I was wondering if anyone had some advice for me on printing my photos large. A prospective buyer saw my work online and wants to fill a niche over their fireplace, approx 53 inches tall X 48 inches wide. I guess you could say my work appeals to a "niche" market. ;'] ((groan)) I've never printed that large. I would upsize using my Genuine Fractals program, but am not sure where to take it to get it printed...why type of printing to have done, that sort of thing. Has anyone printed to this scale before? If so, what was your experience? Thanks! ~Kort

I am also wondering about pricing, if anyone has some thoughts...

Attached Link: Large dye sublimation printer

I work for a civil engineering company I print large scale drawing and photos on an HP1050plus inkjet printer.  It's OK but not got enough for the kind of thing you would want.  I suggest you find a local printer that has a large scale OKI or OCE dye sublimation printer, the quality from these are first class.

You are going to look for a printer something like this one.

Thanks David. :)

Way too much experience....

For printing large, you need large photos (duh)
Mine were usually a good 48in wide and 60in tall.

First thing, have the images at the desire print size, at a min of 72dpi.
-The printer should scale it up to 300dpi, with no distortion on the final product.

Next, decide what you are going to print on. Pearl finish, 100# paper, canvas, linen, to name a few.
-Each paper will need to have different settings; more dry time, more ink, ect...

If you have the money, get them backed by the same company that does the printing.
-this will be a lot easier than doing it your self.

A protective coating is a must!
-its usually pretty cheap, a few dollars at most

Your probably looking for standard 100# paper, with a ridge-board (foam board) backing, and a protective coating on the front.

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As for personal experience, A client of mine has an Epson 9600, and he let me do my printing for free. Its takes a bit to get used to, calibrating for different papers and inks and so on. They come out rather nice, but having someone else do it professionally is a lot nicer.

I used canvas and 80# - 120# paper
Printed with standard and chromatic inks
And used clear coat spray paint for my protective coating.
Usually matte or foam bored for the backing.

Check out Mpix (http://www.mpix.com/) for an idea of price and such...

I did not suggest Kort buys one of these printer himself just use the services of a local printing firm, I my experiance they are not the expensive.  They have all the experties and software to get the best from you photos.

I understood that and agree David, thanks. My Epson at home couldn't handle a job like that and not going to spring for a larger one just for this. scoleman123, I hope I can say soon that I have way too much experience doing this too. ;'] thanks for all your input, it was very helpful. I had not thought about the backing aspect, or protective coat. I am pretty sure the buyer wants to frame it. Any thoughts about what to charge over and above printing and shipping costs?

To make it worth your while I would say 10 -15% That way you will make a reasonable proffit, but not rip people off.

When printing that large (which I often do), the first and foremost is the largest file size as possible. I always start with a 50-75 meg raw tiff file (from both my digital Canon and analog Nikon Coolscan V 35mm Slide scanner) and expand to 24"x36" at 300 DPI at 3x4 ..or much wider (3x6-3x7) for my panoramics. Thats my "working size".  If your source film is medium-large format, a high resolution drum scan is recommended. This allows mural size prints with fairly decent resolution.  Tis ram and hard drive hungry with a 256 meg -1 gig  single layer size, but I have printed archival Giclees on Silk (real Silk)  Satin Paper and Canvas up to 7 feet wide using my older Epson 10000 since 2005, and more recently with my friends newer Epson 9800. (The 10000 is still easier with ink choices though, and handles two rolls of paper at a time for easy paper roll changes)  The 10000 though did not travel with me to Seattle :( As is the size of a piano)
I have looked at some of the "enlargement" software out there, and have yet to try some yet.  I recall the early days of "Jag" lol :)
If someone has some experience with some of the newer enlargment software, I would love to hear about it. And an old school trick: if your file does not look that good enlarged, there is the use of a slight Gaussian Blur, then Unsharp Mask a few pixels above the lower Blur setting in PS. **
Oh, and far as mounting large pieces... Standard Foam Core is a No No!!! It bends, curls and gets wacky with moisture and heat changes!!!**!!!  Going with the stronger and more resiliant Gator Board, or MDF is a must, and a requirement at many galleries that have experience with large pieces. After 24+ gallery shows, I learned the hard way :)

Cheers

Kurt

Hi Kort,

I recommend a minimum of 35%,  because as an artist, you are actually spending very much time working on this for that client. What kind of blows chunks in a gallery show, is that a gallery will take 30%-50% as a commission.  15% makes no sense to me, too much work for that low of a percentage. (I do admit to going that low in the past, but prefer not to go that low again)

Kurt

I would tend to agree Kurt. A lot of time goes into prepping, printing and shipping out a print to a buyer. Just doing it at home takes an hour or so, and what is your time worth per hour? My wife sells 8x10 prints for $17...there is really not much of a profit in that. By 35%, you mean 35% over and above all other costs? Thanks for sharing your experience regarding printing large (I don't think I'll be going THAT big, hahahah) with the tips on backing with Gator Board or MDF. I have an older version of Genuine Fractals and with a good file, it can do a quality enlargement up to 400% It certainly works better than upsizing in Photoshop by 110% increments, lol. There are new versions and other software that may beat that now, but I have no experience there.

I've never really had a problem with foam-core, but I do think that depends on humitity.

Gator Board is sent from God when it comes to backing. Its about as strong as ply-wood and does not bend.

For A sell price, keep it to 15% - 25%. Think about your target market and consumers, and how much they would pay. Also consider how much you would pay for an image that size and quality.

Depending on your clients, you could charge as much as you want.

To scoleman123,

I really dissagree with your low percentages :) And something I should have mentioned, all of my pieces are limited, signed and authenticated limited to 10-20 on large works, and 50 on medium works. Single commissions is really your call, with friends and family getting the best break :)
You have to consider yourself as an artist, and the worth that you offer. It was only just over a year ago I broke that "magic barrier" of $1000 for a single piece, with a young couple purchasing two canvas works (one was 43" x 84"  and the other 36" x 47" both framed by a reknowned gallery)
The hard costs alone were just over $1200, take away a 50% commission with a $ 3000 sale and I ended up with a whopping  $300 for about 50 hours of work. The thing that artists forget is their time creating a piece, let alone preparing, color correction etc in the final image prep. A decent target for profit is $0.35 to $0.45 per square inch. ( I should mention that both were not straight photos, but highly manipulated abstacts using multiple photos, hence the time factor) Both are in my gallery here at R'R, "Forest Floor" and "Metamorph". When doing shows as well, I always have lower priced clear bagged bin stock matted images that are far more affordable. This has saved my butt many times lol!

And to the foam core thangy, heat, humidity and the type of adhesive used are all factors. Since I deal with all of those factors during transporting a show, gave up on the stuff entirely except for corporate demos. And yes, gator board, though more expensive saved me money by not having to reprint and remount warped art.

All the best!

Kurt

More good exhanges Kurt and scoleman. I decided to go with a 30% profit on this one, rounded up. That would put the minimum price for a basic photo print at $300. 30¢ a square inch profit if I figure correctly, $4 per foot. How do you present the authentication Kurt, and the numbered placard?

Ahh, the higher precent would make more sense. I never really kept track of the post work time. And in exchange for teaching my client, I got to use the printer and the materials for free. I am also intersted in the authentication process as well... My prints were for short term commercial use for local merchants, so I guess I never really considered authentication. Have you found a printer yet?

Authentication is really a "Mini Contract" either created by an artist or an agent of the artist. When in volved with "Museum Pieces", that is a factor of 10 above lol. Simply a 2x3 card size statement mounted on the back that states that this is an original work by"_____".
The info also states the Name of the piece, the Medium, the year,  the # out of within a limited series, and a statement that includes the printing method and the life expectancy of that method.
Most of my prints are supposed to last 70-100 years, but hey, I'll never see that lol :) As this label is really a personal statement, I suppose that one could do a non archival piece with such a statement. If you look at famous prints from famous photographers and artists, on the back most often there will be an "Certifiacate" on the back, that most often were created by the artist.

And Kort, as to the "display card", thats where I still use foam core lol. Simple info with Artist, Medium, Size, # within edition and Price. Some galleries allow personal contact info, many will not.
But like all mediums, the better the presentation, the better the reaction and hopefully a big sale :)

This is a fun discussion!

Kurt

Attached Link: MIG

Thanks Kurt. I will be sure to include a Certificate on the back with the appropriate info. :) I called and discussed options and pricing with the client and am waiting to hear back from them. Not a done deal yet. The printer I found is right around the corner from my work, that is conventient. They do more bigtime work, but came well recommended by a printer friend of mine.