Frequently Asked Questions
1. Why are my prints dark? Answer: Images on a monitor are backlit and this gives them more brilliance. Prints are lit from the front (obviously) and thus appear darker and with less pop. The solution is to make sure you use a calibrated monitor and perhaps increase the brightness a tiny amount. Look carefully at your image on your monitor to make sure detail isn't lost in dark areas where you want detail to show.
2. Should I send my files as sRGB or as Adobe RGB? Answer: We can handle either profile and we will leave you file as is. We do recommend Adobe RGB for its wider gamut.
3. Why don't you sharpen or color correct? Answer: We print your work. We offer excellent quality and price. However, you are the artist. What looks good to us might not be your vision.
4. How do I calibrate to your printers? You do not calibrate directly to our printers. You calibrate your monitor to a standard and neutral state, and we calibrate our printers to this same standard. We recommend all clients perform hardware monitor calibration. This is a relatively straightforward and simple procedure. We recommend either Monaco's Optix XR, Colorvision Spyder, or Gretagmacbeth's eye-one Display.
5. How do I properly size my print? The best way is to use the crop tool in Photoshop. Remember, we will print what you send us. If you order one size but your file dimensions are different, you will be contacted before the order is printed.
6. I want to have black and white prints. Should I save them as grayscale? No. There are many ways to convert color images to black and white. However, when the file is saved, it should still be saved as an rgb file. Grayscale files look murky printed on inkjet printers.
7. Do you have other payment options besides PayPal? We are not set up to handle credit cards, but you may send checks. Orders are processed when a personal check is cleared or when a bank check or money order is received.
8. How do you ship? We use U.S. Postal service priority mail. To keep costs down we use triangular mailers. Prints are placed in protective envelopes. Flat shipping is available for an extra $5.00 per order charge. However, we find the triangular mailers solve the curve problem associated with mailing tubes.
9. What do you call your prints? We like to think of them as high quality archival inkjet prints with the latest generation of pigment inks done on archival paper. That about says it all. They are what some people call giclee, but we find that term meaningless (though it sounds impressive.) This latest technology is a big improvement over the quality and longevity of prints made even 3 or 4 years ago. Back then, printers had the choice of using dye ink for vibrancy (water soluble, began fading after a few years) or early generation pigment inks which did not have a wide color gamut. Now, with the equipment and materials we use, you can have the very best prints form your images and know they will last up to 100 years under the right conditions - acid free mat board, framed with uv glass.
10. Why are the dimensions slightly different on the large print for luster and ultrasmooth? To keep prices low, we purchase paper on rolls. The luster paper comes on rolls 16 inches wide while ultrasmooth paper is on 17 inch rolls.