Tips for artists: the best way to print your art.

As any artist knows, printing is far from a science, it’s more of an artform. Lots of experimentation may be required before you are happy with the results. That said, however, there are certain universal, objective guidelines to follow that will result in rendering a high quality print. This remains the same if you are printing on paper, on canvas, or even on tile substrates such as glass or ceramic.

DPI or RESOLUTION

Let’s talk about DPI, or resolution. So many people still get confused about how DPI (dots per inch) works, or they think that if an image is displaying a 72 DPI resolution rate is tantamount to a low quality image. Not necessarily. Let me explain. It’s not the DPI that’s important–it’s the richness of, the amount of, the data present. The DPI number may waver and vary, but the image data will not. Either you have an image that’s innately rich in data, or you don’t. If the image is big, it has more pixels. That makes it data-rich. The former will render high quality prints, the latter will not. And you can actually change the DPI number and it won’t affect the quality of the print. In other words, SIZE DOES MATTER. Not sure what I mean? Keep reading–it will make sense, I promise.

IT’S NOT THE DPI, IT’S THE AMOUNT OF DATA THE IMAGE HAS.

What is DPI? DPI is “dots per inch”. The more pixels, or dots, per inch, the richer, the more sharp and clear your image will be. The gold standard for most professional printing is 300 DPI. A 72 DPI resolution is more suitable for web use, and easy loading. But this is where people get tripped up. The DPI number displayed on an image is less important than the amount of data the image innately has, i.e, if the image has enough data to support a large size when configured in 300 DPI. This is kind of difficult to explain, but here’s one way to explain it. Let’s say you have an image that measures 5000 pixels, but when you bring it into an image reader or art program, it shows “72 dpi”. This does not mean it’s a substandard image for printing. That DPI is fluid. It actually doesn’t matter.  What it means is that the DPI in that big, data-rich image can safely be changed to 300 DPI, and you will *still* have a high quality, professionally printable image—because, in most cases, a 5000 pixel image will most definitely have enough data to support a good print. It’s the DATA, not the DPI, you must ultimately be concerned about. So you can have the very same image–one in a lower DPI, one in a higher DPI, that will render the same result.

MAKING AN IMAGE BIGGER…CAN’T I JUST CHANGE THE NUMBERS?

Lots of artists ask me if they can’t just “change the size” or “increase the DPI” in their art program, like Photoshop, with a small, data-challenged image, to make it bigger. No, you can’t. When you do that, the computer does something called “interpolation”, which means “making stuff up from nothing.” The data isn’t there, so it’s “faked” by the computer software, and the result will never begin to match the original as far as detail. Now, this isn’t to say that professional enlargement programs like Genuine Fractal or Alien Skin Blowup can’t do a good job. Most enlargement programs work as plugins to your main art program, like Photoshop or Paintshop Pro. They can work wonders–but not miracles. That’s why digital artists have a definite edge over the traditional canvas artist—they are designing digitally, which is the format the printer is going to read, and nothing will come between that process and the printing process. You have one step–as opposed to two or three steps–between the image and the printer.

Now, conversely, let’s say you have a 56 kilobyte image. It will not matter what the DPI number is—you still have an image that is not usable for anything except web use. You will not be able to ever get a decent print from it.  There simply isn’t enough data to support high quality printing.

DIGITAL VERSUS TRADITIONAL ART

Digital artists have a definite edge when it comes to printing their work–a huge edge. Why? They can initiate their design in very high resolution, very large and rich in data, or start with a very large “digital canvas.” The image can show 72 DPI or 300 DPI—but that is moot. The important thing is, the image was created starting with a very large digital canvas: such as, say, 4500 pixels by 4500 pixels. I, for example, start my design using a digital “canvas” of about 6000 pixels. They are guaranteed superior printing results, since printing and digital art are a marriage made in heaven. Now, a painter of canvas has more challenges. They have to go through a few processes—each of which will degrade the image–to get it in digital format. They either have to scan or photograph their image first, which, in itself, will result in varying losses of data and detail. That’s an added step, but an important one, in the printing. So the scan must be as high resolution as possible–like 1200 DPI and up–to ensure the image loss of quality will be minimal. See this post to read more about how to get the most from your digital scans.

MONITOR CALIBRATION: THE HOLY GRAIL OF COLOR MANAGEMENT.

Many professional printers have spent thousands on monitor calibration software for their color management, but I have found that Adobe Gamma (automatically comes with Photoshop) works fine for me. If I know what an image is supposed to look like when printed, I simply use Adobe Gamma to calibrate my monitor to “match” what I know the images are supposed to look like, and coordinate the colors on my monitor. Having printed my work, and the work of other artists, professionally for almost six years, I’m confident in saying that programs like Adobe Gamma or Power Strip will do the job just fine.

HOW MANY PIXELS TO AN INCH IN 300 DPI?

If you’re printing your work, remember that there is 300 x 300 pixels to every inch you want to print in 300 DPI. In other words, a 12″ x 12″ print must from an image that is 3660 pixels by 3600 pixels.

COLOR PROFILES

Don’t forget to embed a color profile in your image. In Photoshop, you can do this by going to edit >> assign profile. The standard color profile is SrGB (if printing in RGB) or Adobe 1998, which is a bit more color-rich. You may choose these options from the drop-down menu that comes up when you click “assign color profile.” Resave the image once you’ve embedded your color profile.

But what about CMYK? CMYK (profile: US Web-Coated SWOP V2) is an older, more universal printing mode most prevalent when using a professional printer for large print runs. Thankfully, more and more printers are switching to (the vastly superior) RGB mode. But you may find that you have to deal with CMYK printing. CMYK colors are washed out, flat, and less luminescent and vibrant than RGB. In fact, CMYK compromises reds, decreasing their richness and turning them an orange tone. In addition, there is a very specific way to achieve CMYK perfect black and, if you don’t assign 40 to C, zero to M, zero to Y and 100 to K, you’ll end up with a very washed-out grayish black. Therefore, if you are switching between modes (CMYK to RGB or visa-versa) bring your image into Photoshop and play with the color until the image best reflects the way you want it to print.

WATCH OUT FOR TEXT

If you’re printing a piece of art that has text on it, remember you run the risk of getting your text chopped off because bleed images will be cropped by your printer. To avoid this disaster, make sure your text is at least 1/2″ inside the border.

That should do it for now. If you have any questions about getting the best print results, feel free to post here.

No, I Don’t Like Cafe Press.

Like many artists, I was excited when I found Cafe Press. About ten years ago, I was looking for a way to print and resell my art on products, and Cafe Press seemed like a dream come true. I was able to simply upload my image, have them print it on products, fulfill the order, and I would just sit back and collect the commission checks. I wouldn’t have to worry about building a website; I wouldn’t have to deal with stuff like inventory, production, shipping, customer service, credit card processing. Not only that, I was able to preview what my product would look like before I created it, and I could do that right online with their nifty software. Wow, such a deal! Who can resist that?

My first red flag came after my computer crashed and I lost a goodly amount of original art. As a digital artist, my life is literally residing on my computer. Although I have huge eight external drives today, in those days I was working off one shaky hard drive, and when it finally exploded I knew I was in deep trouble. I had to beg Cafe Press–and I mean beg, and even cry hysterically on the phone—to talk them into sending me a disc with my own artwork on it.  After many phone calls and emails during which my sanity hung on a thread, they finally did, but grudgingly.  I found myself thanking them with embarassing, sniveling, tearful humility even though in actuality what I was asking for was not unreasonable–access to my own art. As I look back on that episode, it’s really no surprise that this arrogance manifested in many other, more sinister areas.

As many artists do, the first order of business when signing up with Cafe Press is creating products and ordering stuff for themselves, as well as for friends and family as gifts. I was no different. When my delivery came, the excitement with which I tore into the box subsided quickly once I saw what was inside. Crap. And no, I don’t think I am being harsh here. The wall calendar and greeting cards were printed on crummy, low quality paper stock and the colors were as washed out as if the pages been tossed in a washing machine; the tile coasters were not terrible, but the colors were way off–blues were too green and reds were more orange than red, and the tiles had none of the subtle gradations in hue and levels present in the originals; the clock was made from the crappiest, shoddiest plastic and I immediately dumped it in the trash–it was more suitable for a political slogan than for a piece of art. Okay, I thought: I’ll stick to the tiles and mugs and maybe my customers will like it.

But the real surprise came when I received my first order. I was told a “Mary” from “Oregon” had bought some mugs. I was very pleased about the sale and I couldn’t wait to thank her personally. I looked at my customer information, but couldn’t find any way to contact “Mary.” No address, no phone, no email. Nothing. Not even a last name. Confused, I emailed Cafe Press and asked them to send the my customer information. “We don’t do that,” I was told. Company policy. Were they kidding? Evidently not, as they didn’t consider Mary my customer, but theirs–even though it was my artwork she purchased. This was simply outrageous. I couldn’t believe they were actually getting away with this incredibly unfair policy, but, seemingly they were. Let’s get this straight: the artist is Cafe Press’ customer, the only one. The end buyer is the artist’s customer. Period. This glaring, unethical lack of transparency is terribly unfair to artists, not to mention exploitative. But there was nowhere else to go, so I continued promoting and adding to my store, but with markedly less enthusiasm than before.

And then I received an email from a lady in Colorado. She absolutely loved the multiple sets of “Black Cats” coasters she had purchased six months before; could I possibly make them for her in another color? I started to write back–of course I can change the color–but then I realized I never received any notification (or commission) from Cafe Press regarding this order. I logged in, checked my stats to make sure. Nothing. I emailed the customer, asking her if she was certain she had purchased from my store. “Oh yes,” she replied, and attached her invoice. There it was, in black and white. I wrote to Cafe Press, armed with proof of their error, but did not receive a response.

After another customer thanked me for the “pretty mug” she bought, another order I was first hearing about, I logged into my Cafe Press account, and angrily deleted my store. I called Cafe Press to complain about what happened and to tell them why I shut my store down and what I thought of the way they ran their business. They apologized, insisted it was an honest oversight, and though I asked for a full accounting of my orders and due commissions, I never received it. However, I did receive a check in the mail about four months later–without any corresponding accounting.

Now, I doubt very much if Cafe Press needs to steal commissions from a couple of mug and tile sales to make a profit. It probably was an oversight, and an honest  mistake. I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. However, this is the kind of thing that happens when you have zero transparency and refuse to give a vendor artist access to their own customer information–information they most certainly have a right to access. It’s also dumb business practice–nobody will promote their art the way the artist will, and to deny personal interaction between the artist and the customer—with the accompanying personal touch, news, sales, promos, works in progress, answers to questions–is undoubtedly costing them revenue. But hey, secrecy works for them, the artists don’t question/fight it, so it doesn’t seem to be hurting them.

When Glen and I opened Color Bakery in 2004, our goal was not only to custom print/manufacture my own work on quality products, but give other artists the opportunity to do the same. Cafe Press is the largest of an array of companies who offer custom printing and fulfillment services for gift and apparel items, but the fact remains that artists have precious few avenues to produce and resell their art on high quality items, items like glass and tumbled marble and fancy wood or metal serving trays, as well as items with lower price points.

It is a little frustrating when I hear from artists who are inquiring about the possibility of Color Bakery custom-printing their art on their products for resale, and they initially compare us to Cafe Press. If I say that comparison is akin to comparing a stick figure to a Renoir, people will call me arrogant. I’m really not being arrogant, I’m merely telling the truth: the breadth of our services, intensive personalization, customization capabilities, product diversity and quality is a million universes away from what Cafe Press does. I make it a point to work with the artists with issues such as color management, cropping, and product mix. I guarantee you nobody at Cafe Press sits at their desk fretting over a low resolution image (I’ll enlarge it); or taking a washed out scan and correcting the levels/removing the moire pattern; or making sure a rectangle crops into a square without compromising the artwork. In fact, I defy anyone to do those things

Bottom line? If someone is making and selling Obama tee shirts, Cafe Press is probably a great way to make some supplemental income. But artists who care about quality and the integrity of their work need to look around for other options.

Tips for making good high resolution scans

If you want to scan either your own personal art and digitize it for printing, or want to scan/enlarge vintage art for digitizing and/or printing, here are some tips you may find helpful.

First: if there is any digital retouching to be done, do it before you scan–not after. Save the digital file in .tif, not .jpg format, and print it out on the very best printer you have available–preferably laser as opposed to inkjet. (If you are scanning from a physical piece of paper, then obviously this does not apply).

If you only have an inket printer, make sure you print it on matte, not glossy, paper. Go into your printer preferences (rightclick your printer in your control panel) and set the printer on its highest settings (ie resolution).

Now, I have heard it said that when you get into the high range DPI arena, that there is no difference between 1200 DPI and, say, 3600 DPI. Bah-lone-y. Don’t believe it, because it’s simply not true. I have done extensive testing and comparison between the various resolutions, and there is indeed a marked difference between a 1200 DPI and 3600 DPI scan.

If you are scanning a relatively small image (postcard size) as opposed to a larger image (8.5 x 11 size), then you’re going to need every extra pixel you can grab–so go as high resolution as you can. If your computer has the RAM to handle it, scan those small images at about 3600 DPI, or, at the very least, 2400 DPI.

If your scanner has a relatively sophisticated interface, try and configure it if you can by setting the filters to minimize noise, and set the levels (darkness and lightness) by sliding the bar to where the image has the best contrast level. If your TWAIN interface is old or doesn’t offer any filtering, try some of these free TWAIN downloads.

Make sure your scanner’s glass is clean with every use; I use lens cleaner pads. You can also use a soft rag with alcohol. Make sure your print is as even/straight as you can make it–the last thing you want to do is fuss with rotating it around in Photoshop, so avoid that if you can.

After your scan is finished, open it in Photoshop. Depending on the amount of RAM your computer can handle, this can take anywhere from a couple of seconds to many minutes. (To increase the amount of RAM assigned to Photoshop, go to your edit > preferences panel. Also make sure you have at least one scratch disk assigned to Photoshop, ie, a drive other than “C” upon which Photoshop can write temporary data. (I have five scratch disk drives, but most people probably won’t need that many!) This will help speed up Photoshop during heavy duty RAM-sucking jobs. To add a scratch disk, go to edit > preferences > performance, locate the drive you want to use a as a scratch disk and assign it there.)

Look at your scan in 1:1 size. You will see dots, or a moire pattern. There are a couple of ways to get rid of this. I do two things. First, I go to filter > noise > median and adjust the sliding bar until the moire, or dots, blur or dissapate to my satisfaction. Every image will be different, but for extremely large scans I find “5″ a good median number. For added power, however, I use a nifty noise reduction program aptly called “Neat Image.” You can use Neat Image as a standalone software or as a Photoshop plugin.

Don’t forget to embed a color profile in your image. Most popular is sRGB, which is the standard color profile. I use Adobe 1998, which does tend to pump the color up slightly. Go to edit > assign profile in Photoshop. Resave.

Whatever you do, make sure you save your scan in .tiff or .psd format–never .jpg. Jpgs are for web use and quick loading; to prevent loss of data, it is not the proper format in which to save high resolution files. Remember, every time you open and re-save your .jpg file, you lose data. Every time. So make sure you only use .jpg for emailing, web use, etc.

Save your original, untouched scan on a DVD disc.

Questions? Problems? Let me know!

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