Where do get your prints made?

[Former_Member]

I've begun looking at print shops and exploring the whole world of prints (wow is it big and confussing) but i've come across a couple places that looked promising and wondered if anyone had experiance with them. I've also looked alittle locally but i'm more the type to do things online when at all possible.

first- ive seen reviews for iprintathome.com anyone have a experiance with them? Good or bad? They seem promising for giclee as well as photo prints.

Second- moo.com I was thinking of them for greeting cards

And of course if you hae any other suggestions, please share! Thanks!

[Former_Member]

thanks for posting this, I am curious about this as well. Ive been printing mine at home, but Im betting I could probably be doing it for less in bulk :)

[Former_Member]

After doing lots of research, I went with a local printer. They aren't gilcee prints, those are expensive and since I am still establishing myself as an artist I didn't really feel like they would sell. My prints are ink jet, I referrer to the them as "art poster prints" they are great quality, vivid color of a nice matte card stock. It took a little trail and error but I found a local print shop that I work with. They scan all my work until 16 x 20, they then send me a PDF of the painting. Which I convert into a small jpg for etsy. Anything larger, I photograph with an else with a tri-pod, my SRL and lots of natural light.

I will say the whole process of getting prints has been overwhelming. It took lots of trail and error. But, I found a good system and I have been slowly building up my body of work that I have digital form. It has totally been worth it, I have sold enough prints (not so much on etsy) to cover my cost and it is a nice was for people to access your work that might not be able to afford an original. There are lots of options out there. I will say, I really like using someone local. I get proofs and they are super affordable. I also enjoy building a relationship and supporting my local community.

[Former_Member]

So that brings up a question, I did a quick search for local printers and all I seemed to find was print shops that seemed to foucus more on promotional gear and commercial buisness stuff, didnt seem like what I should be looking for. . or is it? Or what do you actually look for in a search to find a company?

[AlasseArt]

I get my prints made at a local fine art printer. I would highly recommend this, as you can check your prints for quality, and get paintings scanned. The few times i tried getting prints from an online company, the colors just weren't right.

Hmmm... if you are having trouble finding a local printer.... Do you have any local galleries? That's how i found my fine art printer- i went and talked to a friend who works at a gallery and she directed me to the printer who the majority of her artists went to. Another option, if your town has an arts association or council, they would have information on any printers in the area,

I would definitely look for a fine art printer, because the printers geared toward business are not going to be able to produce high quality prints.

[Former_Member]

i miss typed on the original post. . .I was questioning Iprintfromhome.com

As far as your responses, im sure thee wouldnt be a problem finding someone local. . .I live in the Phoenix metro area, but sometimes having too many options can be a problem too. I just need to keep looking. Thanks

[Former_Member]

The printer I use had never done art prints. I live in a small town. I would like to move to fine art prints but for me what I am using right now works well. I think I mentioned but I list them as ink jet art posters. They are great quality. The printer scans them and sends me the digital copies. They also let me proof the work. They are on par with what people print in their home (I actually think they might be a little better quality than some). I would just take some samples of your work and take a day to visit a couple of printers.

There is a fine art printer in a neighboring town but because there is no competition they are really high. It would cost $10-15 for an 8 x 10 print not to mention the gas and time it would take me to pick them up.

I think you have to think about your work, where you are as an artist and your market/target audience for you work. In a year or two, I hope I have the capital to move to limited edition fine are prints but right now that is just not cost effective.

[Former_Member]

Thanks for all your suggestions! I did want to let anyone intrested know, I did end up ordering some prints from Iprintfromhome.com They actually turned out really nice. . .though a few of my photos werent taken too well and it showed in the print outs.

The prints I have posted in my shop are all from there. I found an old blog post with an offer that I took them up on and wanted to share with anyone intrested because its diffenatly good to get a feel for things.

Enter “TWEET-Maria Froncillo” in the registration box when you create your account. It will give you $10 to spend at the site. I just ended up going a little over that but it was nice to be able to try something with out dishing out a ton of money.