Giclee: Allpconline Company Blog
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
What file produces a great giclee?
Aside from what kind of equipment is used by a professional printer and the type of substrate, the most important factor in making a great giclee is the quality of the digital file fed to the machine. The prerequisites are resolution, color space, detail and color balance.
Resolution: We need a file that is a minimum of 150 ppi for canvas and 200 for watercolor and photo paper. When we give these numbers, we are talking about native resolution, not interpolated in programs such as Photoshop. Although files created with digital cameras are better at resizing, artifacts usually show at 200% interpolation.
Color space: Leave the files in RGB. We prefer Adobe 1998 RGB because of the better gamut than, say, sRGB. CMYK files have a much more narrow gamut and our giclee printers can render a wider color span.
Detail: When we say detail, we obviously mean images that are well in focus and show no highlight or shadow clipping. Run levels in Photoshop to see if this is the case.
Color balance: 99.9% of the time we need to color correct the files to match the originals. We do this as a service included in the cost of the prints. Assuming the three factors above are fine, color balancing is usually not a problem. If extensive color correction with individual masking of problem areas is needed, we will let you know.
We always examine the files we receive to see potential downfalls. The difference between us and some companies is that we do take the time to look at a file and not print it if we feel it is not up to par. If you do not choose us, make sure that whoever prints your work takes the necessary steps to make the best possible giclee.
Resolution: We need a file that is a minimum of 150 ppi for canvas and 200 for watercolor and photo paper. When we give these numbers, we are talking about native resolution, not interpolated in programs such as Photoshop. Although files created with digital cameras are better at resizing, artifacts usually show at 200% interpolation.
Color space: Leave the files in RGB. We prefer Adobe 1998 RGB because of the better gamut than, say, sRGB. CMYK files have a much more narrow gamut and our giclee printers can render a wider color span.
Detail: When we say detail, we obviously mean images that are well in focus and show no highlight or shadow clipping. Run levels in Photoshop to see if this is the case.
Color balance: 99.9% of the time we need to color correct the files to match the originals. We do this as a service included in the cost of the prints. Assuming the three factors above are fine, color balancing is usually not a problem. If extensive color correction with individual masking of problem areas is needed, we will let you know.
We always examine the files we receive to see potential downfalls. The difference between us and some companies is that we do take the time to look at a file and not print it if we feel it is not up to par. If you do not choose us, make sure that whoever prints your work takes the necessary steps to make the best possible giclee.
