Why do I do my own printing?

I have spent years and thousands of dollars perfecting my work flow, printing process and media. I am invested in creating an image from start to finish. As an old school photographer, I learned in the dark room that there is as much art and creativity involved in the printing of the image as there is in capturing it. Contrary to what one might believe the printing process is not mechanical, no matter how well color calibrated your work flow is, what you see on your screen is not exactly what will be printed. Minor differences between lots of ink, its age, print media rolls, finish coatings and even the weather can change the outcome. The art of printing lies within how those differences are navigated and is the final key to an exceptional image. Letting someone else do the printing means that as an artist I am giving away that last opportunity to achieve the vision. I am too artistically selfish to give that away. I am committed to custom hand crafting each and every one of my fine art images every step of the way before I put my signature on it.

I make prints either on paper or giclée on canvas. The paper prints need to be framed and/or matted to hang.The giclée is gallery wrapped and ready to hang. These prints are made one at a time by me using the finest archival materials that lab tests suggest will be color fast for over 100 years. This makes heirloom art that will last for a long, long time with care. I settled on my preferred media of choice of paper or canvas because of the way it takes the ink, reflects light and presents a sharp clear image that is not “hard edged” or industrial. I use a heavy weight museum grade mat finish cold pressed natural paper with ultra chrome inks that gives rich color saturation and texture to the image. My canvas images pop and have a living presence because of the way in which I blend the canvas, inks and final finish giving the print luminosity that changes with the ambient light in the room.

Some people ask if my prints come on metal. I am looking into it, so the short answer is maybe but not right now.

Other people sometimes ask if they can download my images. Not all of my images are available for download as I make my living through the sale of my fine art photography. But there are many that are available for download as stock photography if you want to pay for a copyright license.

Others want to know if they can download so they can print my image on their printer or take it to a commercial printer. Yes you can for some of my prints, if you buy a copyright license for that. But that will end up costing you more than ordering the print directly from me. And the end result will not match the quality of my prints, nor be as long lasting. If you want a print, your best bet is to buy one from me. Here is how.