There are many factors that enter into image stability and print longevity. Giclee prints are valued partly because of the archival longevity. Under normal fine art viewing conditions, if printed with recognised archival papers, such as our Hahnemuhle range of fine art papers, prints produced at Rush Digital Printing, made with our top end wide format inkjet printers and dedicated manufacturer ink sets, should last 100years. Actual print stability and longevity will vary according to image storage, display conditions, light intensity, humidity, atmospheric conditions, and post-printing treatments. While manufacturers do not guarantee stability or longevity, Rush Digital Printing as a member of the Fine Art Trade Guild guarantees our quality and stands behind every print we sell. For maximum print life, display all prints under glass or lamination or properly store them.
What is a Limited Edition Print?
A limited-edition print is one that is limited to a predetermined print quantity. Most artists produce only limited editions, normally signed by the artist and numbered. The numbers on the print denote the individual piece number in the edition over the total edition size. For example, a print numbered 10/150 would be the 10th print in a series of 150. With limited edition work there will only ever be a certain number of prints produced and once they are sold, they’re gone!
What is an Edition or Open Edition print?
An Edition or open edition print is a series of similar fine art reproductions that do not have assigned numbers but could still be hand signed by artists. At Rush Digital printing our Edition prints are produced in the same way as Limited edition Giclée prints but the artist decides not to ‘limit’ the number they will sell.
How do I prepare my files for print?
Quality printing starts with a quality product – your artwork or photographic image. And while your artwork and photography may be great, from the start if we don’t have a high quality digital file to print from, your prints may be compromised and be of very poor quality. That won’t be down to us! You may already have a digital files that you want to send us. But are those digital files truly Ready to Print? If you’re not sure, you should keep reading. You can send us your files as they are and ask us to use our judgment in making any adjustments we deem necessary to provide you with the best prints. In this scenario, you may believe your image will print fine. However, if we find that they are not ready to print then there is every possibility that we will have to apply extra charges for file editing and preparation. However following the steps below will insure that you send us the best digital files possible – and get you great prints! 1. We work with RGB files. Make sure that your image is RGB and in the Adobe RGB 1998 work space. (In Adobe Photoshop: go to Image/Mode and check that the file is RGB) 2. Set your ‘Image Size’ width and height to your desired output/print size, at 300ppi. For example, in Photoshop an 8”x 10” print will have an image size of Width 8 inches, Height 10inches, Resolution 300 Pixels/Inch 3. You should save your file with a unique name as a .TIFF. In Photoshop for example File/Save AS/ John Smith 1
How do I add a border to my prints?
When fine art is reproduced as a print, it typically features a border to create a relief between the image and the frame and/or mat. Equally important for artists having edition and limited-edition prints produced is that a border also provides a place for the artist’s signature. You should avoid thinking if the addition of a border on your print as right or wrong. Rather you should consider a border as appropriate to the print or not. This also applies to the dimensions of the border which is entirely a matter of artist and photographer aesthetic preference. Adding a border to your print can also be a matter of image and print protection. Even the smallest of borders allows you to handle your print without touching the actual image which can be critical with some of the surface finishes of the high-end art papers.
What is “resolution” and why should I care?
Resolution is a term that describes how much detail an image (or a monitor displaying an image) contains. The higher the resolution, the more information the image contains. When referring to digital images, resolution interacts with image size. For example, a digital file which is 8”x10” and has a resolution of 300 pixels per inch is said to have a higher resolution than a digital file which is 8”x10” and has a resolution of 150 pixels per inch (ppi). For Fine Art prints and giclées images files must be at a resolution of 300 ppi for printing.
What's difference between TIFF and JPEG?
JPEG (pronounced jay-peg) is an acronym for Joint Photographic Experts Group. It is a lossy file format. The term “lossy” is used to describe a mathematical process that produces a smaller, more manageable file that is not identical to the original. Each time an image is saved as a JPEG, information is compressed, and when the image is re-opened, the data that is opened is based on the compressed information. Some of the original information is lost along the way. For this reason, the JPEG file format is not good for image editing, although it can be a good format for output to various printing devices and for web uploads. TIFF is an acronym for Tag(ged) Image File Format. It is a loss-less file format and one of the most popular and flexible of the current public file formats. Fine Print uses TIFF files for printing and requests that customers send us files in TIFF format. TIFFs are the file format most frequently used when saving an image after editing in Photoshop (when the ultimate purpose for the image is output to a printer). TIFF files are larger than JPEG files, and for that reason, aren’t used in digital camera capture.
What is colour management?
At Rush Digital Printing we talk often about our colour managed workflow. Simply put colour management is a range of tools we use to control the colour accuracy of printing files and photo prints. All of our monitors, computer screens, scanners and all of our printers are calibrated for each new printing job on a new paper. We create our own specific ICC colour profiles for each roll or batch of papers we use employing sophisticated colour management hardware from X-Rite to measure how each paper reacts with the colour ink sets we use. From the colour temperature in our work and print rooms through monitor calibration, the use of ICC paper profiles, soft-proofing and the viewing of final prints in daylight conditions, every step in our colour process is controlled to produce the most accurate colour prints possible.
What is a Deckle edge?
One tradition of the hand-made fine-art print is the deckled edge. Once considered an imperfection as the by-product of the hand-made paper-making process, this feathery, unfinished, torn-like edge now makes an archival ink-jet print appear even more valuable. Many artists and photographers choose to deckle the edges of their fine art prints and digital prints. A deckle edge is part of the aesthetics of print finishing and may not suit every fine art print. It can also be used to create the appearance of greater value. Here at Rush Digital printing we can add a deckle edge to most of our fine art papers. It is a time-consuming process done by hand and typically adds around 20% to the cost of each print.
What is a certificate of authenticity?
Upon request and for an added cost Rush Digital Printing can provide a Certificate of Authenticity with each paper or canvas giclée we produce. This certificate assures the purchaser that their print was produced with the highest of standards, and, if the edition is limited, provides the edition size and number. As members of the Fine Art Trade Guild we can register your prints with the ArtSure scheme. All print editions registered with ArtSure are made using the manufacturers' original inks, so you can be sure you are getting optimal results from the fine art digital printer model used.
Adding a Border in Photoshop
In Photoshop you should open your image, make sure that it has had any adjustment layers flattened. You can do this by selecting “Layer | Flatten” from the menu. Now make sure that your image has been appropriately sized for your print by selecting “Image | Image size…” from the menu. Resize the image in Photoshop. Resize the image in Photoshop. For example, in Photoshop an 8”x 10” print will have an image size of Width 8 inches, Height 10 inches, Resolution 300 Pixels/Inch