How to Use the Calibration Print

Our calibration print is a special 8×10 print you can order which allows you to adjust your monitor to try to match the print. Once you have done this and start working on your images on your computer you will be working on an image which is more closely aligned to industry color standards versus. While you can order this print on most of the media types we offer, there is no need to order more than one since colors print on all fairly consistent on all of them. Sure you will see some slight differences if you ordered more than one calibration print and on different papers but don’t use the calibration print to determine what media type is best to print your images. For that we recommend printing some of your actual work on the different papers and see which either sells the best or you like most. The calibration print is mainly to try to bring your monitor into a state which is closer to the standards at which we we print.

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10 Things to Know About Canvas Prints

Canvas is a funny thing when it comes to printing. Over the years we have learned a lot about printing on this once hard to print on substrate. I say it was once hard to print on because your typical art supply store canvas is not able to receive inks well so canvas had to be made that could allow for photo quality reproductions. the means of printing on canvas we use today is relatively new. A bit over a decade ago when FinerWorks was started, canvas printing was still in the infancy stages with only a handful of suppliers offering good quality canvas for printing on to directly. Most notably was the major manufacturers such as HP and Epson which were starting to take the visual arts printing industry by storm with their newer and more capable large format printers. Photographers loved it because it made printing their photos on canvas easier and artist loved it because it opened up a new avenue for them to offer prints which looked closer to originals. But during that time there was little support on how to print on this particular media since few people had a whole lot of experience with it. This meant a hefty learning curve when it came to producing a canvas print ready to hang. But generally printing on canvas now days is no different than printing on any fine art media or photo stock. But when precision in printing is important, printing on a more dynamic media like canvas it does not hurt to be aware of how it is also different. Below I am going to share with you 10 points which may provide a better understanding on how to prepare your image and what to expect.

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Behind the Scenes at FinerWorks

It’s always flattering when a customer visits our production facility and asks to see what we do in the back. Usually these are local customers which only make up a small percentage of our business but we have to kindly explain that we don’t normally provide access to our production area. Not that we have any super-duper trade secrets. Except for a few things, how we process and ship orders of prints on canvas and fine art papers is no grand surprise. But since we provides order fulfillment services for both individuals in the visual arts industry as well as a number of gallery websites we try keep a certain level of secrecy since some of these clients do not want it to get out that we do the printing for them. Out of respect for their wishes we keep the production area sealed off from the general public. But that does not mean we can’t give you a sneak peak behind the scenes and meet some of our staff. Continue on to see some quick snapshots I took of what we do at FinerWorks.

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