The fine art of Professional photo printing

Posted by TheArtists PrintRoom on April 21st, 2017

There are a combination of factors that affect  professional photo printing compared to other forms of photo printing. There is a clear distinction between general photo prints and fine art photography prints.

What is professional photo printing

There are many companies offering professional printing services, but fine art photo printing involves turning an image into a fine artwork.

Firstly the most obvious difference is the quality of rich tones of colour that can be achieved with professional photo printing. The subtle graduations of light and shade of a photograph will be finely captured on heavy weight papers, with a choice of high gloss, high and mid sheens or matt textured finishes.

How does the process work

Once a photographer has an image ready for print (300ppi resolution) they need to work with a  fine art Giclee printing  company. There are different types of printing available, but in today’s printing world Giclee printing cannot be beaten on vibrancy, depth of colour and longevity that can be achieved with a fine art photography print.

A reputable fine art Giclee printing company should offer an image upload service and technical support if you need it. Photography software is constantly evolving and photographers can spend more time on photo adjustments than the time it took to take the original image. It can be wise and time saving to find a Giclee printing company that can offer advice and support with photography software.

Once a photographer has agreed the image for fine art photo printing, which includes the printed size and border, the fine art printing company will use their expert knowledge to advise on papers and canvasses that will best suit the type of image.

A professional photo printing company should provide information on the quality and weight of papers and canvasses they use and if they contain any optical brighteners.

What are optical brighteners in fine art print papers

These are known as OBAs and involve an artificial whitening of the papers, OBA’s absorb ultraviolet light and emit a blue light to give a brighter, whiter appearance to papers and canvasses. OBAs become an issue when considering the lifetime of fine art photo prints, because with time these artificial brighteners will fade and therefore the paper will become more yellow in tone and the original colour of the fine art Giclee print will be changed.


Proof Print

A photographer can request samples of papers, to decide which they think will best suit their image for fine art photo printing. Once a paper has been chosen the fine art Giclee printing company can produce a proof print. This is normally a small print either of the whole image or a section of the image for approval by the photographer, before a final Giclee print is created. At this stage any final adjustments can be made.

Finally a fine art professional photo print

The final fine art photo print should be a stunning representation of the photographer as an artist. The photographer may also want to consider framing options, but first and foremost the quality of Giclee print produced should be of a high standard regardless of framing and laminate finishes.

Working with a fine art Giclee Printing service

Just a note to photographers, when you’re looking for a professional photo printing service, they should be willing to offer a one to one service, offering time and advice, so that photographers can create beautiful fine art prints that can be collectors items and enjoyed for generations.