We want you to know upfront what is reasonable to expect from us and our process at Somers Art.

These are the very same things that you should expect from every printer. It is our goal to consistently produce prints that are as good as or better than the original.  It's important to note that "good or better" doesn't necessarily mean exactly the same as the original.

"A print is it's own product. It stands alone and has about as much relevance to the original as a movie has to the book that it was based on".

We come very close to capturing the original image and printing it. That is always our objective, but that objective is not always attainable. You may not know that some colors are not reproduced accurately by either scanning or film photography. Colors can change hue, lose or gain saturation or lighten or darken in appearance. For example, some blues turn purple and some grays turn green.

Somers Art is constantly upgrading the equipment necessary for capturing the image for print. In some cases we will even go outside our doors to obtain a good capture.  The fact still remains; many adjustments and color corrections must be done manually. It's a balancing act! 

For example, we might have to remove purple from the sky and try to do while trying not to change the rest of the image. We spend a lot of time doing it. But, it's not automatic. It's a craft. Add this to the fact that none of us see color exactly the same. Then, you might as well discard the notion of reproducing an original. The biggest difference between us and other printers is we are artists ourselves.  So we understand color and quality of reproduction.  In addition to all of that we know first hand of the respect the artist and their work is due.  So much so, that if we encounter a piece that we simple don't have the equipment to reproduce faithfully we'll help you find a printer who can..

First Generation Color

The quality of the giclée print is directly related to the quality of the captured image. The highest quality prints are produced from art that is scanned. This is first generation color. Presently our studio is not equipped for scanning large format artwork.  We capture images using digital photography under optimal lighting conditions.  In most cases we are able to work the image in its raw format to adjust color, intensity, etc. to achieve good results.  Also, it helps to view the original as we setup the image and produce the proof.  If you desire a First generation color capture such as can only be achieved through large format scanning, we can help you arrange for that through an outside facility.

Digitally Created Files

We welcome the work of digital artists because the print result is first generation output. Be careful about compression. JPG compression for instance changes the image significantly so if you begin with a jpg image, convert it immediately to a Tif file. It is very important to send a print off your desktop printer as a reference for the color that you are looking for.

Scanning, Setup and Proofing

This a very important part of the process. We take our time to do it right. We bring out the best color by working with the image and begin printing proofs and making minor adjustments until we are satisfied with the printed image.

Next, we go over the image pixel by pixel and clean the image so that it is free from specs caused by dust or lint. When we are finished, we save the file in three sizes. The first file size is large enough to print a high quality giclée, next we make a 4 inch image that is suitable for catalog or brochure printing, and finally a jpg file for your Web Site.

You should always get a copy of the original scanned image for safe keeping. No matter who your printer is, you should keep your own copy of the large image. Somers Art provides that copy as part of its complete service. Store it in a safe place.

Producing a Great Print

A great print begins with a good image. Proper high resolution scanning assures that we are starting with a good image. Sometimes we'll get the best results if we capture the piece ourselves. If the artist no longer has the original but has a copy or digital file, we can work with that. The quality of the product from that file or copy has everything to do with the quality of the transparency. Nine out of ten problems that clients encounter are directly attributed to the digital or photographic image they give the printer.

This is what you can expect in a proof and in your final print.

A. The color and contrast should be very similar to that of the original. Soft is soft, vibrant is vibrant, hard is hard and dark is dark; all should be very similar to that of the original.

B. The print should be well balanced. You should be able to see definition in the shadow areas (dark areas). There should be good color in the highlight areas and good detail definition in the mid tones. These are achievable when we scan or if the data is present in the transparency or digital file that the artist provides. If the data is not there, this is not achievable.

C. The print should depict the same time of day as the original, if that is important to the artist. If the original is a picture of a deer standing in a field at dawn, the print should look like a deer standingn in a field at dawn, not at high noon.

D. The artist can expect the printmaker to use the proper size file for the size print that is to be produced. The quality of an image printed full size at 300dpi is twice as good as an image printed at 150dpi. The artist should know the file size required to print a quality print and expect the printmaker to use that size of file. The majority of problems come from clients whose previous printer did not understand this concept. Here is a tool that will calculate the size of a file that your printer needs:

http://colorspan.com/support/tools/filecalc.asp     (Use 240dpi and RGB color space).

E. The color should be very close to that of the original artwork.

It will be a more pleasant experience for you, the artist and for your printmaker if you go into the print making experience knowing and accepting that there is only one original and no one can reproduce it exactly. No one captures and prints an exact likeness of the original. No one captures it exactly like the original. Close, but not exact. You paint with paint and printmakers print with ink after capturing the image with the use of light. We might be good; but no one is perfect.

We have to capture the image digitally or on film. Light is reflected off the original and that reflected colored light is captured digitally or on film. Some colors reflect light in unusual ways. For example, some blues, such as cobalt blue, turns purple because it has a high reflectance in the far red and inferred end of the spectrum. Some greens show up gray.

Most photographers use lights that are hot and heat also has an effect on how the color is captured.

Although we are constantly upgrading, we use the best equipment we can to capture the image as closely as possible. There is better equipment available to be sure.  Somers Art is growing into this market, and printing is not the only thing we do.  Therefore, if we feel as though our current equipment is inadequate for a specific piece we won't hesitate to recommend outside sources.  We are always working to minimize the variables; but there are always variables that require human judgment. Our business is a craft and we're continuously developing that craft.

The print process is the artist's opportunity to develop a new product. We will come very close to duplicating the original. In the end, the print product will be as good, or maybe even better than the original, but it can never be exactly the same.

Your satisfaction is always guaranteed.