Digital Prints

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Mastering Digital Printing
State of the Art: The Digital Revolution
It’s been estimated by research company IDC that more than 15 billion digital images will
be printed in the U.S. by 2005 and according to research firm I.T. Strategies, that the digital
fine-art print market is growing at an astonishing rate of 27 percent annually, faster
than the art market as a whole. Digital printing, although only a dozen or so years old, is
enabling artists and photographers around the world to create and produce their work in
ways never thought possible before: on-demand, inexpensively, and with superb and consistent
quality.
The industry and the technology are still embryonic; there is a lot of change and evolution
yet to come. We’re still only in the early stages of this amazing story. And glimpses of
what is on the horizon show a future that is truly astounding. “Smart inks,” wireless printing,
Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED) technology, three-dimensional imaging, more
colors, better software, more artist control—we all have a lot to look forward to. Or, as
digital artist Bonny Lhotka puts it, “I believe this is the most exciting time to be an artist.”
Now that we’ve discovered and taken in a bird’s-eye view of the digital landscape, it’s time
to explore the essential, start-up information you’ll need before you start printing.