What classifies an image as ready to print?

To have the most accurate image colour and quality, as well as cutting down on additional costs, there are few steps that your image file will need for it to be ready to go to print:

The embedded colour profile should either be an untagged RGB, or Adobe RGB (1998); this will help to insure colour consistency
Images should be saved as a flattened Tiff files with a Macintosh Byte Order
For highest print quality, images must have a resolution of 300 dpi (resolutions higher than this creates larger than necessary file sizes and may cause noise in the final print)
Images must be sized to the desired output dimensions
To insure that images are crisp, a unsharp mask filter is recommend in most cases (see the help menu in your imaging program for more details on this function)
Images that have been scanned from negatives, slides or other image capturing devices should be free of dust and scratches
All disks must be formatted for OS X (ex. when burning images to disk from a PC, choose Mac OS X extended and PC hybrid CD.

If you have any other questions regarding your image file(s) do not hesitate to call The Big Pixel Inc. for assistance. Pricing for in house image rendering and image manipulation is billed at a rate of $50 hour or $20 for 20 minutes.

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What do we charge for setup and proofing?

Setup costs vary depending upon the nature of the work that has to be done to attain a print that is satisfactory to the customer. For large quantities of the same print done at the same time, a discount can be negotiated.

Print from image ready file
If you want a print made from a file that is ready to print with no intermediate proof, the charge is on the basis of the media cost per square foot.

Print from image ready file with trial proof (not a numbered edition):
In this case setup and proofing involves providing The Big Pixel Inc. with a digital file that is ready to print with no correction or manipulation required but where you want to proof the print to be sure that the colour is correct and to see if the quality of the image on the type of media that you have selected is appropriate. Proofing will be charged on a per square foot basis dependant upon the media selected. Normally images that fit a 13x19 inch sheet will be proofed at full size. Larger images will normally be printed at 1/4 to 1/2 scale.

Numbered edition from a print ready file:

Here the image is proofed in the same way as the previous example except that two proofs are made both of which are singed off on by the artist as representing a correct version of the edition in terms of color and media
The artist retains one proof and The Big Pixel Inc retains one
In addition to the two proofs a section of the image is printed at print size—in other words a portion of the full-scale image—so that it is clear to both the artist and the printers what the character of the full size image will be. This section will also be signed off on by the artist and retained together with one of the reduced scale proofs by The Big Pixel Inc. as a means of ensuring the consistency of the entire edition
There is a flat fee of $35.00 for the setup cost for this procedure plus a charge for the proof that is retained by the artist based on the square foot charge for the media chosen
As well as the retained verification proof The Big Pixel Inc. will archive a digital copy of the image to print the edition. The image contained in this file remains the property of the artist and will be retained by The Big Pixel Inc. solely for the purpose of creating the edition at the direction of the artist. Once the number of prints specified for the edition has been produced, the file and or disc will be destroyed

Numbered edition from digital file that is not ready to print:
If the file that is provided requires scaling, color correction or other forms of image manipulation such as dust and scratch removal before it is ready to print and edition, a flat setup and proofing fee of $100.00 will apply. The procedure for proofing the print in preparation for the creation of the edition will be the same as it is for a digital file that is ready to print. The charge for the proof that is retained by the artist is again based on a per square foot charge for the media chosen.

Printing from a non-digital image:

1. Film

35 mm transparencies and negatives: We charge a fee of $10.00 to produce a 5400 dpi scan which yields a 120 Mb RGB file.

Large format scans (anything over 35 mm are charged at the rate of:
50Mb $25.00
100Mb $50.00
Above 100Mb the cost averages $.50 per MB up to a maximum cost $125.00 (250Mb)

We charge a rate of $75.00 dollars per hour charged in 20-minute increments to prepare scanned images for printing.

2. Reflective Materials

We can scan reflective artwork up to 8.5 x 11 inches. We can also do digital photography of two dimensional and three dimensional work. Contact us about these kinds of projects.

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What about printing on canvas?

Once you have developed and refined your images, presenting those images on canvas can give them a character that is unique. The process involves three stages:

The printing of your image on the canvas of your choice (see Media listing).
The coating of the printed image.
Stretching the final print on a wooden frame in the same way that a painting on canvas is stretched for presentation.

Is it necessary to coat prints on canvas?

Yes! In order to preserve the surface of your prints on canvas it is necessary to coat them so that they become water resistant and are protected from the contaminants in the air and from ultraviolet radiation from the sun and other ultraviolet light sources. We recommend liquid lamination that contains UVLS (ultraviolet light stabalizers) in combination with a synthetic resin such as Golden MSA varnish with UVLS or PremierArt Print Shield which is a water resistant and UV protective lacquer. When using Golden MSA varnish we apply at least three coats of gloss varnish and then a final satin coat to reduce the effect to reflected light on the visibility of the artwork.

We charge for this service at a flat rate of $5.00 per square foot. (+ GST).

When we stretch your canvas print we build each stretcher to fit the print. You are not restricted to preset sizes.

The cost for stretching canvas is based on the notion of combined inches. For example an image that is 20 inches by 30 inches equals 50 combined inches. We charge a flat rate of $25.00 (+GST) for any stretching of images with 30 combined inches or less. For images that are greater than 30 combined inches we charge $25.00 plus an additional $1.00 (+GST) per combined inch above 30 inches. For example an image that is 20 by 36 inches has a combined inch value of 56 inches. The cost to stretch this image will be the combination of the base charge of $25.00 plus an additional $26.00 for a total cost of $51.00 (+GST).

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What paper should I use?

Once you have selected the image(s) that you wish to have printed, you come to an equally difficult decision, which media will you have it printed on? At The Big Pixel Inc. we pride ourselves on our ability to help our clients choose the best media for both their image(s) and their budget.

Whichever substrate you end up selecting, the chosen media will ultimately give your image a distinctive visual feel. Having a photographic image printed on a high-gloss or luster surfaced resin coated inkjet paper will create result that rivals the appearance of traditional photographic processes and will yield the greatest range of continuous-tone. Fine art 100% rag papers, having the surface of traditional watercolour and printing papers are more appropriate to the creation of images that have the qualities of painting and watercolour than to images requiring high photographic detail. Epson 100% Artists Canvas yields good continuous-tone transitions compared to that of photographic papers, but because of the texture of the canvas it can give your image an appearance similar to the surface of a thinly glazed oil painting.

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