We are very critical when it comes to colour matching our prints to the original artwork or image files, so proofing is the foundation for achieving great results. Our repeat clients love our attention to detail and know the process from submitting artwork through to receiving the final product, but for newcomers to the world of print production there’s more work involved than meets the eye….
Here’s an outline of what’s involved in proofing your work and why it’s part of our protocol.
We scan or capture your original artwork, or receive your digital file.
Digital image is re-sized, edges cleaned up and checked for anomalies.
We impose the file with correct layout ready for printing.
Files are ripped through a print server using customized paper profiles for consistent colour reproduction, re-print after re-print.
First print output is made, this is the default proof.
The default proof can only be as accurate as the original image file. If we have photographed your work in our studio the proof will be up to 85% accurate in colour and tone thanks to our polarized lighting and use of greyscale tags to set the white, midtone and black parameters, and thus manage colour cast (hues). Polarized studio lighting offers glare free perfection on acrylics, oils or shiny surfaces.
For those of you looking for an exact match to your original work, we offer a critical colour calibration; we compare the proof to the original art and make any adjustments necessary to the image file, until we have a print output which is a match. This can take many adjustments until we get the correct final proof; something that can only be done by an expert eye! We recommend this process for our fine art Giclée prints on archival papers which are perfect for limited editions, or for those artists who want and expect critical colour for every level of reproduction.