Giclee: Allpconline Company Blog
Sunday, July 31, 2005
New giclee printer
As I mentioned in a previous post, we looked at the upcoming Epson 9800. We just ordered one and it should be operational sometimes in September. In a field where only a few printers have the capability to produce a true giclee, Epson is coming out with something of a killer. We have not seen anything else right now with a wider gamut and better blacks! The sample giclee print leaves nothing to be desired and I am sure other companies are working hard trying to match the 4800, 9800 and 7800 output. There are other brands that manufacture giclee printers with Epson printheads in them. It will be interesting to see if the company will also resell the new heads and somehow give out its advanced technology. Well, enough with techno-babble! We are just very proud to offer even better prints to our customers!
Monday, July 04, 2005
Giclee: Cotton vs tree pulp vs cotton/poly
There are so many choices in substrates these days that it is sometimes a challenge to understand what your giclee will be printed on. Will it be a watercolor made on paper made of tree pulp ore pure cotton? Is the canvas made of cotton or a mix of cotton and synthetic material?
Let's start with the watercolor: we have made the choice of carrying only pure cotton Hahnemuhle papers to print a giclee that will last and look as good or better than an original made on a lesser quality paper. The alternative would be to choose a tree pulp paper which can feel and look about the same as cotton and would cost us half compared to the William Turner and Photo Rag. Call us traditionalists but we believe that if you want to charge a decent amount of money for your giclees you should offer the best, most archival materials. A buyer should be confident he or she is buying artwork made with the finest ingredients.
The same can be said for canvas. After months of testing looking for a natural canvas we have chosen the Brilliance I. Finally there is a canvas made of 100% cotton and is acid free.
There are reports that canvas made with a blend of cotton and polyester has cracked and yellowed over time. We think this is due to the choice of improper coatings and possibly poor materials.
We also carry a cotton/poly blend canvas for giclee printing. The Fredrix WR is tuned to photographers as well as artists who do not want to have any tiny seed fragment in the lightest areas of the image. Because the substrate is made with mostly synthetic components, it is easy to remove the few cotton seeds.
Whichever material you choose rest assured we will print your giclee without compromising quality. This may add a few dollars to the cost of a print but would you rather save $5 on a 30X40" just to have a giclee made on cheaper watercolor paper?
For more information please visit our Canvas printing page.
Let's start with the watercolor: we have made the choice of carrying only pure cotton Hahnemuhle papers to print a giclee that will last and look as good or better than an original made on a lesser quality paper. The alternative would be to choose a tree pulp paper which can feel and look about the same as cotton and would cost us half compared to the William Turner and Photo Rag. Call us traditionalists but we believe that if you want to charge a decent amount of money for your giclees you should offer the best, most archival materials. A buyer should be confident he or she is buying artwork made with the finest ingredients.
The same can be said for canvas. After months of testing looking for a natural canvas we have chosen the Brilliance I. Finally there is a canvas made of 100% cotton and is acid free.
There are reports that canvas made with a blend of cotton and polyester has cracked and yellowed over time. We think this is due to the choice of improper coatings and possibly poor materials.
We also carry a cotton/poly blend canvas for giclee printing. The Fredrix WR is tuned to photographers as well as artists who do not want to have any tiny seed fragment in the lightest areas of the image. Because the substrate is made with mostly synthetic components, it is easy to remove the few cotton seeds.
Whichever material you choose rest assured we will print your giclee without compromising quality. This may add a few dollars to the cost of a print but would you rather save $5 on a 30X40" just to have a giclee made on cheaper watercolor paper?
For more information please visit our Canvas printing page.
