5 essential steps to creating Artwork Prints.

Creating prints of your artwork can be a great way to reach a wider audience and generate more income. It can be a little daunting at the start but once you understand the process and find the right printer, it can be an incredibly valuable way to increase your sales and keep save your precious time to create more original work. We are artists ourselves and have experience in both professional photography and some visual arts, so we understand the delicate process of taking your original work through the printing process. We have developed our fine art print studio with excellence in mind and know well how important this process is to your work. As a result, we have collated the 5 essential steps to take your Original artwork, to valuable prints that you can sell.

1.     Capturing your Artwork

Before we can create a print, we need to capture your Original Artwork as a digital file. There are two ways to capture your artwork – through scanning or photography. Scanning requires laying your artwork on a large, professional flatbed scanner. You are limited to the size of the scanner and there is physical contact with your artwork, which may be an issue if your artwork is particularly delicate. Photography is a ‘touch-free’ option that can suit any sized artworks but requires a skilled photographer who specialised in Artwork Photography. As professional photographers, this is our method as we love the flexibility to be able to capture specific features of the artwork. Either method will produce a digital file that can be processed for your end-print. 

 2.     Preparing your Artwork

The digital file is then processed via specialised software, to replicate the Original Artwork. This is done through small adjustments to the files colour balance, vibrancy level or to remove any tiny imperfections such as dust or marks. At this stage we like to work with the artist to achieve the result they are looking for. We have some artists that want perfect reproductions of their original and others who want it created for a different appeal. This is your creative process. 

3.     Selecting your Paper.

The paper your artwork is printed on is a vital part of the printing process as it will produce the aesthetic and colour balance of the end-print. There are many different papers to choose from, but it is essential that they are archival quality fine art paper. Archival Papers are prepared in a way to extend the life of the print. We use Canson and Ilford Papers which are high quality papers and come in a variety of textures and sizes.

4.     Preparing for Print.

Once the digital file is ready and your paper is chosen, your work needs to be prepared for print. This is where the print studio will create a specialised set of instructions, called a profile, to allow the software to instruct the printer in how to deliver the ink to your chosen paper. This is a specialised element of a Fine Art Print Studio, which gives you very accurate results. In our studio, we record these details so any future prints will have the same result. 

5.     Printing your Artwork.

The final result is your Fine Art Print, known as a ‘reproduction’ of your Original Artwork. The specialised printer uses archival quality inks and are sprayed on to the paper in a method sometimes known a Giclee. In our Studio, we use 12 different ‘ink-tanks’ to deliver the print and it is touch dry within minutes and gently absorbs into the paper over the following hours. We provide a backing board and acid free clear envelope to deliver our prints to our clients, but you can source these online. The add protection and a neat presentation for your customers. 

Creating prints of your Original Artwork is both rewarding and valuable in reaching a larger customer base and increasing sales. It allows you to have creative control over your artwork and produce a product that you can sell as either limited edition runs or unlimited runs.