Fine Art Printing?

[Cozzi70]

Does anyone out there have any advice on printing digital photos? I am looking for fine art quality. I am also interested in the preservation of the photograph as well. Thanks!

 

[designjordi]

Hmm... well the first thing I can think of would be to make sure you have a big enough picture. You certainly don't want to deal with pixelation! (unless it's your creative outlet, of course) If you're printing in Lightroom, the default print resolution with low print sharpening works quite well. Some papers that I found pretty nice too are the Epson papers. Ultra Prem. Luster and Velvet Fine are pretty nifty. What kind of printer and software will you be printing... just out of curiosity.

 

[Alpha]

Fine art quality from a digital file means one of two processes. The first is inkjet on acid-free paper. The second is a laser exposure system such as a LightJet, Lambda, or Chromira, which takes a digital image and exposes it onto traditional photo paper. I personally prefer the latter but others like inkjet. Either can be done at a professional lab/print shop. Enlargements generally require extra sharpening.

Standard printing specs:
-TIFF is default but they'll also print JPG and a few other formats.
-300 dpi (305 dpi for LightJet) @ canvas size.
-Lab will specify either sRGB or Adobe RGB 1998.

As for mounting, it can be done onto acid-free archival matte, but this is expensive. The preferred and generally cheaper option for a lot of people is skipping the traditional matting process altogether and opting to have the image held into the frame w/ a layer of matting spacers.

 

[Helen B]

That's a fairly big subject that you have asked about. Are you thinking of doing it yourself or getting it done by someone else? Colour or B&W?

I have a general preference for inkjet prints because of the range of paper surfaces available and the greater density range when compared to light sensitive paper.

I use the usual archival matte boards for matting, and UV-resistant glazing - either Tru-Vue Museum (glass) or Optium Museum (acrylic). These are also anti-reflective, thanks to a coating that is similar to the coating on camera lenses, albeit not so high quality.

Best,
Helen
PS A Chromira is an LED printer, not a laser printer.

 

[Alpha]

PS A Chromira is an LED printer, not a laser printer.

Could you elaborate? I haven't been able to discern any significant advantages of the Chromira over the other two. The only difference I've noted is that the Chromira can only print RA4.

 

[BusToBedlam]

Does anyone out there have any advice on printing digital photos? I am looking for fine art quality. I am also interested in the preservation of the photograph as well. Thanks!

I do much of my own printing using an Epson 4800. Printing on fine art acid free rag papers using pigment inks or on Epson's premium luster paper for a little more shine.

For commercial services for prints I have used everything from Costco to West Coast Imaging. I think it's always important to mat prints and go with just conservation or archival rag matting from online companies like Redimat or Light Impressions sometimes. My prints are coming off a Canon 1DS and post is done in Photoshop from the RAW file.