Tag: giclee

giclee

How to select a fine art printing service…

When taking that first leap into the world of producing your work as either artwork reproduction prints or fine art photography prints, it can be daunting. It’s also difficult to decide on who to trust with this specialist work. Here are our top tips in selecting a fine art printing service and some of the important factors you should consider.

Experience

Possibly the most important factor when selecting a fine art printing service. Ensure you are selecting a business with a good number of years behind them. This vast amount of experience speaks volumes in itself. A fine art printing company that has been around for several years, is more than likely to know their stuff, this includes overcoming hurdles such as technical issues. They are also more likely to understand your requirements and be able to advise honestly and truthfully when you need some assistance. If in doubt, it is always worth asking to see some examples of work they have previously printed for other artists and photographers.

Accreditations

There are many accreditations within the industry, in particular ones from paper manufacturers themselves. These large, global firms are not going to recommend fine art printing services of sub-quality. Therefore, shop around, ask the fine art printing companies which accreditations they have. These accreditations proves that they are up to standard and have close working relationships with some of the biggest manufacturers in the industry. Did you know that we are the only UK based fine art printer to be certified by Epson Digigraphie, Canson Infinity, Hahnemühle FineArt and ILFORD Imaging? We are also members of the Fine Art Trade Guild. Having these certifications really allows us to keep up with trends and news from these companies. Additionally, it also proves that we have been rigorously tested and checked in our print standards.

Options

It’s good to use a fine art printing service which provides you with different options. Although, not too many options! You want to use a business that can give you a range of different fine art papers so you have a few choices for which works best for your artwork reproductions or photography. A select number of industry leading papers should be offered alongside a few alternatives; giving you the artist, some variation. Having a select range of substrates ensures the printer knows how to handle each of the papers and understands the colour workflow processes to ensure you have the most perfect print. However, some fine art printing services decide to offer all the fine art papers known to man! This can be troublesome in that it can be confusing with so many options available. Furthermore, it could be likely that some of these lesser used or liked fine art papers could be sitting on a shelf exposed to the elements for a long time which is not ideal!

Convenience

An easy to use and simplistic ordering process is always a good start for time pressed artists and photographers. Being able to upload your images and know they are being cared for can create a great peace of mind for you. As an artist or photographer is important to free up your time so you can focus on creating your artwork. Therefore, always find a fine art printing service that you trust to take this hassle away from you. Also, it’s worth considering if your fine art printing service are easy to get hold of? If you have a pressing question, will they come back to you in a reasonable time period with answers, advice and suggestions? The art and photography industry can be incredibly subjective so it’s always great to have someone to validate your processes and work with. An excellent fine art printing service will do this for you and assist every step of the way.

It’s also worth remembering, cheap is not always best. You are looking for a fine art printing service rather than a photocopy shop! With a slightly higher price, you’re much more likely to receive a more personal service with great communication and advice in addition to the best fine art printing materials available.

Please feel free to contact us for a quick introductory chat, we would love to find out more about you and how we can help you as an artist or photographer. We pride ourselves on excellent customer service so you can also contact us on 07809 381 978 either over the phone or by WhatsApp. You can also get in touch through Facebook Messenger at anytime.

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 a member of 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!

Selling Art Online – Website

Selling Art Online

As an artist or a photographer, there are many ways to sell art online. Many decide to sell through third parties, however, there are a number of steps you can take to sell directly and take back some control of your work. Here we will give you our tips and advice on how to get started and what you can do to increase awareness of your work by selling directly.

Website

As an artist or photographer, one of the most important things you should have is your own website. A website is your little space on the internet and provides the best place to showcase your work. Creating a website can be daunting, however, there are many online platforms and packages (such as Wix, or Weebly) which provide an easy step-by-step builder which makes it simple to put together. Furthermore, websites are relatively inexpensive to build and run. If you’re still feeling slightly worried about undertaking this work yourself, you can always outsource and have a professional create your site on your behalf. It is well worth the investment and you can then run and maintain from there.

A website provides an opportunity for potential customers to see your work easily from their own home whilst giving you full control about the message you want to portray. It is also the best opportunity for your personality to shine and for people to learn more about you and your work. It is also a very good idea to give information on your style and how you work (include photographs of ‘behind the scenes’ too!) People like to learn more about who has created the piece and the stories behind the work but keep it simple at the same time!

Things To Consider

There are a few very important things to consider with your website to create the best experience (and not turn people away!)

  • Ensure your images are of a high quality and show the full piece of work you’re selling. If someone is considering a purchase, they like to be able to see in full detail what they are purchasing. If you feel necessary and are concerned about people stealing your images, include a watermark.
  • Your images also need to load quickly, a slow running website puts people off. Furthermore to this, websites are seen more favourable by search engines, such as Google, if they run quickly.
  • Ensure your spelling and grammar is correct throughout! This helps build trust and again, doesn’t put people off.
  • Check out your competition! Take a look at other artist and photographer websites, what are they doing well or not so well? It’s worth spending a fair bit of time doing some market research to understand what you are up against to really improve your chances of selling your art online.
  • Update your site regularly -perhaps through blogging online. Let people know what you are working on or how you work. It helps build a great connection between yourself and potential customers.
  • Offer a mailing list sign up. This is a great way to capture who is truly interested and provides further opportunities to market your work. You can also encourage visitors to share your work through their social media to reach an even bigger audience.
  • If you want to sell directly through your website, ensure you have a web package which offers an online shop and can take payments. PayPal is a great and simple to use platform for processing payments when selling art online.
  • In order for your website to appear high up in search engines you need to implement some keywords. Large companies spend thousands of pounds each year on doing this, however, it is something you can manage yourself. Have a think about what people would search for in a search engine to get to your website. Use these words and phrases throughout the written content on your site. Keyword optimisation really pays dividends and makes your website more obtainable.
  • Set up social media accounts for your work (we will look at social media marketing in our next post). However, in the interim, link your website to these social media accounts. Again, it’s a great and simple tool for ensuring search engines pick up your website.

These are just a few important factors to take into consideration when starting your website. All are very important and it’s easy to skip such factors.

Is there anything you think we have missed? Share with us your top tips too through our Facebook page!

 

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!

Win 4 x A4 Prints on Canson Infinity Rag Photographique!

Now if you follow us on Instagram, you would have seen our latest competition which is also now open on Facebook!

We are giving you the opportunity to win 4 x A4 prints on Canson Infinity Rag Photographique 310gsm. This stunning paper is a 100% cotton museum grade white fine art and photo paper. The exceptional smooth white tone is achieved during manufacturing by introducing natural minerals to the process. It has been developed to address the need for continued longevity requirements in the Digital Fine Art market. This paper offers a unique and extra smooth surface with an incredible sensual feel to it. It additionally provides one of the highest achievable Dmax currently available on the market, thus making it ideal for fine art photography, artwork reproductions and fine art printmaking.

How to enter

To enter our competition, all you need to do is share with us the image you would like printed. Just make sure you use the hashtag #TAPRWin when sharing your image on Instagram so we can see your lovely work! Alternatively, share your image on Facebook in our post comments! Then once shared, head over to our competition page to enter your details and register your entry. This competition is running from the 5th April 2019 through to the 28th April 2019 on Instagram and 13th April to the 28th on Facebook. We will select the lucky winners (one from Instagram and one from Facebook), at random, on the 29th April at 7pm! We will be in contact with the lucky winner to arrange printing of your image and shipping will be included too!

Full terms and conditions can be found on our competition page but if you have any questions, please feel free to contact us and we can help.

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.

Paper in focus – Gloss Fine Art Papers

So, here we will run through the gloss fine art papers we offer in addition to the textured and smooth fine art papers previously looked at.

Gloss Fine Art Papers

The most important thing to be aware of here when considering a gloss fine art paper is that when we talk about gloss, this tends to be more of a subtle lustre or satin finish. Not the high gloss on your standard photographic prints that you get produced. These finishes are much more subtle and arguably more exquisitely beautiful.

Canson® Infinity Platine Fibre Rag
Canson Platine Rag - The Artists Print Room
©Canson Infinity Platine Fibre Rag

The Canson® Infinity Platine Fibre Rag is a combination of the combination of the premium 100% cotton Platinum paper that Canson has supplied for many years to the original Platinum and Platine photographic market, with the latest microporous coating. The paper contains no optical brighteners, thus not affecting the longevity of the print. An excellent choice of paper for both black and white or colour images. A 310gsm which overall provides a stunning satin finish to your image.

 

Hahnemühle PhotoRag Satin
Photo Rag Satin - The Artists Print Room
©Hahnemühle Photo Rag Satin

As above, this paper from but from Hahnemühle is a 310gsm,  and has a satin finish. A smooth surface and 100% cotton rag, the paper has a lovely natural white tone. A unique paper in that when you image is printed on this paper, the unprinted areas remain matt, however, the printed areas have a slight sheen. Your image almost shimmers in the light.

Hahnemühle FineArt Pearl
FineArt Pearl - The Artists Print Room
©Hahnemühle FineArt Pearl

The Hahnemühle FineArt Pearl is a 285gsm paper and provides your prints with a sensational pearl finish. This paper isn’t cotton rag like others previously mentioned, it’s a 100% a-cellulose paper (which is wood pulp) and has a bright white tone. Due to this bright white, prints will have impressive colour contrasts and the black in your images will have an incredible depth.

Hahnemühle PhotoRag Baryta
Photo Rag Baryta - The Artists Print Room
©Hahnemühle Photo Rag Baryta

Photo Rag Baryta is a 315gsm, 100% cotton paper and the ‘glossiest’ paper we offer. Using barium sulphate in the inkjet coating, ensuring the typical gloss that makes this paper a genuine replacement for traditional Baryta papers from analogue labs. The coating on this paper provides a water resistance and the tone of the base paper lends well to black and white prints.

 

 

 

Remember, if you would like any further guidance on any of the papers we offer, you can book a free introductory meeting. We will be able to provide samples of each of our papers for you to take a closer look at. The offer of tea or coffee is still there too!

 

 

 

Epson Digigraphie® Certified Laboratory

Did you know that we are one of only five Epson Digigraphie® Certified Laboratories here in the UK and additionally the only one in the West Midlands!

The Epson Digigraphie® accreditation was officially set up in November 2003 and since then a network of printing laboratories, dealers and artists have been established, of which we are proud to be a part of.

But what does this mean for you?

By being one of the Epson Digigraphie® Certified Laboratories, you are guaranteed the best quality prints. Furthermore, our printing equipment complies with the technical terms set by Digigraphie® and we have been certified to print with the Digigraphie® label. This all ensures added value to your final fine art prints. As part of our certification we have to undertake rigorous monthly quality control checks ensuring our work is always completed to an exceptionally high standard.

What is involved in Epson Digigraphie® Certified Laboratories?

We have to comply to stringent technical commitments, which include;

  • Using an Epson Surecolor SC-P9000 or Epson Stylus Pro Professional printer;
  • Epson Ultra Chrome or Ultra Chrome HD or Ultra Chrome K3 inks,
  • Certified paper; and
  • Each print is required to be authenticated, numbered and signed.
Epson Digigraphie® Certified Laboratories - The Artists Print Room
Digigraphie® Embossing – The Artists Print Room

The following papers that we offer are Digigraphie® accredited:

Hahnemühle Museum Etching, Hahnemühle Photo Rag Bright White, Hahnemühle William Turner, Hahnemühle Photo Rag Baryta, Hahnemühle Photo Rag Satin and Canson Aquarelle Rag 310.

Prints will be finished with an Epson Digigraphie® embossing.

Additionally as an artist, you can register with Epson Digigraphie® and benefit from more visibility through an online gallery. Find out more about the scheme through the Epson Digigraphie® website. Alternatively, please feel free to contact us to discuss your specific requirements.