Litho??

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What would be the best way to reproduce a 11x14 b/w print to the best quality posible? No neg. This is an award winning print that I would like to put in my portfolio, and sell. Litho? (expensive?) Digital? (isn't this now a reproduction, not original art?) Laser print? Help. Raven

-- Raven (mtand13@netreach.net), October 17, 1999

Answers

If your print is an award winning print and you wanted to get the sharpest reproduction possible, my suggestion would be to drumscan your print and then get it printed.

LIGHTJET 5000 (not the same systems found in Wal-Marts for photo reproduction) If you were conidering getting only a couple of prints done, there are labs that use this machine to print directly on photographic paper (B/W and Color). the paper is then passed through C-41 or B/W chemistry. Aside from the intitial drumscanning cost, this method is relatively inexpensive and the image has the same stability as regular prints. I have seen comparisons between this method and using internegatives and this method is VERY SHARP. Using lasers to print the image directly on photo paper also enables corner to corner sharpness because there is no enlarging lens to make the prints. The potential to make massive prints (up to 4'x8') from 4x5 or 8x10 negs or slides is exciting.

OFFSET PRINTING If you are considering making many of these prints (300+)i.e. for posters or postcards, etc. then i would consider using a printing house. your cost per piece is significantly cheaper in volume than printing digitally. If you want outstanding printing from your print house, consider finding one that offers Stochastic screening rather than conventional screening. the detail and sharpness of the resulting image is baffling.

INTERNEGATIVE internegs are the traditional way of acheiving a negative from which to print from, but unless the interneg is made with a very good lense, your image tends to be somewhat soft. i have seen the difference between interneg and scanning on a drum scanner and i'm sold on the digital. (I know it's an ugly thing to say!) aside from that you are left with the either conventional laser or inkjet printing. IMHO i wouldn't consider laser because it tends to leave an unflattering uneven glossy surface in the image area.

between laser and inkjet, a high quality inkjet can go quite far (but not to sell). the stability of the inks from inkjet prints normally doesn't make it over 5 years and the image surface smears easily.

-- Dave Anton (daveanton@home.com), October 17, 1999.


get a high quality scan and then get a digital negative made.

-- mark lindsey (lindseygraves@msn.com), October 17, 1999.

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