Digital Prints

Size and Practicality
If you need large prints, and you can’t afford a wide-format printer or the space to house
one, then your only alternative is to use a service provider with wide-format printers. “The
one big factor that brings most of my print clients to the door is size,” explains digital
artist and printmaker JD Jarvis. Most of the artists I deal with have excellent printers that
may print up to 17 × 22 inches, but for larger prints, they come to me. Basically, you
would go to an outside printmaker when they offer services you cannot match with your
own equipment, or when the cost of providing those services for a limited project outweighs
the return.”
Similarly, there is no practical way to use certain digital technologies without using an outside
service. Fuji Frontiers, Océ LightJets, Durst Lambdas, etc. start at $120,000 and go
up, so the chances of having one of your own in the back bedroom are slim indeed. Photo
labs, service bureaus, print shops, and the like are your only hope for making these kinds
of prints. (See “Working with Non-Inkjet Providers”.)
Cost Effectiveness
Depending on your situation, printmakers can save you money. You can have a small print
made from a digital file by an outside print provider for $100 or less. This is a good way
to test an image or a potential market. If the test fails, you haven’t lost much. And if that
particular printmaker doesn’t suit you, you can simply move on to someone else.
Chapter 10 ■ Using a Print Service 315
Artist Dot Krause stands behind the
64-inch wide Mutoh Falcon II High
Productivity inkjet printer that
produced the panels for her Boston
Federal Reserve Bank mural project
(see Chapter 1).
Courtesy of Mutoh America
www.mutoh.com