Giclee: Allpconline Company Blog
Sunday, November 02, 2008
Will my Giclee look exactly as the image on my screen?
This is probably the most asked question regarding giclee printing: we have a page dedicated to soft proofing your giclee. If you follow the directions and have a good monitor which is hardware calibrated, you will be able to get a good handle on how the prints will come out. This said, there are a few factors that can throw a curve against an accurate preview:
First, a monitor uses transmissive light. In other words, the image you see on the screen is illuminated from behind, just like a slide. This can cause the image on the screen to look like it is brighter than it actually is. What can you do? Always check the histogram to see if there is any clipping in the shadows and also where the bulk of the histogram information resides. If you have a normal density image and you see most of the information in the left half, then this is a good indication that the brightness is not correct. On the other hand a low key image is expected to show what I just described and it is just fine. A high key image should instead have most of the information on the right half. If this is a little confusing and you do not know how to read an histogram in Photoshop, please read the help file. Histograms are not monitor dependent and can provide very valuable information to set up an image for giclee printing.
Second, make sure your ambient lighting in the room where you have your calibrated monitor must be constant. If you color correct and adjust brightness in a sunny room, do not expect to see the same results when it is dark or artificial lights are on. If you cannot control ambient lighting, try to calibrated and edit images for example in the evening with the same type of illumination.
Finally, even with all these variables under control, it is still not a precise science; we offer a low cost giclee proofing service where you can receive proofs of your images on the same materials as the final output.
First, a monitor uses transmissive light. In other words, the image you see on the screen is illuminated from behind, just like a slide. This can cause the image on the screen to look like it is brighter than it actually is. What can you do? Always check the histogram to see if there is any clipping in the shadows and also where the bulk of the histogram information resides. If you have a normal density image and you see most of the information in the left half, then this is a good indication that the brightness is not correct. On the other hand a low key image is expected to show what I just described and it is just fine. A high key image should instead have most of the information on the right half. If this is a little confusing and you do not know how to read an histogram in Photoshop, please read the help file. Histograms are not monitor dependent and can provide very valuable information to set up an image for giclee printing.
Second, make sure your ambient lighting in the room where you have your calibrated monitor must be constant. If you color correct and adjust brightness in a sunny room, do not expect to see the same results when it is dark or artificial lights are on. If you cannot control ambient lighting, try to calibrated and edit images for example in the evening with the same type of illumination.
Finally, even with all these variables under control, it is still not a precise science; we offer a low cost giclee proofing service where you can receive proofs of your images on the same materials as the final output.
Labels: giclee
Friday, October 03, 2008
Epson Premium canvas update and new semi-gloss paper for giclee printing
Epson Premium canvas satin (formerly known as Epson PremierArt) is now available in 60" wide rolls. We can now print on this substrate up to 60"X200". Also, we now carry the Museo Silver rag semiglossy paper. Opposite to most glossy and semiglossy papers on the market, Museo is made of pure cotton and it is as thick as a fiber base papers. The advantages of a pure cotton paper are longevity and very low curl memory. Giclee prints made on Museo have very deep black and a fantastic color gamut.
Labels: giclee
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Giclee calibration
The most often asked question regarding color for giclee printing is how customers can find out the way their prints will come out. They look at their screen and expect to see a print with the same values as what they see at home or work. This is called soft proofing and it can be fairly effective if you know how to. We have a useful set of instructions on how to soft proof. Before you go to our page to prepare to soft proof, you need to calibrate the monitor or this will not work. Please go to http://www.allpconline.com/giclee_soft_proof.htm
Labels: giclee
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Giclee papers: Do you know what you are buying?
I will repeat this ad nauseam until everybody in this business conforms to one rule: the papers and canvas used to print on should be described not just as "matte canvas" or "watercolor paper". There is canvas and there is premium canvas. We could buy inkjet canvas from China for $100 a roll instead of more than double for i.e. PremierArt. We do not! We only use the best giclee printing materials and always will. We owe it to our customers to accurately describe what we use and deliver the best possible product.
Our products are described on the website. There is no bait and switch, no product substitution. What you see is what you get. Maybe that's why our order volume has risen 120% compared to the same period last year.
On another note, we keep getting new customers who left their current printers because just one little droplet of water on the canvas ruined the canvas giclee. This is unacceptable: our canvas is water resistant. Just ask our customers, many of whom do open air art shows. Please do not misunderstand: there are some extremely experienced, honest and capable giclee printing companies out there. There are also very inexperienced ones who either do not have the knowledge, will or skills to do what it takes.
Giclee printing is not just a matter of buying the machinery. We constantly sample new materials; we have worked in Photoshop since version 2.0' we hold college degrees in photography and digital imaging....and we are artists ourselves.
Our products are described on the website. There is no bait and switch, no product substitution. What you see is what you get. Maybe that's why our order volume has risen 120% compared to the same period last year.
On another note, we keep getting new customers who left their current printers because just one little droplet of water on the canvas ruined the canvas giclee. This is unacceptable: our canvas is water resistant. Just ask our customers, many of whom do open air art shows. Please do not misunderstand: there are some extremely experienced, honest and capable giclee printing companies out there. There are also very inexperienced ones who either do not have the knowledge, will or skills to do what it takes.
Giclee printing is not just a matter of buying the machinery. We constantly sample new materials; we have worked in Photoshop since version 2.0' we hold college degrees in photography and digital imaging....and we are artists ourselves.
Labels: giclee
