BetterLight Digital Scanning Back

Our Art Scan Process:

• Expert Handling and Care for Originals
• Heat and UV-free HID Studio Lighting
• Custom Color Profiling for Each Capture
• Native 309MB/16-bit Data Capture
• Non-interpolated Color (no de-mosaic/bayer patterning)
• Superior Image Sharpness
• Excellent Shadow/Highlight Detail

What to Ask a Printmaker:

1. What is the capture process?
Is the digital capture done by the printmaker? Are they using film? Are they using a desktop scanner? If the printmaker does not utilize large format digital photography for capturing the original art, there's little chance that the reproduction will be museum quality. Make sure the photography is done in-house by a professional photographer.

2. Are they using pigment inks?
If the shop does not specialize in reproducing fine art, chances are they use dye-based inks and not pigments. If your giclee is not pigment-based, it will have little acceptance in the fine art world.

3. What is their proofing process?
If the printmaker only offers 1 or 2 proofs, chances are, you won't be happy with the color accuracy. The better shops allow unlimited proofing for a fixed fee.

Red Flags to watch out for:

Using a 35mm Camera: The shop works from 35mm slides. 35mm slides have little to no value in giclee printmaking. If using film, a 4x5 transparency offers 21 times more information than a slide. 35mm digital is also inadequate to reproduce original art.

Outsourcing photography: If the shop sends your original to a local photographer, chances are they do not specialize in lighting and photographing art work suitable for giclee printmaking.

Desktop & Film Scanners: Using these consumer devices is the surest way to sink your art into the sea of mediocrity. Be certain your reproductions will sell by using a shop who knows how to light and photograph (or better, digitally captures your art).

Consumer Digital Cameras: If the shop is using 5, 6, or even 10 megapixel cameras to capture your art, chances are, the quality will be questionable — especially for larger works of art. We use 108 megapixel cameras so there is no compromise.

 

.

Start with a Preservation-Quality Art Scan...

Have Your Original Art Professionally Digitized Right the First Time.

• From Original Art
  We offer a 108 Megapixel BetterLight Digital Capture (up to 309MB/16-bit) resulting in a no-compromise, preservation-quality capture of your art. We utilize an interpretive lighting technique to ensure the highest quality reproduction. This is the best option to ensure the highest quality digitization of your art, especially suitable for giclee printmaking.
  
  
• From Film Transparency/Negative
  If you are working from a large format transparency, we offer the world-class, 11,000ppi Tango Drum Scanner enabling us to capture the full tonal range and color gamut of your film.

In-house BetterLight Digital Photography Studio
At Fine Art Impressions, we know how critical it is to start with a quality digital capture of the original artwork. In fact, 90% of the quality of a giclee is derived from the quality of the capture process!

That is why we have invested in a pure digital process. At the heart of our digital photography studio is BetterLight's high-resolution 4x5 digital scanning back. Considered by museums to be the finest technology available for capturing rare and priceless works of art, it's mated to an impressive Cambo Ultima 4x5 view camera resulting in a no-compromise digital capture of your artwork. Our HID lighting will not subject your artwork to undue heat or UV rays, that's because we have built our studio around fine art reproduction — not general photography services. When your artwork arrives at our studio, it will be handled professionally and photographed in our digital photography studio with care and precision. The impressive digital capture will be archived to provide you with on-demand Giclée printmaking for years to come. And, unlike some, we don't hold your file hostage, you are entitled to your full resolution production file on disk by request for every capture we make.

Our Advanced Asymmetrical Lighting Technique

Close-up detail of "Long Beach Visitors" © Bruce Turner

Oil paintings in particular have structure and depth to the paint. If not lit and captured properly, there is little chance the Giclee will resemble the original artwork, brushstrokes and all. In fact, most giclees of oil paintings are flat and lifeless because they are difficult to light properly — but not our giclees. That's because of the skill and care we put into the capture process. This level of detail and texture cannot be done with desktop scanners or other consumer digitizing equipment. And, don't think asymetrical lighting techniques are an industry norm — you won't find it everywhere.

Museum-Quality Giclee Printmaking On Demand
After capturing a high-resolution image of your artwork, a color proof is created for approval on the actual production media and evaluated in our color-calibrated environment. Utilizing custom color profiles for precise color management, we match our proven reproduction process with the type of work and desired print type. This proof is then shown to the artist to assure the integrity of the reproduction. By comparing it to the original artwork in calibrated-light viewing conditions, we can ensure color accuracy and quality that will meet or exceed the most discriminating artist or art buyer. From there, the specific production of Giclées are scheduled, each logged into a database and assigned a Fine Art Impression Certificate of Authenticity stating the artist, title, printmaker, methods, materials, and archival-rating. It’s your assurance of quality and provides a recorded source of verification.

World-Class Color Matching
Most digital printers are profiled to some extent right out of the box. But not to fine art printmaking standards. To create museum-quality work, your printmaker must utilized custom color management profiles based on the actual printer being used. Most color management profiles in use today are either generic or based on an inadequate number of color samples. Our in-house color profiles are based on over 2,000 unique color sample points specific to our equipment providing a much more accurate color match to your art.

Clearly, every industry is subjected to compromising operators, but Fine Art Impressions started with reproduction of family owned artwork and extends the same care for fine art and long-term relationship building as we have done in all of our own endeavors. Maintaining integrity throughout the process is our highest goal. As technology is constantly changing, we seek to maintain industry accepted practices backed with trust, integrity, and honesty.

Call 1-800-419-4442 for a project quote or to get your questions answered.

Fine Art Impressions Welcomes:

Your Satisfaction is Our Highest Priority!

Home | Giclee | Services | Process | About Us | Contact Us
.