How Is A Print Produced?

How Is A Print Produced?

Promotional brochures and magazines typify the most common type of print. The image and text were created in a computer and shot onto photosensitive lithographic plates and printed on an automated high-speed offset press. These presses can often produce as many as 1000 prints per minute in full color. The ink is a very, very thin layer 'offset' from the plate onto a rubber blanket, then to another blanket and then finally transferred to a clay coated paper. The ink intensity is reduced by up to 75% in this process, but retains its brilliance because it is not absorbed into the coated paper. The problem with many prints produced this way is that the thin layer of color can fade with time and the paper is not archival. Most if not all books, magazines, and posters are printed by this method.

Fine Art Prints are generally produced by the Hand-Pulled Direct Transfer Method. The paper is placed on the surface of the matrix and the image is transferred directly to the paper under pressure. All aspects of the imaging, processing, and production are controlled by the artist and the printer. The presses, though modernized, still operate much as they did when they were invented. Directly transferring the hand-applied ink from the artist-generated matrix to beautiful rag paper by trained artisans in limited numbers, creates a work of art which cannot be achieved any other way.

The ink levels of Fine Art Prints are rich, permanent and imbedded in the paper, which is generally 100% cotton rag and archival. Each color, whether applied to a deeply etched copper plate, a hand-drawn lithographic stone, or a finely carved woodblock, is run one at a time and consistently checked against the standard set by the artist. Decisions made at each step of the production to maintain the highest standards of quality add value and grace to the print edition.