I provide a wide range of printing services, including printing your digital images and preparing files for printing. I currently have in-house capability to produce prints up to 44 inches wide on the short end, which means that I can print very large prints (e.g., 40x60 inch prints). I can also provide panoramic prints of almost any length- please inquire about your particular needs. I print both color and black & white images.

Basic preparation of files for printing, including resizing and sharpening for the desired print size, is included with my pricing. Please inquire about my Custom Photoshop Services if you would like more complicated manipulation. If you prefer, I will print your images "as is" with no manipulation.

Pricing for most papers is based on the amount of paper used, including border areas. I charge $12/square foot ($0.0833/square inch) of finished print with a minimum charge of $10/print. Most of my clients prefer high quality art papers and this price includes your choice of most available papers. Some particularly expensive premium papers will result in a higher price to you, and I will work with you to find a suitable paper for your artwork. These premium papers are priced at $14/square foot ($0.09725/square inch).

You can easily calculate your price per print for standard papers by multiplying your print height in inches by your print width in inches (including borders), and dividing that total by 12. Example prices are as follows:

If you would like pricing for a specific size, please contact me for a specific quote. Discounts for large volumes may be available and please inquire about delivery pricing.

These prices include sharpening for output and other preparation for printing, but do not include more substantive Photoshop work such as dust spotting, contrast adjustments, dodging and burning, or the like. Such additional work is billed at my standard billing rate of $45/hr.

I will create a proof print of your image on your selected paper before creation of a larger print upon request. Proof prints are $10 for a proof on 8 1/2 x 11 inch paper.

 

The choice of paper for fine art prints is very personal. More types of archival papers suitable for digital printing than ever are now available, providing artists with an incredible variety of choices. Such a plethora of choices can also be overwhelming, and I will work with you to find the best paper for your particular needs and artistic intent.

Most artists choose to print on matte, glossy, semi-luster, or canvas papers. Below I describe a few papers that I have found to produce stellar results for my clients, but I will print your work on any suitable paper you desire. Many papers are limited, however, in the sizes in which they are available, so for large prints the paper choices dwindle somewhat.

Matte Fine Art Papers

Epson Velvet Fine Art

A very popular matte paper, VFA offers a very high dynamic range and can produce absolutely lovely color and B&W images. VFA has some texture that adds quite a bit of character but does not intrude upon the image. VFA uses optical brighteners but still possesses good archival characteristics. Only avaiable in sheets 17x22 inch or smaller.

Canson Infinity Rag Photographique

A new paper from Canson, Rag Photographique is a 100% cotton fine art paper that is bright without using optical brighteners (OBAs). With a smooth surface, it is suitable for both art reproductions and any type of photographic print. A lovely, versatile paper that is fast becoming a favorite.

Hahnemühle Museum Etching

A very thick and lightly textured art paper with no OBA's, Museum Etching is one of my favorite matte papers. It is a natural white and is not quite as white as Velvet Fine Art or Photographique but has a signficant presence. It is particularly suited for art reproductions but is great for any work that does not rely on detail. HME also resists flaking and damage more than many other papers.

Hahnemühle Fine Art Bamboo

Bamboo is made from 90% bamboo (a highly renewable resource) and 10% recycled cotton rag. Available in all standard sizes in both sheet and roll, Bamboo provides a reasonably heavy weight (290 gsm) matte paper with a lovely lightly textured surface and decided warmtone due to its lack of optical brighteners (OBAs). It is similar in print quality in many ways to Hahnemühle's ubiquitous Photo Rag but significantly warmer in tone and with a smoother surface and a bit more dynamic range. I recommend this paper for warmer images, particularly natural scenes, as well as warm-toned black & white work for which it is particularly lovely.

Hahnemühle Fine Art Sugar Cane

Sugar Cane is made of 75% of sugar cane waste byproduct (called bagasse) and 25% recycled cotton from Hahnemühle's own mills. A slightly heavier paper than Bamboo that is also available in all standard sizes and formats, Sugar Cane's biggest distinction is its more heavily textured surface. The surface is a bit hard to describe but it makes me think of a subtle directional weave. I recommend it to clients for specific projects where its unique textured surface can be a distinct advantage. Sugar Cane is less warm than Bamboo but is also free from OBA's.

Hahnemühle Photo Rag

One of the most popular matte papers, HPR is a 100% cotton paper with slight OBA's and a lightly textured surface. With good dynamic range and a very pleasing feel, it is one of the best general purpose papers. Very beautiful paper.

 

Fibre-based Lustre & Glossy Fine Art Papers

Harman Gloss FB Al

A fiber-based glossy paper with a very smooth baryta surface is the closest paper in many ways to a traditional gelatin silver black & white paper. A combination of some OBA's and the baryta surface result in a relatively bright white base to the paper that is cooler than Photo Rag Baryta and Gold Fibre Silk. While this is one of the most popular papers for B&W work, it also excels for color work because of its great feel and ability to display a wide range of saturation and colors. My only criticisms are that it has a slightly plasticy feel in the hand and is also very susceptible to scratching.

Hahnemühle Photo Rag Baryta

Perhaps my favorite paper and what I'm using for my own work. HPRB is a 100% cotton fiber-based paper with a baryta surface and no OBA's. It has a lightly textured surface that is one of the most pleasing of all the lustre papers. It is best for warmer images because of its lack of OBAs. One of the best for both color and B&W work.

Ilford Galerie Gold Fibre Silk

Gold Fibre Silk is a lustre paper with a lightly textured, very pleasing surface. I believe it is an alpha-cellulose base. It is similar in many ways to Photo Rag Baryta but not quite as warm and purportedly has no OBAs. The texture is a little bit lighter and the paper not quite as thick when compared to Photo Rag Bartya. A very popular paper for both color and B&W.

Innova Fibaprint Semi-matte

A fiber-based paper that uses photo black ink (used for glossy papers), Innova SM provides a wonderfully smooth surface that accepts glossy inks (and thus gets punchier colors and more dynamic range) while providing a fine art paper feel. Excellent for photographic prints.

 

I provide custom black & white printing for customers using techniques tailored to their particular needs and artistic intent.

For many customers, I use the excellent B&W capability inherent in the latest Epson printers using its Advanced Black & White (ABW) mode. This method uses 3 shades of black ink plus traces of color inks to provide excellent B&W prints with almost any shade, ranging from warm to cold, sepia to neutral to selenium, and everything in between.

For other customers, I utilize more specialized B&W solutions. One solution that I offer is a 7-ink solution with a rich selenium tone (the Selenium K7 inkset) available from Jon Cone's B&W specialty company in Vermont, Inkjetmall. Cone's B&W solutions (known as Piezography) are known industry-wide as offering incredible tonality and sharpness along with superior archival characteristics. The prints using these inks are absolutely stunning and perhaps closest in character to traditional platinum prints in their range of tones. Because these inksets use pure carbon inks and do not use color inks, the shades available are more limited than the Epson solution. Please contact me if you would like to discuss which shades are available and whether this solution will meet your needs.

Any paper that can be used for color printing may also be used for B&W printing, providing the utmost in flexibility in choosing glossy vs. matte, paper color, texture, or other paper characteristics.

Whether your source image is on an old negative, silver gelatin print, or a digital file, I can provide custom B&W printing to meet any needs.

My prints are produced with archival inks and papers. With proper care, they should last for many decades. Wilhelm Imaging Research, which tests the archival characteristics of many paper and ink combinations, released in early 2009 new ratings for my printer, the Epson 9900 (warning - PDF file). Framed under glass and with Epson papers, longevity ratings ranged from 68 years to over 100 years. With UV glass, the ratings increased to a range of 98 years to over 200 years. While such testing cannot predict the future with certainty and each paper and ink combination needs to be tested separately, you can be certain that when properly handled your prints will last longer than any traditional color process.

So, how do you handle the prints properly? When framing, use archival materials and UV-protective glass or plexiglass and keep the print from contacting the glass. When storing outside of a frame, place in an archival envelope and do not place the prints in direct sun (archival albums are best). Basically, treat your prints the way you would treat any other art that you value and they will last a lifetime.

 

I now offer deckling of fine art prints for a fixed price of $5/print.  A deckled print is a print that has one or more edges that are torn instead of being a straight edge.  Mould-made papers often had a soft feathered edge where the deckle (or belt) was used along with a mold to gather up woodpulp from a vat for pressing and drying into sheets.  When the paper was torn into separate pieces a tear deckle was also created in addition to the natural deckle formed during manufacture of the paper.

Because of its historical origins, deckling is often associated with fine art papers and deckling of paper edges can add an organic feel to a digital print.  While the effect can be overdone, I’ve found that selective deckling can emphasize the ‘print as object’ feel of a digital print.  A deckled print is typically framed with the edges showing, such as by being dry mounted without an overmat.  Deckled prints can also improve the aesthetic "presence" of a print intended for hanging on a wall without a frame.

We can deckle one, two, three, or four edges of you print. In some cases, we may have to print a larger border to give more room to make the tear.  I also prefer to use thicker matte papers, and usually textured ‘meatier’ ones, though the process will work on almost any paper.

You can see an excellent set of pictures and instructions (and videos) at the Inkjetart site – recommended if you are interested in seeing how deckling looks.

Myself and many of my clients are conscious of the environmental impact of fine art printing. Through my research, I have not yet found any acceptable environmentally-conscious solutions to mitigate either the impact of the production of electronic equipment such as printers or the production of the inks used in color printing.

For black & white printing, I am a fan of piezography continuous ink systems that replace the manufacturer-supplied disposable cartridges with a more permanent cartridge that is fed by a larger bottle, as the quality of these inks is superb and the waste of countless disposable ink cartridges is averted. I personally am not comfortable with such systems for color work for a variety of reasons.

Paper, however, is one area where one can make an environmentally-friendly choice without sacrificing quality of the end result. Hahnemühle now produces two papers that I find to provide very high print quality while also providing desirable characteristics in terms of their environmental impact.

Their environmental bona fides come from their component materials. Hahnemühle Fine Art Bamboo Paper is made from 90% bamboo (a highly renewable resource) and 10% recycled cotton rag. Hahnemühle Fine Art Sugar Cane Paper is made of 75% of sugar cane waste byproduct (called bagasse) and 25% recycled cotton from Hahnemühle's own mills. Hahnemühle also uses recycled materials for packaging, renewable energy to produce the paper, and donates a portion of sales to environmental projects. You can find many details of their environmental efforts at their oddly named but highly informative Green Rooster site.

My favorite of the two papers is Hahnemühle Fine Art Bamboo. Available in all standard sizes in both sheet and roll, Bamboo provides a reasonably heavy weight (290 gsm) matte paper with a lovely lightly textured surface and decided warmtone due to its lack of optical brighteners (OBAs). It is similar in print quality in many ways to Hahnemühle's ubiquitous Photo Rag but significantly warmer in tone and with a smoother surface and a bit more dynamic range. I recommend this paper for warmer images, particularly natural scenes, as well as warm-toned black & white work for which it is particularly lovely.

Hahnemühle Fine Art Sugar Cane is another excellent matte paper that is environmentally sensible. A slightly heavier paper than Bamboo that is also available in all standard sizes and formats, Sugar Cane's biggest distinction is its more heavily textured surface. The surface is a bit hard to describe but it makes me think of a subtle directional weave. I personally prefer a smoother surface such as that of the Bamboo paper, but such a preference is a personal one and others may prefer Sugar Cane for certain applications. I plan on using it with some clients for specific projects where its unique textured surface can be a distinct advantage. Sugar Cane free from OBA's but not as warm as Bamboo (but is still on the warm side of neutral).

 

 

I now offer a variety of book design, printing, and binding services, ranging from custom-printed handbound artist books to book designs for upload to self-publishing sites such as Blurb. Please inquire about pricing and capabilities.

 

As an additional service, I consult with clients to teach them the use of various pieces of software, workflow tips, how to optimally set up their own printing or digital processing station, or any other type of digital imaging or printing tasks. These services are billed at my hourly rate of $45/hr.

I'm also happy to consult with clients at their own workstations so that we can use the exact computer, software, and configuration that the client will be using on their own. Please contact me for additional details or specific capabilities.

How Big Can I Print?

How Do I Get Digital Files to You?

My print was great and it sold! How do I get more?

How Big Can I Print?

There is no easy answer to this question. Factors such as the type of printer, the quality and size of the file, the subject matter of the photograph, the anticipated viewing distance of the finished print, photographer and/or client preferences, and other factors all can come into play in determining acceptable and optimal printing sizes.

Subject matter is one of the more important factors in determining how big you can print. Images that rely on intricate detail are more difficult to enlarge and thus have smaller acceptable print sizes. Images that do not rely as heavily on detail and instead rely more on color, shape, or other aspects of design can often be successfully enlarged to a greater degree, allowing larger acceptable print sizes.

For most subject matter, however, the size of your file from your digital camera or film scan will tell you how big you can print with acceptable results. A standard measure of the amount of enlargement of file is the dots per inch (dpi) sent to the printer (the print resolution). The dots in this case refer to pixels in the original image. If, for example, you have a typical 6 Megapixel camera, your images will be somewhere near 3000 pixels by 2000 pixels . If you wanted to print at 300 dpi, for example, this would result in an image that is approximately 10 inches x 6.7 inches. You can calculate this number for your files simply by dividing the number of pixels by 300.

From my experience, I believe that a print resolution of 240 dpi or higher will unquestionably produce fine art prints that survive close inspection. So, you can modify the formula above and divide the number of pixels in each direction by 240 instead of 300. For the 6 Megapixel camera mentioned above, that means you can easily produce quality, fine art images of 12.5 inches x 8.3 inches or smaller. For a higher resolution 10 Megapixel camera (with about 3870 pixels x 2600 pixels), you can easily produce fine art images of 16 inches x 11 inches or smaller. If you want the highest quality, I would suggest 300 dpi or 360 dpi, but higher resolutions than 360 dpi usually don’t provide improvement visible to the naked eye. For many images, 180 dpi will provide entirely satisfying results.

Of course, many images and situations will prove to be exceptions to this rule of thumb, but image size is a good indicator of acceptable print sizes. If the viewing distance for your final print is a few feet or more away (which often happens with larger prints), you can certainly push the print size up as the increased distance will help hide any problems in the print. A 240 dpi or above standard will allow closer inspection of the print, a desirable attribute for many fine art photographers who expect their work to be viewed closely or held in the hand.

Despite these rules of thumb, sometimes it makes sense just to print your image at the size you want and see how it looks. I’ve been surprised many times at how good prints can look even when the original image was “too small”. I'm happy to work with you and to provide an estimate of how large you will be able to print your files.

How Do I Get Digital Files to You?

However works best for you. You can e-mail it to me if it is relatively small, you can send me a CD or DVD, or use a service such as DropSend to send a very large file to me.

My print was great and it sold! How do I get more?

Unless you request otherwise, I will keep a copy of the file I use to print your image on my computer system. If you ever want reprints, I can quickly make a new print for you using the saved file. While I do back up my computer system, I can make no guarantees of permanent print file storage, but I do maintain a database of print files that are easily accessible to assist my clients in quickly ordering additional prints.