Gallery Worthy Prints

[Snook]

Hello all, I just got done with a project I have been working on and want to take them to a gallery of which I have access to.
I want to mount these prints, Which I have done some photoshopping to them, quite large.
Probably about 1.20 Meters X 1.40 meters more or less. They are all from a 1DsMII and a P30 Phase One.
I am planning on charging  2000.00 us$ and up.
I have no idea about printing and where I live there are very limited choices.
Can anyone suggest what type paper/printer or if there is a good internet site where I could upload to and have them print if necessary?
Here where I live there is only one place that prints to canvas type paper and only one other that do Lambda prints..
As I will expecting to get a good price for my art I definitely want the piece to be nice.
I tried doing a search but only came up with Printers like Epson and HP and posts of people printing their own prints.
I would appreciate any guidance with respect to the subject...
What is consider the Best Paper/process in todays standards and norms of the Art/Photography world??
I have not printed anything in many years except in house family stuff.

Thanks very much

Snook

[BlasR]

Snook,  

take a look to www.neworleansdarkroom.com

they do good job.

good luck

BlasR

[bill t.]

Get em printed on canvas, at those sizes canvas is MUCH kinder about masking the sort of image degradation you get on really big blowups, even from the very high res originals.  Breathing Color Chromata White is well regarded by many.  Canvas wrapped on oil-painting style stretcher bars is probably the easiest and cheapest way to "mount" large prints.  Most (but not all) of the guys working at really big sizes use canvas.

Won't rant about why you should get a big printer, but you should.

[Snook]

Get em printed on canvas, at those sizes canvas is MUCH kinder about masking the sort of image degradation you get on really big blowups, even from the very high res originals.  Breathing Color Chromata White is well regarded by many.  Canvas wrapped on oil-painting style stretcher bars is probably the easiest and cheapest way to "mount" large prints.  Most (but not all) of the guys working at really big sizes use canvas.

Won't rant about why you should get a big printer, but you should.

Thank you guys very much..
Yeh I think Canvas is probably the way to go.
Do you lose a lot of detail on the Canvas?

Are there any particular Canvas I should look for or Companies that print better than others?
I am in South America and will probably have them sent to me from the US if Possible.??

I really appreciate the feedback.

Thanks
Snook

[Snook]

Thank you guys very much..
Yeh I think Canvas is probably the way to go.
Do you lose a lot of detail on the Canvas?

Are there any particular Canvas I should look for or Companies that print better than others?
I am in South America and will probably have them sent to me from the US if Possible.??

I really appreciate the feedback.

Thanks
Snook

Anybody know where I can get a list of Papers/Canvas that can be printed on the HP Z2100 Photo.. That is the machine I found these people printing on. They only have
HP paper and they had some stock of Premiers Papers which had a nice Canvas.

Thanks for any links on the best paper for the HP printer. I was thinking about importing the papers myself and have them print for a fee..?
Any suggestion.
Like I said I am wanting the best possible paper/Canvas for the Money I will be charging.
Thanks

Snook


PS.. Are Lambda Prints a totally different Ball park. I was told to do Lamda type prints from some people but Not sure which route would give a better bang..
Went and looked at some Lambda alternatives but Not sure I like them any better than HP Z3100 Photo prints I saw.
Thanks for any heads up

[Colorwave]

Anybody know where I can get a list of Papers/Canvas that can be printed on the HP Z2100 Photo.

Scroll a ways down this page for the HP canvas choices.  I really like the Professional Matte Canvas on my Z3100, but know that the BC Chromata is a popular choice as well.

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/ga/WF...970.html#221674

[Snook]

Scroll a ways down this page for the HP canvas choices.  I really like the Professional Matte Canvas on my Z3100, but know that the BC Chromata is a popular choice as well.

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/ga/WF...970.html#221674

Thanks a lot Ron for your post..
I am really new to all this Printing stuff. I have the Photography,Photoshop and workflow down..:+]

I know nothing about printing as I have not printed anything Big enough since the Film days believe it or not!!

I just want to make sure If I will be charging people buying my photographic art 1000's of dollars.. I want to make sure what I am giving them is upto par on the quality and will last?

What do most Gallery Photographers charging am arm and leg for their prints printing on?

Do you know what the "Norm" is in the photographic art world these days.. I have no clue?
Thank you and all the others for any further help!
Snook

[Colorwave]

You might take a look at this thread:

http://luminous-landscape.com/forum/index....c=29848&hl=

This photographer's work is finally being released in digital form, and the guy seems to have "something" of a reputation, but then again, he's dead . . .

;^)

It isn't a game changer, that the AA gallery is going digital, but is another sign that the old guard is abandoning the old processes.  It is a little like the art world realizing that they no longer need to hide the word "inkjet" behind the bogus word "giclee"- just another step in the evolution and acceptance of digital fine art printing.

[BradSmith]

I'd suggest you get some sample prints from whatever service bureau, on whatever printer, on whatever paper/canvas you are considering.  Sample prints of a detailed section of one of your own prints.   That way, you can answer your own questions with your own images about quality, etc.  

Crop out a section of one of your prints at the same size as the paper/canvas that you'll order for the sample print.  For example, (in english units) after sizing your finished image to 50in X 60in at 300dpi, crop out a section at, say, 11"x14" with detail that you are interested in.  Have that crop printed at 11"x14"by all printers on all paper/canvas choices that you are interested in.  See for yourself what your image will look like prior to placing a huge, important order that you might not be happy with.

Finally, prior to sending the file for printing, be sure that you softproof your sample images and final images using the service bureau's profiles for the printer/paper(canvas) that you're considering.  You'll almost certainly want to adjust them prior to sending for printing.

Good luck
Brad

[bill t.]

Be careful with those test prints, however.  A service may run a large print on an entirely different printer than a "standard" small print.  The gamut, profiles, everything might be different, even the paper.  If the service doesn't routinely do big prints, they may have a very old model with less-than-archival inks.

The only real test of a company's large print capability is a large print.  And that test includes non image related things like...do they package the print well?  Do they tend to kink prints?  Do they try to cram a giant print in a 2" (50mm) diameter tube?  Do they leave enough margin?  Do they scratch prints (an all too common problem).  I still have sensitive nerves about printing services, glad I bought a printer.

[dkeyes]

I print all my images (40x50"/1x1.27m) on my z3100 using HP Pro Satin. It looks the closest to a c-print that I've found. The dynamic range is about as good as it gets as well, much better than an art paper or canvas (except maybe one of the new baryta papers). Any vendor using this printer should have this paper. At these sizes, you should be mounting your prints as well, ideally to an acid free/ph neutral board before framing.

Lambda, lightjet, etc. digital c-prints don't have the same dynamic range, sharpness or longevity as an inkjet print. There are quite a few artists still doing digital c-prints though, mostly because it's all they can get at very large sizes or they are still printing editions from negs/transparencies.

I exhibit my work in several galleries around the U.S. and have it in many museum collections so there isn't a problem with acceptance of inkjet prints in the gallery/museum world.

Finally, you might also want to consider a limited edition. There have been some discussions on this forum about the pros/cons. Most of the people against it don't exhibit in contemporary art galleries. I happen to exhibit in that world and limit my editions (varies from 6-9 max).

Good luck and happy printing,
Doug

[Snook]

I print all my images (40x50"/1x1.27m) on my z3100 using HP Pro Satin. It looks the closest to a c-print that I've found. The dynamic range is about as good as it gets as well, much better than an art paper or canvas (except maybe one of the new baryta papers). Any vendor using this printer should have this paper. At these sizes, you should be mounting your prints as well, ideally to an acid free/ph neutral board before framing.

Lambda, lightjet, etc. digital c-prints don't have the same dynamic range, sharpness or longevity as an inkjet print. There are quite a few artists still doing digital c-prints though, mostly because it's all they can get at very large sizes or they are still printing editions from negs/transparencies.

I exhibit my work in several galleries around the U.S. and have it in many museum collections so there isn't a problem with acceptance of inkjet prints in the gallery/museum world.

Finally, you might also want to consider a limited edition. There have been some discussions on this forum about the pros/cons. Most of the people against it don't exhibit in contemporary art galleries. I happen to exhibit in that world and limit my editions (varies from 6-9 max).

Good luck and happy printing,
Doug

Doug thank you for all the good information..
I really appreciate it.
For these prints I have decided on the Premiere Canvas.. Looks really good for what I am doing. My images have been photoshopped pretty heavily and look like Semi Painting, which look great on this canvas.
Thank you for you helpful information again
Snook