Archival
Ink: Inks used in fine art reproduction that have been optimized
for permanence.
Archiving: Images are archived,
often on CD-ROM, for a specified period. Information necessary to reproduce
the print is also archived, including ink, tables, sizes and media used.
Artist Proof: Frequently,
an edition will include a number of prints called Artist Proofs, or AP's.
These proofs are normally printed at the time of the initial printing
of the edition and are outside of the numbered series. AP's frequently
sell for more than prints from an edition.
Bon-A-Tirer or BAT (bone-ah-ti-ray):
The proof accepted by the artist that is used as the standard for comparing
all subsequent prints. Some printers require a signed BAT before production
printing can begin.
Coating:
A clear coating provides protection from smudging, fingerprints and water
droplets. It does not improve the permanence of the print because most
fading is due to visible light. On some material, such as canvas, coating
can render a print water-resistant, allowing it to be framed without glass.
Collaborative Printmaking:
The process of an artist working closely with a printmaker to produce
a digital print, especially an original digital print or one requiring
considerable alteration of the original image.
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Color Management: An advanced
technology that uses profiles of the input and output devices to maximize
color accuracy. Targets that include over 3000 colors are printed and
measured with a colorimeter to create profiles for the various ink/media
combinations.
Deckled Edges:
Fine watercolor papers have natural deckles on two or four sides. Frequently
the look of a print is improved by tearing the paper rather than cutting
it, creating "torn deckles." After tearing, a bone knife is
used to smooth the edge and create the deckled look.
Digital Fine Art Print:
A fine art print made by any digital process.
Digital Signature: A pattern
in a digital print that shows the breakdown of an image into individual
segments, such as pixels.
D.P.I. (dots per inch):
A measure of the detail of a print. "Apparent d.p.i." refers
to the fact that the eye perceives a giclee as having greater detail
than it does in physical reality.
Future Ink Test Print:
From time to time, new inks are released to the marketplace that offer
improved longevity, a larger color space, or both. A printer may switch
production to new inks if the improvements are material and have been
certified by an independent laboratory. Prints created from files that
were made with older inks will look different when printed with new
inks. The future ink test print provides an opportunity to evaluate
the effect of using new inks on the print.
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Giclee (Fr. "a
spraying of ink"): A common term for fine art digital
prints, especially those done on Iris printers.
High Resolution Scan:
Professional scan at an output resolution of 150 dpi or 300 dpi using
color tables optimized for archival inks on fine art media.
House Papers: Fine art
papers that are stocked by a printer.
IAFADP:
International Association of Fine Art Digital Printmakers, the trade
association of leading digital printing studios.
Iris Papers: Paper distributed
by Iris for use on their inkjet printers. These include glossy, semi-matte
and matte papers, which are used for commercial proofing. Also available
are some fine art papers such as Arches for Iris, a paper manufactured
by Arches specifically for use on Iris printers.
Iris Print: A print created
on an Iris inkjet printer. Also called Iris giclee.
Layouts:
Documents describing the precise layout of a print or prints on a sheet
of paper. The layout indicates both the exact size of the prints and
the amount of white space around each print.
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Media:
The materials to be printed on, such as watercolor papers, canvas, copper,
wood veneer, cotton, plastic.
Original Digital Print:
Artwork that is created entirely or largely on the computer, often by
scanning in individual elements and then combining them electronically.
Photo CD:
A Kodak process for scanning transparencies and storing them on CD in
a format known as Photo CD. Acceptable results can be achieved from
Photo CDs, but the professional version is required to create large
enough files.
Piezo/Micropiezo:
A printer head technology that uses micro-electric firing of
crystals to control the flow of ink to the substrate.
Print File: The file used
to produce a final proof that is archived for producing current and
future printings of an edition.
Printmaker: The person
who does the actual printing of a digital image. A printmaker uses a
printer (the equipment) to make a digital print.
Print On Demand: The ability
of the digital process to reproduce prints over a long period of time
with consistency. This allows orders of a small number of prints when
needed - print on demand. While the process offers a high degree of
consistency, editions that require exact matching should be printed
at one time.
Proof: A smaller print
- often 8 x 10 inches - used to evaluate a file prior to printing.
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Resize:
It is generally possible to resize files so prints can be made either
smaller or larger. Significant upsizing is usually not successful, but
an adjustment of up to 20 percent is acceptable.
RIP (Raster Image Processing):
Software that translates computer imaging into a format usable by digital
printers.
Scanning:
The process of converting a transparency, negative, original, or print
to a digital file.
Sheet/Substrate: The sheet
of paper or other material that will be printed on. The largest Iris
printers accommodate sheets up to 35 x 47 inches.
Transparency, Museum
Quality: High quality reproduction requires copy transparencies
made by photographers experienced in art reproduction. Lighting is very
important in terms of evenness, color, and lack of any specular highlights.
Transparencies should either be 4 x 5 or 8 x 10 inches. The pre-press
process tries to create a print that looks like the transparency, not
the original, so the transparency should reflect the original as accurately
as possible.
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