Print Education
Digital Fine Art Printmaking
A detailed close-up of a digital fine art print, a reproduction of Cara Racin’s original artwork
For centuries artists have used traditional printmaking methods of etching, serigraph, woodcut, lithography, and most recently, digital fine art printmaking to create both original prints and reproductions. Prints allow the artist to reach a wider market with a product that is both more accessible and more affordable. Traditional prints have often been created by collaboration between the artist and a master printmaker. The advent of new inkjet printing technology has not changed this.
The affordability and ease of use of inkjet printers have made this technology extremely popular, leading to an overabundance of low-quality prints being produced by unskilled technicians, causing some to be dubious of this type of printing. Niche studios like Old Town Editions create high-quality digital fine art prints for artists, museums, galleries, and photographers. Studios like our own are set apart because we strive to offer the highest quality and service in this specialized field.
Like its predecessors, digital fine art printmaking is a true craft. Many proofs are printed and skilled technicians are involved in the adjusting of color and tone. Old Town Editions works very closely with artists to make sure that every detail is perfect. Our focus is not only on faithfully reproducing the artwork but also on creating a print that will stand on its own as a quality piece of artistry.
The Benefits of Digital Fine Art Printmaking
Inexpensive
With digital printing you can order giclee prints on demand, keeping initial project costs lower than other traditional processes. Instead of printing an entire edition at once, one can order limited edition giclee prints as they are needed, keeping inventory costs to a minimum.
Greener
The giclee printing method is more environmentally friendly than many other traditional printing methods. Other methods utilize more raw materials like film and potentially hazardous chemicals during pre-press processing.
Ease of Proofing
Digital printers can produce immediate and accurate proofs on exactly the same paper or canvas as the rest of your prints. With these proofs you’ll see exactly what your edition of prints will look like, and have the ability to ask for changes if needed.
High-Quality with Fine Detail
When properly made, digital printing can offer exquisite image quality and sharpness. Every brushstroke and speck of fine detail in your artwork will be reproduced accurately and beautifully.
Turnaround Time
Digital printing allows for faster turnaround times. There are fewer steps in the giclee printing process, therefore making for quicker turnaround times for clients.
Components of Quality Printmaking
It is a challenge to find true, specialized, digital fine art printmakers. There are many levels of print quality in the digital print business. Shops that offer giclees, art reproductions, and/or fine art prints in conjunction with other types of commercial printing generally do not offer artists or photographers the full benefit of what a shop that specializes in digital fine art printing and art reproduction can offer. To get a true archival digital fine art print or giclee, you need to consider several major components of the process.
If you are having art or an artifact reproduced: A high-quality scan or image capture is essential. This is one of the most important steps, as the quality of the scan will determine the quality of your final giclee print. DSLRs are not sufficient for art reproduction. At Old Town Editions, we digitize artwork with a Better Light Digital Scanning Back paired with a traditional view camera to achieve very large, high-quality, high-resolution files. Our lighting is adjusted based on the needs of the artwork, and we use polarizing filters to eliminate glare. Our studio is set up exclusively for digitizing artwork, maximizing quality in every aspect. You can click here to learn more about our digital capture process.
Giclee print reproductions of Ronald Jackson’s artwork
Rich black and white print reproductions of Kellie Sansone’s artwork
If you are printing a digital photograph digital artwork: Don’t overlook the benefit of a file review from a skilled technician and a physical proof review. A skilled technician can review your file, looking for any quality concerns or potential flaws. At Old Town Editions, we will always make you aware of any concerns before printing to ensure you are happy with your final prints. We look for things like uneven/soft focus, remnants of digital manipulation, and color/contrast issues, and check important components of file quality such as file size and resolution.
Inks: The inks used for giclee printing should be certified archival. The most archival inks are pigment-based ink sets. These are available from several different manufacturers. For a truly archival fine art pigment print you will be looking for Aqueous ink sets. These are water-based pigment inks. When looking at archival ratings it is important to consider the ink set in combination with the paper or canvas.
Paper: For true giclee/digital fine art printmaking, the paper should be a fine art quality, heavyweight paper. It should be acid-free or 100% rag, and certified archival. You can take a look at the papers options we offer at Old Town Editions here. We recommend only using paper/ink combinations that have 3rd party archival ratings listed online.
Printers: The printer should be one that was designed with fine art applications in mind. For a truly archival fine art pigment print you will be looking for Aqueous printers. These have a higher resolution and longer ink life than any dye, uv, or solvent printers on the market to date. At Old Town Editions, we use Canon and Epson large-format printers for all of our art reproduction and fine art printing.
Specialized Studios
Only specialized and dedicated studios are geared toward making giclees that are identical from order to order over the years. Commercial printmakers that offer art reproduction in conjunction with other, more commercial, printing services are typically not concerned with keeping your edition color consistent. Giclee printing is only a small portion of the work they do and managing color for consistent giclees from order to order is costly and time-consuming. With these commercial printers, the giclee you had printed today will not match the giclee you had printed last year, or potentially even last week.
Old Town Editions is dedicated to art reproduction and fine art printing. We do not offer commercial printing services, instead choosing to specialize solely in achieving the highest quality possible in art reproduction and fine art printing. We take many steps to ensure color consistency throughout the years, striving to provide the best quality possible every day. All of our equipment, at every step of the process, is specialized for fine art printing. We spare no effort when it comes to quality. You can learn more about us here.