Digital Prints

Presentation Portfolios: In addition to the limited-edition portfolio mentioned above, more
utilitarian portfolios are used by photographers and other artists to showcase their work to
prospective clients, gallerists, and other art marketers. Boxes with loose prints, albums with
removable pages, and even bound books can be used as presentation portfolios.
Commercial photographers know that if they send out 10 portfolios, they’ll be lucky to
receive three back. For this reason, and also because portfolio contents are always being
updated, image fading is not an important issue, and therefore many choose to print on
inkjet printers with dye-based inks in order to take advantage of the increased color gamuts
that certain dye-ink-and-paper combinations offer. Canon desktops and the Epson Stylus
Photo 1280 have been favorites with portfolio printers for years, although any of the Epson
UltraChrome printers can also be used. The HP Designjet 130 printer is also popular with
photographers, especially since it can produce prints that are indistinguishable from true
photographic lab prints. Photography icon Joel Meyerowitz now prints his commercial
portfolios using the HP printers. This was a big step for him, but the reaction of his commercial
agent was instant. “They thought they were real photos printed at a lab,”
Meyerowitz says. “They couldn’t believe that I was getting this kind of quality from inkjet.”
Photographer, editor, and consultant Andrew Darlow, who teaches workshops on digital
printing privately and in conjunction with schools and organizations, gives us a final
thought about portfolios: “In the past, imagemakers almost always depended on others to
produce their portfolio prints. With the advent of affordable photo-quality inkjet and
other printing technologies, photographers and other artists are now producing their own
prints, with the flexibility to choose a wide range of papers and binding options. Whether
prints are produced and assembled loose in boxes or flat portfolios, placed behind plastic
pages, or put in library-style leather-bound books, the creative possibilities are endless.”
Chapter 11 ■ Special Printing Techniques 363
One of Andrew Darlow’s favorite
portfolios. “I really like to use this type
of tie portfolio with flaps, which has
been popular for many decades,” he
says. “The brand is Xonex, from
Cleveland, Ohio, and by attaching a
print to the cover, I am able to guide
the viewer to the content inside and
how the portfolio should be opened.
The colors and fabric styles are very
attractive, and it was inexpensive
(under $20). Lineco and other
companies offer similar portfolios. I
recommend coating the cover print
with Liquitex Acrylic Gloss Varnish
(item #5016), which results in a
beautiful protected image with a semigloss
finish.” (This photo was taken
before coating.)
Portfolio photo and image on portfolio
© Andrew Darlow