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Fine art printing method source

ShooterSteve

New member
Hi, I hope this question hasn't been already answered but I wasn't sure what to search for.

I have been to a few galleries from the "high profile" commercial landscape and wildlife photographers around the country. I'm sure many of you know who I'm speaking about, (Peter L etc.) Although I do not personally love the look, I'm always happy to see photographers selling prints for lot of $$$$$$.

My question is about how they do their printing. I've been printing for many years on everything from Cibachrome, to Lambda to Light-jet, then on to Di-Sub and finally mostly inkjet these days.

I'm not crazy about the look of those glitzy prints, but customers seem to be drawn to them and I would at least like to have the option to offer it for some of my work to certain markets.

Does anyone on here know the printing method they are using?

Thanks for any info.

Steve
 

GregMO

Member
Peter Lik prints onto Fuji Crystal Archive SuperGloss. Crystal Archive comes in several types with super gloss being one of them. Chromiras are very popular for printing to that paper. Inkjet printing is a different method.
Test your images on a number of different surfaces & choose which ones you like the best to represent the look & feel you are seeking.
 

ShooterSteve

New member
thanks, that explains the look for sure. Now I'll look around for a printer to do some tests. And I thought I was done forever with out-sourcing chemical printing….
 

GregMO

Member
thanks, that explains the look for sure. Now I'll look around for a printer to do some tests. And I thought I was done forever with out-sourcing chemical printing….
Rodney Lough is anther photographer you are thinking of. He too prints into SuperGloss & is more open about his methods then Lik. You can find some good info on Youtube about Lough discussing his process.
Also, acrylic face mounts are often used by both of them.

Personally, for C-prints, I prefer Fuji's Pearl paper for color images.

West Coast Imaging/ Aspen Creek prints on those papers.
 

Wayne Fox

Workshop Member
The product these two and others use is Fujiflex, Fuji has (or had) a product labeled Super Gloss which was actually a color reversal paper with a similar base.

The surface of this paper is almost glass smooth, so it lends itself to face mounting. The ultra gloss of the acrylic surface once face mounted ensures the greatest clarity and saturation of the finished product.

I’ve been experimenting with this as well, the problem I have is Fuji Crystal Archive isn’t all that archival compared to well made pigment ink prints. The face mounting does help but I haven’t been able to find any definitive guide on how long they will last, although I do know they won’t last nearly as long as the photographer selling them claim (I’ve been in several Lik galleries and the claim is always the same ... they won’t ever fade).

I also am not sure if the flex material (which is very expensive) is that critical to the look once you face mount. Seems just a good Gloss surface would look pretty much the same. I face mount Kodak Metallic paper and it looks amazing prepared this way, just using Kodak or Fuji Gloss may look about the same as flex. Fuji pearl has a great look and it may also look good face mounted. May try them some day.
 
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