FAQs

I prefer files to be delivered at 300 dpi at final print size, saved in AdobeRGB, ProPhoto or sRGB colorspace. I can work with CMYK files as well, particularly for graphics, but RGB colorspaces produce superior photos. If you have vector graphics, such as those created in Adobe Illustrator or CorelDraw, you may specify Pantone colors. My printer has an embedded Pantone color matching system.

Deliver the file as a flattened TIFF, PSD or JPEG. Larger prints are generally fine to print at lower resolution than 300 dpi, with excellent results at resulutions as low as 180. Only small prints with extremely fine details will warrant resolution higher than 300 dpi.

Please call, or email if you have any questions about file preparation.

My turnaround time generally averages around a week, but during busy periods it may take longer. If you are pressed for time, please let me know and I will do all I can to better this schedule and deliver sooner.

Thankfully, no. We can deliver vastly superior reproductions if we photograph your original with our state of the art medium format digital camera. Click HERE for more information. If you no longer have the original, we can still use slides or transparencies, just with slightly less detailed and accurate prints.

The world's most highly regarded lab researching the subject of print permanence, Wilhelm Laboratories, has rated the HP Vivera inkset as equal, or substantially better than any other printer on the market for print permanence on archival media. Under glass, the prints are rated over two-hundred years lifespan on many substrates. Our Premium and Exhibition Quality media are all pH balanced, so you can rest assured that your prints will last a lifetime if properly cared for.

Click HERE to see the print permanence test results. It doesn’t get any better than this.

• Never allow liquids of any kind to come in contact with a print.
• Avoid touching the print surface.
• Clean the surface with canned air or a micro-fiber cloth (if absolutely necessary).
• Only acid-free, archival materials should come in contact with the print.
• Never allow matte prints to rub against one another in transit or storage.
• Framing under glass provides the greatest protection against fading from ultraviolet light and ozone.
• Avoid direct or extremely bright indirect sunlight.
• Avoid excessive temperature and humidity extremes.

I prefer to ship via FedEx or USPS Priority Mail, but will use the carrier of your choice. You only pay the actual shipping cost plus the cost of packaging, if not shipped in a tube.

I accept all major credit cards, as well as PayPal. A 50% deposit is required for all jobs over $200.

• ANTI-ALIASING •
The process of reducing stair-stepping by smoothing edges where individual pixels are visible.
• ARCHIVAL •
A standard of permanence. An archival print is made using fade resistant inks on paper that will not deteriorate or discolor over time. An archival print must be cared for according to the standards of permanence. Two of the most harmful agents that fade prints of any kind are ultraviolet light and ozone. Framing under glass provides the best protection from both.
• ARTIST’S PROOF •
When an edition is made, often additional artist’s proofs are also made. They are usually identical to the numbered edition, but they are not considered a part of it. As such, they are marked and numbered separately.
• ASPECT RATIO •
The ratio between the width and height of an image or image sensor. Enlargements should ideally maintain the same aspect ratio as the original to avoid cropping.

• BIT DEPTH •
The color or gray scale of an individual pixel. A pixel with 8 bits per color gives a 24 bit RGB image (8 bits x 3 colors = 24 bits). 24 Bit color resolution yields 16.7 million colors.
• BON A TIER (BAT) •
A BAT is the basis of a mutual understanding between artist and printer. It is the final proof that is accepted by the artist and typically signed. It becomes the standard for that image, and ensures the consistency of subsequent prints of that image.

• CAPTURE •
A term used in digital imaging meaning "to photograph". This term is used specifically for the creation of digital images, to differentiate it from film based processes.
• CALIBRATION / COLOR MANAGEMENT •
Calibration and color management are digital color imaging's Rosetta Stone. They are systems of tools and protocols that compare the color characteristics of one device to another, and allow color to remain consistent from one end of the workflow to the other.

• COATING •
Coatings are protective liquids that are either sprayed or rolled on images that bond to the print that harden to a continuos film. Clear coatings afford a measure of protection against dirt and humidity. They also make prints more lightfast by filtering harmful UV light. They do not prevent fading from visible spectrum light, however. Archival coatings are made of materials that do not affect the substrate in any war or alter the appearance of the image. Prints may be coated if the print is not intended to be framed behind glass.
• COLOR BALANCE •
The accuracy with which the colors in the image match those of the original source.
• COLOR CORRECTION •
To correct or enhance the colors within an image.

• COLOR DEPTH •
Digital Images can approximate color realism but the process is referred to as colour depth, bit depth or pixel depth. Most modern computer displays use 24 bit true color. It displays the same number of colors that the human eye can discern, about 16 million.
• COLORSPACE •
Digital cameras use known color profiles to generate their images. The most common are sRGB and Adobe RGB. Adobe RGB is significantly larger than sRGB, and better able to represent more saturated colors. The colorspace information ensures that graphic programs and printers have a reference to the color profile that the camera used at the time of taking the exposure.

• DECKLE •
A deckle is an irregular edge that occurs naturally in mould-made rag papers. Prints on rag papers are sometimes torn, rather than cut in order to create an irregular edge. This process is called deckling.
• D-MAX •
A measurement of a paper or printer's ability to render a complete tonal range by printing the darkest colors.
• DYNAMIC RANGE •
A measurement of the tonal characteristics of an image. Dramatic images have a wider dynamic range than softer, subtler images.

• FULL BLEED •
Otherwise known as "Borderless" printing. Means the ink limit extends to all 4 edges of a print.
• FRAMING •
The conservation and presentation of flat artwork in a picture frame. Archival framing techniques typically include hinging of the art to the mat, and always use acid free materials.

• GAMUT •
This is the range of colours that are available in an image or output process. Gamut is generally used in describing the capabilities of a printer to reproduce colours accurately and vibrantly.
• GICLEE •
A term that is often used to describe archival fine art prints. It loosely translates from French as “to spray’, in an allusion to the spraying of an inkjet print. This term was originally applied to Iris printers, but is now widely accepted to apply to any high resolution print using archival ink made on archival media.
• GSM •
GSM stands for grams per square meter. You will find this acronym used as a thickness/weight measurement for fine art papers. Although technically speaking, this is only a weight measurement, in practice you will find that in almost all cases, the higher the number, the thicker the paper. Our papers in the vicinity of 300gsm are an extremely thick paper, comparable to a card stock.

• IMAGE FORMAT •
The method of saving and or compressing an image file. We accept files in TIFF, PSD, PDF, EPS and JPEG.
• JPEG or JPG •
This is the most common type of compressed image file format used in modern digicams. It is a "lossy" type of image storage because even in its highest quality mode, there is compression used to minimize its size. Saving a file multiple times as a JPEG often results in unpleasant artifacts, as information is discarded with each save in the interest in generating the smallest possible file size.

• MOUNTING •
The application of a print to a rigid substrate. Pressure sensitive films (which may or may not be heat activated) and spray mounting are the most common methods of mounting.
• MEGAPIXEL •
This is the CCD (or CMOS) resolution of one million pixels. Digicams are commonly rated by Megapixels. You multiply the horizontal resolution by the vertical resolution to get the total pixel count. For example 2590 x 1920 = 5 Megapixels.
• NOISE •
Misinterpreted pixels found in a digital image, usually occurring in longer exposures. Noise can be seen as bright or multi-colored pixels in an image.

• OVEREXPOSURE •
This is an image that appears much too bright. The highlights and colours are totally lost and usually unrecoverable even by top software. Either the shutter speed was too long or the aperture was too wide.
• PIXEL •
The individual imaging element of a CCD or CMOS sensor, or the individual output point of a display device. This is what is meant by the figures 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, 1280x960 etc., when dealing with the resolution of a particular digicam. Higher numbers are best.
• PROOF •
A print made prior to another, final print. It is usually smaller than the final print, and is used to evaluate color balance and image quality.

• RESOLUTION •
Resolution is expressed as either the number of pixels in either direction, or by the number of megapixels. The quality of any digital image, whether printed or displayed on a screen, depends on its resolution, or the number of pixels used to create the image. More pixels add detail and sharpen edges.
   -- Optical Resolution is an absolute number that the camra's image sensor can physically record.
   -- Interpolated Resolution adds pixels to the image using complex software algorithms to determine what color they should be. It is important to note that interpolation doesn't add any new information to the image - it just makes it bigger!
• RGB (Red, Green and Blue) •
The primary colors from which all other colors are derived. The additive reproduction process mixes various amounts of red, green and blue to produce other colors. Combining one of these additive colors primary colors with another produces the additive secondary colors cyan, magenta and yellow. Combining all three produces white.
• RETOUCHING •
The corrective manipulation of digital image content in terms of color balance, contrast, sharpening, and content editing.

• SATURATION •
The degree to which a color is undiluted by white light. If a color is 100 percent saturated, it contains no white light. If a color has no saturation, it is a shade of gray.
• SHARPENING •
The apparent increase in resolution by digitally enhancing the contrast around the edges of contrasting information. Sharpening can be done in camera or as a part of post-processing. Oversharpened images seem to have outlines around objects.
• STITCHING •
Combining a series of images to form a larger image or a panoramic photo, or a significantly higher resolution image from a standard aspect ratio image. Requires Photoshop or special post editing software.

• TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) •
An uncompressed image file that is lossless and produces no artifacts as is common with other image formats such as JPEG. Always save working files as TIFF or PSD (Photoshop's native format) to avoid compression related image quality issues. Each save of a JPEG file throws away information that can compromise image quality.
• UNSHARP MASK •
The process by which the apparent detail and sharpness of an image is increased. Generally accomplished by the input scanner or through computer manipulation using editing software, such as Photoshop. This is generally a larger scale effect than sharpening, which only effects outlines.
• VIGNETTING •
Vignetting, also known as light fall off, is common in optics and photography. In simple terms it means darkening of image corners when compared to the center. Vignetting can be caused by optics (particularly wide angle lenses), or purposefully added in post-processing in order to draw the viewer’s eye away towards the center of the image. Depending on the type and cause of vignetting, it can be either gradual or abrupt.