Fine Art Giclée Printing
Specializing in photographing original artwork and producing Fine Art Ink Jet prints.
This small Cambridge studio focuses on producing work of the highest possible quality while retaining very competitive rates and on providing a personal, friendly & helpful service.
In every respect I have sought to employ the very best technology and materials (ie. type of camera, printer, inks, paper) currently available but the care, skill, sensitivity and craftsmanship given during the production process is crucial to achieving the finest results. I am very happy to work with an image maker, artist or photographer present and will continue to work on an image until a client is absolutely happy with the results, without charging extra.
All projects are most welcome no matter what their size or complexity. This includes working from a client's processed or unprocessed files, photographing original artwork and producing very accurate fine art reproductions.
An extensive range of papers are stocked and immediately available for printing but samples of most quality inkjet papers may be seen and ordered when requested.
Photography
The quality of the original image capture of an art work is crucial to the end results when making a print. The studio is equipped and dedicated to doing this but clients are also most welcome to provide digital files. Please contact me for advice on file format etc.
Please visit this page for more information on photography.
Processing
Ideally the original artwork is present during the computer processing of a digital file, to confirm that critical colour accuracy etc. is correctly rendered and reproduced. Proof test prints are printed until a client is entirely happy with the results. Clients may suggest various changes at this stage and are most welcome to be present so that we can work together on an image.
Technical information: A fully compliant ICC (International Colour Consortium) colour managed workflow is implemented with the aid of various hardware and software devices. Included is an Eizo ColourEdge211 monitor, a professional viewer (Graphiclite), Xrite spectrophotometer calibration devices, Profile Maker, EquaLight 2, Capture One Pro5, Helicon Focus, the Adobe Creative Suite CS5 etc.
Printing
The printers used are an HPZ3100 with Vivara pigment Inks and an Epson 4800 with K3 Ultrachrome pigment inks.
Archival
I 'm somewhat skeptical about the claims made by manufacturers of inks and papers with regards to the archival 'permanence' of their products - which may be stated as 200 years or more. This is partly because their tests are made under highly controlled and artificial conditions. However, in the real world it seems to be true that top end professional large format printers made within the last 3 years will use inks with an extremely long life and concerns with fading that were very real a few years ago are no longer a problem.
As well as the inks, the paper type will also effect a print's longevity. The finest inkjet papers are usually made from unbleached 100% cotton rag, are acid and lignin free and have an alkaline calcium carbonate buffer layer. Less expensive papers may not have the same archival ratings. We stock a large variety of papers. Please see the 'paper' page for more information.
Edition Provenance Certificates
Many artists and photographers create editions of print, both limited and unlimited. I keep track of your Edition and can produce a provenance certificate to accompany each Edition print.
Storage
All files are backed up to 3 independent archival systems ( 2 x drives and 1 x Blu-ray disc/DVD/CD) and are stored for the long term. They are always available when needed.