About Our Prints and the Giclée Process...
I want your internet buying experience to be a positive one, so I have compiled the following information to bolster your confidence in me and my art. I would encourage you to take a few moments and read on. You can be assured that I have taken every opportunity to make your experience here a great one. Thank you for your interest in my work. I hope my love for Wyoming is contagious and through my images you will come to appreciate this remarkable place.
I print all my work on Epson 7600 printers, using Epson Ultrachrome pigmented inks. These inksets, matched to one of the three papers I use, have a rated life that approaches the 200 year mark for dark storage. With proper handling and display, as outlined below, these prints will last for generations, giving you and your heirs many years of pleasure. Please take the time to learn what a Giclee print is, read about how your prints will be made, get some pointers on the proper display of your photographic art selection, and then enjoy the beauty that is Wyoming.
It is an honor to have my work displayed in your office or home. You have my personal assurance that your selection will be handled with the utmost care and packaged securely to arrive at your location in perfect condition. I do not mass produce any of my images. They are printed on a custom basis after your order arrives. It normally takes about three days before the print is shipped.
Here's what you can expect from me and the prints you select:
First things first. All of the prints you see on this web page were finished in Adobe Photoshop and encoded with special ICC profiles for accurate color reproduction on my system. I use color calibrated monitors in the creation of my images. They are profiled weekly to make sure that what I see on my monitors is what I print. Since most consumer monitors are not calibrated or profiled, you may see different colors and contrast than those on the finished prints. A print is viewed by reflected light and a monitor uses transmittled light. The industry has tried to minimize those differences by standardizing print viewing light sources, etc., but if you don't have such a system you may see things differently. You can be assured that I have made every effort to produce prints that meet the highest standards for consistency.
Why would you buy a print, knowing that it may look a little different than what you see online?
What I can assure you is that the content is exactly what you see in the web site. These images are made directly from the files that I print. I guarantee that the image you receive matches my vision, exactly. No one has any part in the creation of my images but me. The prints cannot be made better than what I create for you. Lastly, the materials that I use are standards for fine-art type work. My prints do not look like drugstore photographs, printed on glossy paper with exaggerated colors and contrast. If you are familiar with fine-art type work, that is what you will get from me.
What is a Giclee Print?
The term Giclee (prounced Zhee-clay) means to "spurt or spray". Originally, it was used to describe the type of print made on the very high-end and pricey Iris printer. Giclees were most often original reproductions of painted works.
Now the term, used internationally, has come to mean something more than just a typical inkjet print. True Giclee prints have two widely accepted standards that differ from typical inkjet prints. First, they must be printed with pigmented inks not dye inks found in a lot of inkjet printers. Secondly, the media printed on is usually 100% cotton rag paper, cotton canvas or fine-art watercolor or art papers. Prints made on the more typical inkjet media including glossy, semi-gloss, and lustre type coated papers do not fit into the class of papers used for true, fine-art Giclee prints. The combination of these two criteria for Giclees helps to guarantee the longest lived, archival-quality prints available from our current technology.
I print on one of three papers. The first is German Hannemuhle Photo Rag. It is a 100% non-buffered cotton rag paper. For special warm-toned prints, I use Legion Sommerset Velvet. The third paper is Epson's Archival Enhanced Matte paper. On select prints, I use a 100% cotton canvas. All the prints are made on the 7600 using Ultrachrome Pigmented Inks with the Matte Black inkset.
Print finishing and delivery
All paper prints are shipped in a protective, archival polypropylene bag with a foam core stiffener. These protective bags are perfectly clear and do not distort the finished print, therefore you can pick up the print and examine it without the risk of damaging the print surface. All you need to do is deliver it to the framer.
Canvas prints are handled differently. We do not recommend stretching canvas prints. Although this has long been the standard way to prepare a canvas print for framing, there is a better way. The newest system that is gaining in popularity because of its archival qualities is called the Art Care System. It was developed by Bainbridge, a large manufacturer of mat boards, substrates, etc. for the framing industry. The basis of this system is the specially formulated Foam Core board that actually absorbs and holds any airborne contaminants that could attack the print from the reverse side. With the print properly mounted using a reversible, archival, dry mounting tissue, then spray coated for protection of the surface, the print is encapsulated in protective barriers that greatly increase display longevity. Here are two links to the complete story behind this remarkable mounting system for canvas prints http://www.superiorarchivalmats.com/sam/FAQs.html and http://www.superiorarchivalmats.com/sam/Article.html. All my canvas prints are delivered, already mounted, using the Art Care System.
All canvas prints are sprayed with 6 or more coats of UV protective lacquer. This not only protects the exposed canvas surface from UV light, but adds a waterproof coating that protects the print from handling that must occur during the framing process. These prints are also shipped flat inside the same protective bag. Canvas prints are flush cut to the edges of the image, and are ready for framing
How should your pictures be displayed?
Here are our recommendations for framing and displaying your artwork. We use these religiously with all the prints we frame for display in our own home, in galleries, or at art shows.
· Please, leave the print in its protective sleeve until it is delivered to the framer. It is carefully inspected by me personnally, before shipping. You can see abolutely nothing more by removing it from the protection of the archival, polypropylene bag. It is abolutely clear and has no distortion whatsoever.
· Even when the print is removed by the framer, request that it only be handled by the white border and preferably with white cotton gloves typically used by photographers and framers.
· Do not touch the print surface. Pigment inks are durable, but like any other media, they can be damaged by improper handling. The oils from your hands will cause permanent damage to prints.
· Mount the picture behind UV glass only. Exposure to UV will severely limit the lifespan of any printed or painted artwork. Most picture glass, including non-glare, is not UV coated. An alternative to standard UV glass is museum glass. It has the best qualities of non glare and UV protection. Tru-View is a common brand name of glazing. They also make museum glass.
· When mounting behind glass, avoid direct contact with the print surface. Special spacers, made just for this purpose, are availabe through your framer should you choose not to mat your print.
· If you have the option from your framer, request that your smaller pictures be mounted using Archival mounting corners. It is the best protection for your prints. I avoid using spray mount adhesives altogether. Though they are often labeled as archival, it is not the best way to mount any fine-art piece. If I have larger pieces mounted, it is always with the Art Care System.
· Always have your artwork mounted on Archival foam core or acid free 8 ply mat board.
· When you hang your picture, place it in an area where it does not receive direct sunlight. Even with UV glass, the intense light will cause premature fading.
So, follow these guidelines: mount behind UV or museum glass, use the Art Care System or hinge your prints to an archival substrate like foamcore or acid free mat board, mat them with acid free premium mat boards, and display them away from direct light. Your print should last well over a hundred years for many generations to enjoy
If you are looking for a true piece of artwork, not just a photograph, consider a high quality Giclee print. There is simply no other color photographic printing process that comes close to the archival quality and beauty of a fine Giclee print. This is photographic art at its best.