Art Print Care

ART PRINT CARE

Here are a few things to keep in mind while handling and flattening your prints.

- Always use two hands to support the print when you pick it up, so it will not bend or crease.

- Please handle the print with clean dry hands. The oils from your hands can reduce archival qualities.

- Remove all tape from the packaging before unpacking your print, even the smallest piece can cause damage if it accidentally sticks to the paper.

- We ship all of our prints in a tube, or in a tube placed in a box (for UPS), or flat in between cardboard. Your print will come rolled in acid free paper (which is safe for long term storage) or inside a polyethylene plastic sleeve. All archival pigment prints come with a glassine sheet protecting the print. If your order came with any thin colored tissue paper on the outside of the art print, it is not archival, and we suggest removing this decorative outer layer.

- We recommend storing your prints flat. Either in the packaging it came in, or portfolios, archival storage boxes, flat files, or poster sleeves. The semi-transparent glassine paper we use to protect the surface of the print is ideal for long term storage, so be sure to keep it covering the printed side of the art. 

- Do not use your hands to wipe off any dust, this can scratch and scuff the surface. Please especially refrain from touching any dark areas at all, as any marks will show up as a sheen and will unfortunately be permanent. If you need to dust off the image you can gently blow on it, use a clean soft brush/cloth, or can of air to remove any particles.

- When attempting to flatten a rolled Archival Pigment Print or Silkscreen, try not to place weights directly on top of the printed areas without using a protective barrier. Place the print on a clean, dry, flat surface and apply weights or books to the corners of the print on top of the protective glassine sheet your print came with. If you don't have the glassine, or have any concerns, please use a sheet of plain paper under your weights when flattening your print.

- When framing please use archival / acid-free supplies and display out of direct sunlight. Use a mat when framing to provide a separation between the print and the glass, as it is not recommended to have a print come into direct contact with the glass. UV acrylic or UV glass is recommended.

- If you bought a print prior to 2021 and it came rolled in brown kraft paper, please be advised that is not acid free and we do recommend replacing it with an acid free paper for long term storage.

- If you have to travel with your prints, it is advisable not to roll them in anything smaller than a 4" tube. Doing so could cause permanent rippling in the paper. 

ART PRINT TERMINOLOGY

Archival Pigment Print or Archival Fine Art Print, is a type of inkjet print used in fine art reproductions, also sometimes referred to as a Giclée. Artwork reproduced as a fine art print typically mirrors the look of a physical piece of art. The purchase of an Archival Pigment Print does come at a higher price than a traditional offset lithograph print, however, no other reproduction process can match the quality of an Archival Pigment Print, nor come as close to reproducing the artist’s original work of art. We print on a variety of archival acid-free 100% cotton papers using Epson UltraChrome HDX inks. These inks can provide print permanence ratings of up to 200 years for color prints, and likely in excess of 400 years for black and white prints, producing collectible works of art capable of lasting many generations. It’s the ultimate way to preserve the legacy of an artist.

Serigraph, also called a Silkscreen or Screenprint, is a printing technique where a mesh is used to transfer ink onto a substrate, except in areas made impermeable to the ink by a blocking stencil. A blade or squeegee is moved across the screen in order to print each color. Several screens can be used to produce a multi-colored image or design. The inks used are mainly water based acrylic paint, on a variety of archival and acid free 100% cotton rag papers, or specialty colored and holographic papers. Silkscreen is best suited for images with flat colors and bold lines.

Offset Lithography is one of the most common ways of creating printed materials and is done using four ink colors : Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black, also known as CMYK. It is a technique whereby ink is spread on metal plate with etched images, then transferred to a rubber blanket, and finally applied to paper by pressing the paper against the blanket. A few of its common applications include posters, magazines, brochures, stationery, and books. Lithographs can also be embellished with metallic and holographic embossments and debossments. Compared to other printing methods, offset lithograph printing is best suited for producing large volumes of prints. We use this printing method for most of our large open edition print runs on acid free paper with a Satin coating.

Glassine is a smooth, glossy paper that is semi transparent milky white and partially allows what’s inside or behind the paper to show through. As a result of the manufacturing process, glassine is pH neutral and acid free, and it’s resistant to moisture, air, and grease. Because it is made from wood pulp, glassine is fully recyclable and biodegradable – making it a sustainable material choice for long term storage.

Limited Edition prints come signed by the artist, and are part of a specific numbered edition. Each print gets its own individual number, for instance 1/100, 2/100, 3/100, and so on. When each number in the edition has been sold, that specific print edition will never be released again. This promotes the rarity and collectibility of a print. We sometimes print a second edition of a popular artwork, however we change the size, paper, or colors of the print to make it different and distinguish it from the first edition. 

Open Editions are prints that come signed by the artist, but are not part of a numbered edition. They can be kept in print for a very long time, and will not sell out like a limited edition print would.