Expand Vol. 2 No. 5

Re-Defining Your Fine-Art Workflow

If part of your business involves fine art and photographic reproduction, here are some tips to maximize your images, materials, time, and ultimately, your bottom line.

By Tom Hauenstein

The signage industry is constantly evolving in a variety ways, and in seemingly endless directions. One change is the breadth of products that sign makers, and specifically wide-format printers, are offering to their end-users.

For example, many companies have added a solvent or UV-curable machine to go after the rigid board, outdoor, and vehicle-wrap markets. Many companies are also adding aqueous-based printers to go after the fine art and photographic reproduction market. The high profit margins associated with fine art and photography make it a very attractive venture for sign makers. 

This market is dominated by Epson printers. Their image quality is second to none, they are reliable, and they are relatively easy to operate. Canon and HP are also entering the fray and providing solutions for this sector of the market.

Most RIPS that are currently being used in the sign industry, such as Onyx, Wasatch, and EFI, among others, already have drivers to support these printers. The question then arises… Are these RIPs the best to run for your fine art output? Well… yes and no.

There are two schools of thought on this. You could use an existing RIP or you can get a RIP specialized for these printers, specifically ImagePrint. There are advantages and disadvantages to either choice, which will be laid out in the remainder of the article.

Existing RIP

Advantages: The biggest advantage of using an existing RIP is the elimination of the software learning curve. This only leaves the company to learn the workings and nuances of the printer.

Since these RIPS already support these printers, it is merely a matter of downloading the current driver for your RIP and printer, and buying the additional license, if necessary. You will get results from your printer that allow you to compete in this market without any extensive training.

Disadvantages: The fine art market is very color critical. If you do not have profiling equipment in-house, you will not be able to rely on these RIPS to do that for you. Most of these RIPS do not post profiles for these printers with fine art media, so this task is left to the company doing the profiling.

Building CMYK profiles is not an easy task, and requires a decent amount of training and experience to do it correctly. If you already have an in-house color expert, you should not have a problem with profiling. However, you may find it tedious to build profiles while testing products as you zero in on your product offering.

ImagePrint RIP

Advantages: The advantage of using ImagePrint is the enhancement in image quality. If you use quality to differentiate yourself from you competition, then this option should be considered.

Colorbyte, the manufacturer of ImagePrint, spends a lot of R&D on expanding color gamuts, dithering, screening patterns, and profiling specifically for this type of printing. This allows the printer to hit more colors accurately, and get more detail in shadows, midtones, and highlights.

Also, there are profiles for almost every fine art media for all printers regardless of manufacturer. If a profile does not exist for your current offering, they will make it for you. This makes it easy to test different products as you zero in your product offering.

ImagePrint offers nesting, tiling, and the other common layout features you’re used to in a conventional RIP, but with supercharged drivers and profiles. There are drivers available for Epson, HP Z-series, and Canon ImagePROGRAF printers, so whichever you choose, you can use this software. 

Disadvantages: Having a new learning curve is the single largest disadvantage to using ImagePrint. It is not a difficult RIP to learn; just different. I would recommend that you train multiple employees on the RIP, so that your production time can not be severely impacted by one person.

Another issue with the RIP is the fact that it does not handle PostScript files easily. If you want to print an .eps or .ind file, for example, you will need to purchase the print-through application add-on, and print directly through InDesign or Illustrator. Being that most fine art is bitmap data, this should not be a huge issue.

Whether you decide to go with ImagePrint or your existing RIP, you can add a lot to your bottom line with fine art and photographic reproduction. Both options are viable and profitable. Still, there are a couple more things you should consider before entering these markets:

1. Bitmap files are usually significantly larger than PostScript files. Therefore, if you are using a low-end CPU to run your fine-art printers, you may run into a bottleneck in the RIPping stage. You may want to beef up your memory and processors to handle the heavier workload. Also, be sure that you have the hard drive space for the storage of these files as well.

2. LexJet has been providing service and products to over 20,000 fine art and photography customers for many years. We can help you get through your learning curves quickly and painlessly.

3. LexJet manufactures the award-winning Sunset line of photographic, watercolor, and canvas products, plus the full range of Hahnemuhle's fine art and photographic papers. They are of the highest quality at a fair price and will enable you to offer everything that your customer may demand in the fine art industry.

Here's a quick rundown of the Sunset line, which should provide direction on the application possibilities for your fine art and photographic reproduction workflow:

Sunset Hot Press Rag 310g – Features a silky smooth surface structure, which preserves the natural characteristics of a smooth white art paper while maintaining the necessary natural aesthetics demanded by artists.

Sunset Cotton Etching Paper 285g – With a slightly textured surface, it is designed for high-quality fine art and photographic reproduction/print applications.

Sunset Textured Fine Art Paper – Ideal for digital fine art reproductions, it features a natural white finish with a coarse structured surface equivalent to traditional watercolor paper making.

Sunset Select Matte and Gloss Canvas – Features a high-quality, water-resistant poly-cotton blend canvas with an unsurpassed white point, available in matte and gloss flavors. The material can be stretched or mounted.

Sunset Air Dried Fibre Matte 295g – Modeled on traditional fibre-based material used in conventional photography, its ultra-smooth surface and brilliant white color is designed for perfect photo and fine art reproductions.

Sunset Air Dried Fibre Gloss 295g – Chosen by a panel of 15 professional photographers as one of the best new products of the year in Professional Photographer magazine’s annual Hot One Awards, this photo paper features a bright white, slightly textured surface.

Sunset Air Dried Fibre Gloss Natural 300g – A warmer version of the Air Dried Fibre Gloss.

Sunset Air Dried Fibre Satin 300g – Adds more depth to the printer’s arsenal of fibre-based materials with its satin sheen.

Sunset Photo eSatin 300g and Sunset Photo Gloss 300g – Hot One award-winning Sunset Photo eSatin 300g features a traditional E surface finish, providing an elegant texture for one-of-a-kind prints. Both the Photo Gloss and eSatin products provide an instant-dry coating, excellent scratch resistance, expansive color gamut, and outstanding ink retention.

Sunset Photo Semi-Matte – This lightly textured, low-gloss paper dramatically reduces the gloss differential or bronzing effects caused by many archival type inks on the market today.

Tom Hauenstein is LexJet’s technical support director, and has helped hundreds of LexJet customers set up a profitable digital printing workflow. Tom will begin touring the U.S. in September, bringing his wit, wisdom, and expertise to a city near you. Contact Tom or your LexJet account specialist at (800) 453-9538 as details of the traveling seminar, Printing for Profitability in the Digital Darkroom, are finalized.