is the size of the digital file you have of your artwork or photo. Typically the file needs to be 300ppi high resolution, with an embedded RGB colourspace. So a wider range of colours and definition can be achieved in the giclée printing process. 

If you’ve created a digital file of your artwork using your Iphone or similar, it looks great on the screen, but the odds are the actual file will only print to the size of a beermat. A Fine Art Giclée Printing company have ways and means of enlarging this file, but this will be limited by the quality of the file. If there is any out of focus or blurred sections to the digital image, these will only be magnified by enlarging the file. These imperfections will also appear in the giclée print.

So as a general rule of thumb, the larger the print size you choose, the sharper the digital image needs to be, unless artistically you want an out of focus image. Also there is always a slight discrepancy allowed for viewing distance.

Please check out our Digital File to Print Size Calculator to help you

Giclee printing same size as original

The simplest giclee printing option is to create a fine art print the same size as the original photograph or artwork, but this might not work for you.

One of the first issues is, what if you paint different sized originals, you could could end up with several print sizes, with varying price points for your customers. Which will not only be difficult for you to remember and keep track of, but your customers may feel overwhelmed too.

When it comes to photography giclée printing, the final image after editing and cropping may mean as a photographer you have several sized images too. Again this can lead to a complicated pricing system, that in the end no one can make sense of. 

Your customers will love the original, so you might not want to stray too far from the original look. Therefore it might benefit you to class a range of sizes within a range of small, medium and large. You’ll be offering your customers a choice of size and budget to suit them. This will also allow some movement in what is classed as small i.e you’ll be able to have a discrepancy of a few inches within the size, to suit several giclée prints. This applies to medium and large as well.

Knowing your Target Audience

Artists, illustrators and photographers need to know their target audience. This will be based partly on the type of images and artwork you create. For example if you create landscape images for the hotel or corporate world, they are more likely to buy large giclée prints. The more unique and specific your original images are, the more niche your target audience becomes.

First and foremost you need to identify who your target audience is. You’ll have a better understanding of their budget and what sizes they are most likely to buy. You also have to consider your international market too. Some countries live in larger houses, apartments and so will be more inclined to buy larger giclée prints. The opposite can be said of other countries. 

Keep it Simple
giclee print from The Artists Print Room
Fine Art Giclée Print

So you need a system that works for you. By thinking ahead and getting used to the various size options and ratios, means you may think before you crop that photograph or put paint to paper.

An experienced fine art giclee printing company will be able to offer you great advice about how you can choose print sizes. At the Artists Print Room we offer a bespoke giclée printing service, giving you a greater freedom of choice. We print up to 1117 mm wide and 2400mm length on rolls. We have 19 genuine fine art giclée papers and canvases from Hahnemühle, Canson-Inifinty, Ilford Imaging and St Cuthberts Mill.

Know Crop Ratios 

Some artists and photographers choose print sizes based on what frames their customers can readily buy. Again you have to consider who your target audience is and what their expectations are. Also don’t forget large giclee prints can be great, but by the time you’ve added a mount and a frame, it could be very large indeed. 

Before you decide on the size of your giclée prints, you need to know about crop ratios. They relate to the original size of your artwork or photograph. Then you can see how to  scale up or down from the original size. By using a crop ratio chart you can see what sizes large or small can be achieved, without losing or cropping any of the original image.

See our crop ratio charts for help.

Editing your image for Giclée printing

As a rule of thumb giclee prints generally match the original artwork or photograph. Though creativity doesn’t have to stop there. You may want to change colours, edit the layout or change the overall tone. Maybe you want to create a special edition, which is slightly different from the original image. There are no hard and fast rules on what your final giclée prints have to look like. The only problem is, if you make drastic changes for each new giclée print, your collection of prints won’t look cohesive. They could confuse your target audience.

Conclusion

So in conclusion, generally any print size can be achieved with giclée printing. Though bear in mind there are technical factors affecting what you can actually print. Including the actual size and quality of digital file you have of the artwork or photograph. Also don’t forget about assessing crop ratios, knowing your target audience and remembering to keep it simple. 

Get in touch  if you’d like to discuss your giclée printing options.

 

Did you know that we are the only fine art printing company in the UK which has been accredited by Canson Infinity, Hahnemühle Fine Art, Epson Digigraphie, ILFORD and the Fine Art Trade Guild? Also, why not sign up to our mailing list to keep up to date with news, products and future competitions at The Artists Print Room – just complete the form below.

Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Instagram too!

6 reasons why should you use a fine art printing company

Originally posted 29th January 2019 – Updated 4th June 2020

As an artist or photographer, there is always the option of taking any printing requirements you have in house and completing this process yourself. This can be a daunting experience and often you’re left wondering, where to start? However, why not let that hassle be taken away? Of course, we believe you should use a fine art printer for your work whether you’re a photographer or an artist, but here are six reasons why we truly believe this is the best and most convenient way of producing your art.

1. Real, honest and bespoke advice

We see thousands of pieces of artwork and photography every single year, therefore, we believe we are in the best place to give you honest and truthful advice when you need it. Experience and knowledge comes from our involvement over the years. We can assist in colour correction and advise on how it is best to print your artwork or photography.

2. Knowledge and understanding of colour and workflow processes

Printing is our day job! Why waste time having to solve the problems yourself? We’ve probably encountered the issue before so can generally have a quick fix with any major problems. Spending time on understanding printers and colour calibration is not what you really want to be doing, giving you more time to create your beautiful artwork. Also, we are the only print studio in the UK to be certified by the three biggest paper manufacturers; Hahnemühle FineArt, Canson Infinity and Epson Digigraphie, proving our expertise in the industry.

3. Options – and lots of them!

Why spend a fortune on purchasing different types of paper? You may want to use different papers for your different subjects; which can be an expensive overhead. We have an extensive variety in stock at all times so we guarantee you will be able to find the perfect paper for your print when ordering with us. Also, if you need advice or guidance on selecting the best substrate for your print, just ask! We will always be more than happy to help. We use the best quality materials and inks and the cost savings of this are passed on to you. Additionally, it’s unlikely for most people to invest in printers that can produce fine art prints much bigger than A3, therefore by using a fine art printing you are not limited in your print size. Our printers here at The Artists Print Room go up to 44″ wide!

4. Technical knowledge

Sometimes, printing isn’t a straight forward process. We’ve all had the dreaded paper jam! But imagine that with heavenly but expensive fine art paper – we take care of all those pesky handling issues that you could encounter when printing at home. In addition to this, we are meticulous about colour and calibration – ensuring that our systems are working accurately, this is a time consuming process which we take care of. Our business is print, therefore we aim to always stay ahead of trends and new technologies.

5. Care and understanding

Our passion is stunning art and photography, therefore, we understand how important it is to get the final print perfect every time. It is the upmost importance to us that you will be more than satisfied with the finished product and endeavour to spend as much time as it takes to get each print right, every single time. You may be able to produce prints at home, but sometimes you can’t get them just quite right. Again, this is where we can assist in taking that pressure off you.

6. Ease and convenience

Probably one of the biggest benefits! When using a fine art printer, we can do everything for you. Our simple online ordering form allows you to work through all the printing options we have in an easy step-by-step process. Therefore, once your print has been ordered, you can sit back and relax until it arrives!

Overall, not only are you purchasing a final print from us,  you’re investing in many years of our expertise and experience. So overall, there are our top six reasons why we believe you should use a fine art printer for both your art reproductions and photography printing requirements. What other struggles do you see in printing your own work at home? Let us know and we would love to be able to show you how we can help!

Did you know that we are the only fine art printing company in the UK which has been accredited by Canson Infinity, Hahnemühle Fine Art, Epson Digigraphie, ILFORD and the Fine Art Trade Guild? Also, why not sign up to our mailing list to keep up to date with news, products and future competitions at The Artists Print Room – just complete the form below.

Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Instagram too!

Printing Artwork Services

If you are an artist looking for a fine art printing company that can print your artwork, we can help you.

Printing Artwork Services

There are only so many pieces of original art that you can create in one lifetime. With our artwork printing services you can have one piece created as many times as you like. This allows you to share your work near and far thus making your artwork ideal for resale. Here at The Artists Print Room any form of artwork can be reproduced, including; watercolour, pastel, oil, illustration or acrylic. Even 3D sculptures can be captured and produced as a fine art giclée print and accuracy during this process is incredibly vital.

The Printing Art Process

When it comes to reproducing your original artwork the first step in the process is the image capture. Artwork photography is a specialist process which requires outstanding accuracy and a thorough understanding of colour workflows. If you are looking to reproduce your original artwork to we offer a professional artwork photography service with an exceptional attention to detail. Using our vast experience, understanding and specialist equipment, we capture the subtle hues and fine details in your original artwork. This is important as any fine details missed during the photography will subsequently be missing from your final fine art giclée print. We have experience in handling delicate artworks, so you can be assured your original will always be in safe hands with us.

Soft Proofing Set-Up – The Artists Print Room

Our custom-built artwork photography set up, the final file of each piece of artwork we photograph is two-times the size of the original piece. With this file size, it ensures that there is an incredible colour depth, all delicate details included, full tonal range and perfect accuracy.

Service Details

Prices for these services starts at £60.00 and all of our prices are based on per square inch, it doesn’t mater whether your artwork is matt, gloss or varnish or how you produced your original. We also offer 15% discounts for every additional pieces to be photographed. Additionally, for those that wish to send us their artwork for image capture, we will provide you with a free postage label so you don’t need to worry about delivery costs to us. Our artwork printing services can be ordered online through our online ordering system.  Included in this is the image white point and colour balanced in addition to a printed test proof. Additionally, we will provide a 72ppi image file which you can use for your records and your website. For a full breakdown of our prices please view our pricing page. View our artwork reproduction photography page for more in-depth information on our artwork printing services.

Did you know that we are the only fine art printing company in the UK which has been accredited by Canson Infinity, Hahnemühle Fine Art, Epson Digigraphie, ILFORD and the Fine Art Trade Guild? Also, why not sign up to our mailing list to keep up to date with news, products and future competitions at The Artists Print Room – just complete the form below.

Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Instagram too!

Stunning prints require a stunning finish

Stunning prints really deserve a special and stunning finish. So, if you’re looking for that something that’s different and extra special to finish your print, why not choose to have deckled edges? This option is available on all paper types we offer and print on. You will find that this finish can really add a special touch to both your fine art reproductions and photography work. You’ll also find that deckled edge prints give a truly expensive and exclusive looking finished product.

Deckled Edge Print - The Artists Print RoomDeckled edge prints provide a wonderfully, beautiful finish to any print. With the gentle feathered but uneven edges, your print is guaranteed to stand out. Additionally, deckled edge prints look incredible once float mounted against a contrasting colour backing board. You will also find that this finish really adds to the texture of the cotton rag papers we offer, such as, the Hahnemühle Museum Etching. We find that the deckled edging gives the best results with with cotton rag papers, however, we can produce on any paper type. View all of our paper options here.Deckled Edge - The Artists Print Room

We hand deckled the prints here at The Artists Print Room (yes, that means tearing each edge individually, by hand, one at a time!) This option is available for prints both with borders or without borders, it’s up to you which you would prefer. To order deckled edge prints, simply use our step-by-step online order form to specify your requirements.

Did you know that we are the only fine art printing company in the UK which has been accredited by Canson Infinity, Hahnemühle Fine Art, Epson Digigraphie, ILFORD and the Fine Art Trade Guild? Also, why not sign up to our mailing list to keep up to date with news, products and future competitions at The Artists Print Room – just complete the form below.

Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Instagram too!

Deckled Edge Prints

If you’re looking for that something that’s extra special to finish your print, why not choose deckled edges? This option is available on all paper types we print on. You’ll find that it gives a truly expensive and exclusive looking finished product.

Deckled Edge Print - The Artists Print RoomDeckled edges provide a wonderfully, beautiful finish to any print. With the gentle feathered but uneven edges, your print is guaranteed to stand out. Additionally, deckled edge prints look incredible once float mounted against a contrasting colour backing board. You will also find that this finish really adds to the texture of the cotton rag papers we offer, such as, the Hahnemühle Museum Etching. We find that the deckled edging gives the best results with with cotton rag papers, however, we can produce on any paper type. View our paper options here.Deckled Edge - The Artists Print Room

We hand deckled the prints here at The Artists Print Room and this optionis available for prints both with borders or without borders. To order, simply use our step-by-step online order form to specify your requirements.

Why not sign up to our mailing list to keep up to date with news and products at The Artists Print Room – just complete the form below.

 

 

 

The Importance of Accurate Image Capture

As an artist, it’s most likely that you need to have an element of image capture in your work processes in order to be able to reproduce your artwork. Accurate image capture is something that should never be underestimated. It’s important to remember that your finished print will only ever be as good as the digital file; the scan or photograph of your original piece.

Image Capture

To capture all the beautiful hues and fine detail in your original, the most important thing is that you have an inital high resolution digital file. Using our vast experience, understanding and specialist equipment, we can capture the subtle hues, fine details and brush strokes in your original artwork through the process of artwork photography. Meticulous handling and understanding is required as it is extremely important that any fine details are not missed as these will subsequently be missing from your final fine art giclée print. Image files can be obtained through scanning your work or alternatively through photography. This process can be very difficult to undertake at home due to the extensive equipment required.

File Size

Here at The Artists Print Room, the final file of each piece of artwork we photograph is a massive two-times the size of the original piece. With the incredibly large file size it ensures that there is a high-colour depth, all intricate details included, full tonal range and perfect accuracy. For example, a typical 16” x 12” original piece will produce an image file of 160mp and a immense 900mb (16bit) at 300dpi. Consequently, this will then produce a final giclée print of 36” x 24” at 300dpi without any additional enlargement or distortion.

Specialist Set Up

Some artworks can be particularly difficult to photography, for example dark oil paintings or paintings with a vast amount of texture, however, our specialist set up allows us to control lighting, ensuring we are not capturing any glare which could distort the final print.

To find out more about our Artwork Reproduction Services please take a look at our dedicated page or alternatively, contact us for more information or any questions you may have.

 

 

 

 

 

Custom Printed Greetings Cards

When it comes to greetings cards we are sure it is not only us that this has happened too… going to purchase a card for a friend or family member and thinking ‘have I given them this card before?!’ Or alternatively, spending what feels like hours picking cards up and just not finding the right special one!

Well, why not create your own beautiful greetings cards, whether that be for birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas or just because? By having your image printed on a card, you’re really giving loved ones something bespoke, personal and special. You could take your favourite holiday image, whether this be either a photograph or a painting of the scenery and turn it into a greetings card someone can keep and frame.

Here at The Artists Print Room we offer two paper qualities for greetings cards, either a 300gsm smooth extra white paper or alternatively a 280gsm felt textured paper. We offer various sizes including; 6×4″, 7×5″ or 8×5.6″ all available as either portrait or landscape (folded along the long side or short side). These sizes are ideal for purchasing frames for the cards too! Additionally, we can produce square cards for something a little different which are 145x145mm.

But, the best bit! You don’t need to worry about downloading a template and having to layout the design yourself! We are happy to take that pressure away from you. Once you upload your image through our online ordering system we will design and proof your greetings card. Of course, we will send you a proof for approval before going to print ensuring you’re happy with your personalised product. Our minimum order is just six cards per design and all are provided with corresponding envelopes so your cards are ready for their handwritten note and then the postbox!