Giclée Reproduction of 2-D Art
A Point to Consider
It is important to recognize that a Giclée reproduction creates a new piece of art – in a different medium from the original. Our digitizing process captures colors in a manner that differs from the human eye, and our printers create prints with pigments that differ from those used to create the original art. The paper or canvas that we use for printing will be different than that of the original. Our goal is to come as close as possible to reproducing the original — but it will always be a new and different work of art. We have a wide choice of paper and canvas surfaces for you to choose from, and we print with state-of-the-art Epson wide format printers that utilize archival pigment inks rather than dyes. Our goal is perfection …. Nothing less will leave the studio.
The cost to digitize art is $50. For pieces that are 11×14 inches or less, we can shoot 2 pieces at one time – $50 for 2 images. Art that is greater than 40×60 inches – or that requires polarization is $75.00 per image.
Digital Capture
The first step is to create a digital image of your art. We use a very special camera system from Better Light, made in California and used by the top museums and galleries around the world. We also use the lights provided by them, HID lights that produce little or no heat – safe for art.
We digitize art on an easel – up to 48 X 96 inches. For art that is highly reflective or mounted behind glass, we can polarize the light to reduce reflections. The Better Light system capture “Pure” RGB colors in a unique manner – without the artificial “Bayer Filter” interpolation used by traditional Cameras from Nikon, Canon, Sony, etc. Our system has a resolution equal to 248 megapixels – and we produce images that are about 600 MB each.
Image Editing
The digital images captured by the Better Light scanning back include the capture of a ColorChecker card with calibrated colors that is placed next to the art during the exposure. The image with the art and the color calibration card is adjusted, cropped, and edited with Photoshop in a Mac Pro computer. For large art pieces, a special program, EquaLight is used to adjust the evenness of the illumination across the art.
The computer monitors are routinely color-calibrated so that on-screen images can match the printed images. The images from the Better Light Camera System are captured as RGB images at 16 bit depth – allowing for editing and printing without artifacts.
Image Printing
Wilderness Studio has a pair of the new Epson SureColor P9000 44‐inch‐ wide pigment ink printers. The Printers utilize Epson UltraChrome HDX pigment inks that have outstanding archival permanence. The color prints that we produce can last for 200 years without fading.
We print onto a wide variety of media, including Fine Art photographic papers and canvases. The canvas prints are coated with a UV‐blocking coating that helps the canvas print to resist fading, fingerprints, and smudges.
