Learn About Mounting Fine-Art Photo Prints

If you want to learn more about options for mounting fine-art photo prints, check out the website of Laminall’s new L2 Fine Art Mounting and Framing Division.

Laminall, a NY-based company that has been in the presentation and display business for 60 years, has started the new division to provide exhibition-quality, archival photo mounting and framing services to photographers, photo printers, galleries, and museums. Services also include exhibition installations, storage, crating, and shipping.

L2 is currently working with several of the country’s most prominent museums to establish archival standards for photo mounting. They are also planning a series of workshops and lectures on archival mounting techniques at universities and art schools.

The website features a lot of the same content that was included in Mounting & Framing Handbook that company representatives distributed at PhotoPlus Expo. For example, in a section about mounting images to acrylic (or “Plexiglas”), they list five different surface presentations that are available for acrylic face-mounts: high-gloss; optimum (no gloss); UV-inhibited gloss; scratch-resistant; and luster.

The section on mounting describes the properties of the five most commonly used substrates for fine-art photo mounting: museum board, Sintra, aluminum, Dibond, and Plexiglas.

L2 performs the work in a 30,000 sq. ft. space in East Elmhurst, NY. But to enable clients to see the many different mounting options available, they have established a showroom in the Aperture Gallery in the heart of the Chelsea Gallery District in New York.

HP Announces ARTtrust Service

If you create or sell limited-edition fine-art prints, you might want to check out ARTtrustonline.com. The site explains a new service HP announced at PhotoPlus Expo that will enable artists and printmakers to identify and track fine-art prints produced on HP Designjet Z printers using HP Vivera pigment inks and the artist’s choice of compatible media.

In addition to verifying the authenticity of the artwork, the ARTtrust system will provide print sellers and buyers with certified information about the longevity of the print.

At the heart of the system are BubbleTags™ which are affixed to each print and linked to the Certificate of Authenticity filed by the artist.

Produced by Prooftag™, a BubbleTag is a small translucent polymer in which a set of air bubbles is randomly self-generated. These bubbles, which are trapped into shapes, sizes and positions that can’t be reproduced, serve as the core identifier for the item of value to which the BubbleTag is attached. Each ARTtrust-branded BubbleTag™ has a unique personal number with a datamatrix code that is recorded on a database before the tag leaves the Prooftag Company. Once affixed to any surface, the tag can’t be removed without visually altering its metallic film layer. BubbleTags have been used to protect the value of high-value wines, watches, and other products in which proof of authenticity is required or there is a high risk of forgery or counterfeiting.

Through the ARTtrust website, registered artists can activate the ARTtrustTag so that art buyers can verify the work is authentic. If the print has been produced on a print material that has been tested at Wilhelm Imaging Research, print buyers will be able to confirm that the material has been rated to last more than 60 years or more than 200 years.

The ARTtrust system is still in the testing phase, but is expected to be fully functional next year. You will be able to attach BubbleTags to new and existing prints.

Printmakers who use other printers or methods to make art pieces can use Prooftag’s Art Tag website: http://www.art-tag.com/

Canon Reports Results of Wilhelm Tests for iPF6100 Wide-Format Inkjet

Canon has announced the results of print-permanence tests conducted by Wilhelm Imaging Research (WIR) for the Canon imagePROGRAF iPF6100 large-format printer, LUCIA pigment inks and five types of Canon photo and art papers: Canon Glossy Photo Paper, Canon Semi-Glossy Photo Paper, Canon Heavyweight Coated Paper, Canon Premium Matte Paper, and Canon Fine Art Photo Rag (by Hahnemuhle).

For “Displayed Prints Framed Under Glass” the permanence ratings of the five types of media averaged greater than 100 years for color output, and greater than 200 years for black-and-white output. Wilhelm’s accelerated permanence tests, which are regarded as the de facto standard for consumer and professional inkjet photo printers, are designed to determine the number of years a print will last under certain conditions before noticeable fading and/or changes in color balance occur.

The WIR tests also showed that the Canon prints were very resistant to damage from high-humidity environments, resistant to ozone exposure, and resistant to water damage.

“Whether printed in color or made in black-and-white, the prints are beautiful – and will remain beautiful – for a very long period of time,” said Henry Wilhelm, president, Wilhelm Imaging Research.

Click here to link to the full 8-page report. In addition to the test results, the report provides more details on the iPF6100, and shows landscape images being printed by William Neill for display in the Ansel Adams Gallery in the heart of Yosemite National Park.

Note that Canon’s LUCIA pigment inks are also used in other models of imagePROGRAF printers for photographic, fine-art, and graphics printing, including the 60-in. Canon iPF9100, 44-in. iPF8100, 24-in. iPF6200, and 17-in. iPF 5100 printers,

Museo Artist Cards Now Available in Bulk

In response to requests for more environmentally conscious packaging, Museo® Artist Cards made from the Museo® Fine Art brand of papers from InteliCoat Technologies are now available in larger-count packages. The cards are now shipping to dealers in two new configurations. The professional package includes 100 cards and envelopes in a plain box. The bulk packages include 1,000 cards or envelopes sold separately in cartons.

“Since many photographers have built businesses around these cards, we often receive requests for larger boxes to avoid adding excess packaging to the waste stream,” explains David Williams, sales and marketing manager for Museo Fine Art. “As the base already comes from a renewable fiber source (cotton), it only makes sense to support our users and the environment at the same time with these new packages.” The larger-count boxes also make it possible for the cards to be sold to high-volume users at a lower price point. List prices for the cards and envelopes ranges from $0.78 to $1.15.

Museo Artist Cards are popular for photographers and artists who want to make their own gift-card sets, greeting cards, invitations, holiday and promotional cards. The pre-scored cards with matching cotton envelopes can be laid out and printed using Photoshop templates and color profiles that can be downloaded from the Museo Fine art website.

The cards are available in four standard sizes: #6 (small), #9 (large), #10 (panoramic), and baronial (square).

For serious amateur photographers and artists who want to create cards on their own desktop inkjet printers, Museo Fine Art will soon be offering a retail package that includes 24 cards and envelopes in a consumer-friendly box.

Datacolor Introduces New Spyder3Studio SR

Datacolor’s new Spyder3Studio SR™ calibration system gives photographers all the tools needed to precisely manage color during the capture, editing, and printing of images. Based on Datacolor's popular Spyder3Studio Kit, the Spyder3Studio SR includes: the new SpyderCube™ RAW calibration device that eliminates the need for traditional 18% gray cards; the Spyder3Elite™ monitor calibration tool; and the new Spyder3Print SR™ (Strip Reader) for creating ICC printer profiles.

Spyder3Print SR (Strip Reader) is a new spectrocolorimeter designed to enable users of all levels of expertise to create custom ICC profiles for any combination of printer, ink, and paper. According to Datacolor, a new software algorithm ensures fast, easy and accurate measurements for both outstanding color and black-and-white prints. The company notes that the Spyder3Print SR excels in creating custom ICC profiles for fine-art quality black-and-white prints.

"Datacolor's Spyder3Studio SR is the most comprehensive color management system photographers and photo enthusiasts can have to ensure perfect calibration throughout the imaging process," says Christoph Gamper, Vice President, Consumer Business Unit, Datacolor. "It is an extremely attractive package, both in design and price point.”

Datacolor's new Spyder3Studio SR is currently available at retail outlets and photo specialty dealers nationwide with a suggested list price of $599. Datacolor demonstrated Spyder3Studio SR for the first time at Photoshop West, Oct. 1-3 in Las Vegas. They will also be showing it Oct. 22-24 at PhotoPlusExpo in New York.

Keith Cooper of Northlight Images has posted an extensive review of Spyder3Studio SR, including practical tips for creating good print profiles.

Free Gallery Wrap Feature in Alien Skin Blow Up 2.0.3

The latest version of Alien Skin’s Blow Up® image-enlargement plug-in for Photoshop includes a free panel that can help users of Photoshop CS4 make gallery-wrapped prints.

You can use the Gallery Wrap Panel to automatically extend your image along the borders so that you won’t lose any of the original image when the printed canvas or fabric is stretched around the wooden bars that make up the frame on which the print is displayed.

Alien Skin provides three options for filling the border:

• A solid color of your choice;

• Reflect Edges, that automatically mirror the edges for you;

• Reflect with Fade, in which the edges are mirrored and gradually faded to a color of your choice.

Other options enable you to blur the boundary or extend the front image slightly to hide the seam.

You must have Photoshop CS4 or later to run this feature. To get the panel, simply install Blow Up 2.03. During the installation, you’ll be given the option of installing the panel. After installing the panel and restarting Photoshop, you can run the panel by selecting Windows>Extensions>Gallery Wrapper.

The Gallery Wrap Panel doesn’t rely on Blow Up to work. So, you can keep using it, even if you uninstall Blow Up after the trial period ends.

Blow Up® 2 is a Photoshop® plug-in that can produce dramatically sharper enlargements, even from the low-quality source images that consumers and office employees sometimes supply to businesses that design and print posters, large-format signage, or photo enlargements on canvas.

Blow-Up uses an algorithm that temporarily converts pixels to a vector representation which results in perfectly smooth, crisp edges. Simulated texture and film grain help keep photos looking natural even in extreme enlargements. Blow Up can even clean up JPEG compression artifacts.

The latest version of Blow-Up also features a startup panel that sits in your Photoshop window and can be use to launch Blow Up or resize images up to 24 x 36 in. with a single click. Blow Up applies the proper amount of output sharpening based on whether you’re using glossy, matte, or luster inkjet paper.

Alien Skin recently announced that Blow Up 2 is available as part of their Photo Bundle, which also includes:

• Bokeh lens simulation plug-in;

• Exposure film simulation plug-in;

• Image Doctor photo restoration and retouching plug-in;

• Snap Art artistic effects plug in.

The Photo Bundle lists for $595. A discounted price is available to owners of current versions of any one of the products in the bundle.

Print-Management Software for Photography Pros

SnapRIP+ is a new RIP/print-management program for photography professionals who use Epson, Canon, and HP Designjet Z-series printers to print TIFF, JPEG, PNG, or PSD files. The software was developed by Caldera, a French company that makes RIP software for large-format graphics printing.

With the Compose feature in SnapRIP+, you can lay out multiple files to create a single project page or job. The Nest-O-Matik feature lets you conserve media by automatically nesting different-sized images across the width of the paper roll. If you need to print multiple copies of the same image, the Step & Repeat function will automatically lay out multiple copies of the image across the width of the media, then set up additional rows of images if needed.

If you want to set up print jobs to be automatically trimmed with Fotoba automatic cutting machines, you can add the Nest-O-Ba option. The CostPROOF options lets you calculate ink and media costs before you print.

You can also order additional printer drivers, a color-management and profiling option, and FlipMAX, for creating 2D flip-motion graphics in which one image appears to flip into another when the graphic is viewed through a lenticular lens.

If you want to use your Epson, Canon, or HP printer to create banners, posters, and multi-tile murals, SnapRIP+ can be upgraded to VisualRIP+, which has a Postscript/PDF engine and a tiling feature for splitting images into multiple panels with marks for trimming and grommet placement.

The software runs on Mac (OS X 10.4 and up) or Linux. Pricing ranges from $590 for 17-in. printers to $1290 for 64-in. models.