Very large print photographs

[gavagai]

I am an amateur photographer, but have recently been exposed to very large print fine art photography (e.g., Andreas Gursky). What is the process for creating such huge prints (anywhere from 3x5 feet to 12x8 feet)? What kind of equipment do you need?

 

[Alpha]

A lot of them these days are "giclee," or large inkjet prints. It's also possible, however, with some LightJet-type laser printers (which expose photo paper using lasers). I know the ultra large formats are more common in color than black and white. For example, Kodak and Fuji manufacture their translucent photo papers in enormous rolls for big signs and displays.

 

[RacePhoto]

Some photo print shops can do large, but the graphics houses that do advertising posters have gotten bigger and bigger. Some of the billboards are now printed on what looks like plastic tarps, then hung with tie downs, all in one huge sheet.

The days of pasting sets of prints to make one big billboard and getting replaced by large slices and even larger continuous gigantic prints.

Here's one site, which I don't know anything about, but it's interesting reading. Big Prints

http://www.bigprints.com/

What Max said...