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Printing FAQ

  1. What kind of printing process do you use?
  2. What type of color space do you print in?
  3. What type of image formats or file types can you print from?
  4. How should I send you my image for printing?
  5. What types of papers and canvas do you? How much does each paper cost? Can I get samples?
  6. If I order a print only without a frame, what kind of border size do you include with the print? I’d like to sign my work before framing.
  7. How can I take a picture of my artwork so that it is the best quality for you to print?
  8. Do you provide icc printing profiles so I can soft proof my image before I send it to you?
  9. Can you guarantee color matching to my originals?
  10. Why doesn't the color in my print match what I see on my monitor or what I print at home?
  11. I’m a novice and in need of some extra photo retouching. Can you help?
  12. If I order prints from you, will you frame them for me?
  13. How quickly can I expect my order?
  14. I have a large order I’d like to place. Do you offer any discounts?
  15. Still have questions concerning printing?

Details...

  1. What kind of printing process do you use?

    We use Epson Stylus 9800 & 9900 Pro wide-format printers with 8-color ink technology and a variety of fine art papers designed for high quality art reproduction on a custom basis. These printers utilize an intricate spray process known as “giclee” which allows for the detail of the original image to be transferred to print. The Epson UltraChrome K3 and HDR archival inks achieve superior color expression on a wide variety of media. With improved pigment density and a soft, uniform resin coating, sharp image reproduction can be accomplished, along with significant light and water resistance.
    Even more important than our high quality equipment is our expert printing team. Our printing professionals are educated and experienced in fine art printing. Trust them to make sure your work is printed right!     Read what customers are saying.

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  2. What type of color space do you print in?

    All printing done here has to be in the correct color space. We accept only RGB colorspace, and cannot guarantee results in any other color spaces (i.e.: CMYK.)

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  3. What type of image formats or file types can you print from?

    The preferred and accepted file types we can currently print from are:
    JPG
    TIFF *
    PSD *

    * If the image was created with multiple layers please make sure to FLATTEN or MERGE all the layers into one before uploading.
    If your file type is not listed above we suggest you convert your file to one of our preferred allowable types.

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  4. How should I send you my image for printing?

    There are a couple of ways to get us your image.
     a) The quickest and easiest way is to simply upload your digital file directly to our website. At the point of upload our software will determine the optimal print size for that file.  From there, our website will guide you through the rest. Once we receive your order we will quickly print, frame and ship your work complete and ready to hang. Need help photographing your art or scanning small photos, slides or transparencies? Take advantage of our     in-house photographic capabilities, or contact our photographer and we’ll be happy to help.

     b) Mail us your image if it is over 50 MB. Mail a CD or DVD or jump drive containing the image to:

                    Printing Dept
                    American Frame Corp
                    400 Tomahawk Drive
                    Maumee, OH  43537
     
    After you mail in your image(s), please still enter your printing order on-line by uploading a reduced size jpeg to our web site for reference, and indicate in the ‘Special Instructions’ section that a CD or DVD has been mailed, along with any other pertinent information you’d like us to know as we process your request.

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  5. What types of papers and canvas do you? How much does each paper cost? Can I get samples?

    Choose from a variety of professional and archival grade papers. Prints can be ordered 42” wide and up to 90” long.

    Our basic papers include:                   Our fine art papers include:
    Epson Double Weight Matte           Epson Hot Press Bright
    Moab Lasal Photo Matte 230          Hahnemuele Photo Rag 308
    Epson Premium Luster 260            Epson Somerset Velvet
    Epson Premium Glossy 250           Canson Infinity Arches Aquarelle 310

    You may also print on 100% Cotton Canvas finished with a Matte or Luster UV finish. Canvas can be stretched and custom framed in a variety of ways:

    Standard Stretch
    Museum Stretch
    Gallery Stretch

    See our     Printing pdf. for details on the properties of each paper or canvas and pricing.

    Paper samples are available upon request.

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  6. If I order a print only without a frame, what kind of border size do you include with the print? I’d like to sign my work before framing.

    We routinely add a 1” border to pieces printed on a fine art paper, and 1 ½” to canvases that are simply rolled without being stretched. If you would like a larger border on your print, simply add it to your image in Photoshop or other image editing software before uploading to place your order. If you don’t have that capability, just state your preference in the ‘Special Instruction’ section during checkout and we will contact you with the final size and price of your image before proceeding to production.

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  7. How can I take a picture of my artwork so that it is the best quality for you to print?

    To take the best possible picture, set your DSLR camera to the largest size it can take and at the finest picture quality setting before shooting. This will utilize your digital camera to the maximum of its megapixels capability. Refer to your camera manual for specific instructions on maximizing the image size in pixels.
    Choose the largest size possible it offers, usually ranging from small to large. Then, find a setting to adjust the quality of the picture, sometimes referred to as the compression of the image and has settings such as normal, fine and superfine. Select the setting for the finest picture quality. Once you have these two settings adjusted, the camera is ready.
    Next, choose a well lit room where you can shine the light evenly on all sides of the artwork. Set your artwork up to take the picture from its centermost point for a nice, even capture. You don’t want to be at an angle where you are higher or lower than the center of the artwork, as this will cause distortion.  Now you are ready to take the picture.     Watch our video tutorial 'Photographing Artwork'.

    If you are not comfortable with photographing your artwork yourself, consider hiring a professional. Artists in the Toledo, Ohio area are invited to use our in-house photographic services.

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  8. Do you provide icc printing profiles so I can soft proof my image before I send it to you?

    Yes we do. Select the link below for the paper/canvas printing profiles you wish to soft proof with:

    Epson Double Weight Matte
    Moab Lasal Photo Matte 230
    Epson Premium Luster 260
    Epson Premium Glossy 250

    Epson Hot Press Bright
    Hahnemuele Photo Rag 308
    Epson Somerset Velvet
    Canson Infinity Arches Aquarelle 310

    Premium Matte Canvas
    RGB only.

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  9. Can you guarantee color matching to my originals?

    For color to be correct, it is important that your digital file or scan is an accurate representation of your work. There is an abundance of technical data available online concerning color calibration, and ICC profile settings for interested parties. For the rest of us, we keep it simple. To ensure the most accurate color match possible, a proof sheet can be ordered for any image, on any of our paper or canvas choices. Since various papers and/or canvases differ in the way they absorb ink and reflect light, the choice of paper will affect how the final color is perceived and how your image translates to the substrate you would like to order. Proofs can be ordered to evaluate color or resolution.

    Color Proof: For $7.50 per proof, we will print out an 8 x 10 full image color sample on a specific paper of your choice for your approval. When you receive your proof, simply contact us with your approval and we will proceed to print your order. If you want to make additional changes, or corrections, you can make them with your personal image editing software and then resubmit the new image for print. If you are not comfortable with editing the image yourself we now offer 3 retouching options found under the options tab for printing (see question 11 for more information on this option.)

    Resolution Proof: Likewise, if you’d like to check the resolution of your image at a certain size, we will take a small portion of your image and print it at 100% on an 8 x 10 sheet of paper for your evaluation. A resolution proof is unnecessary if you follow our sizing guidelines in the upload process.

    Keep in mind that the majority of the images we receive are printed successfully without a proof sheet. This step is only recommended for the discerning artist and photographer who are trying to adjust color to meet a specific, accurate vision of their work being printed.

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  10. Why doesn't the color in my print match what I see on my monitor or what I print at home?

    Most monitors and printers have not been calibrated with an in home calibration unit. Calibrating your monitor and your home printer is an important step to keep color consistency across the board. When monitors and printers are shipped new they are not calibrated at all and therefore what may look great at home might not actually be the correct settings in terms of accurate consistent color. Therefore we recommend that monitors and printers are calibrated using color calibration units, thus promoting predictability in how your images will be displayed and printed. All of our monitors and printers here at American Frame are calibrated using professional industry standard calibration units. This keeps brightness, mid tone density gamma settings and set white & black points consistent.

    In a matter of days or weeks your display will drift out of calibration, therefore it is advised you calibrate often like once every 1-2 weeks.

    To keep consistency across the board, we recommend you use a hardware calibration unit vs. just software calibration alone. By software calibration we mean that both PC and Macs sometimes have color calibration software which comes packaged with the operating system. It will instruct you to make adjustments to your monitor so that what gets printed will look like what is on the monitor. While this type of calibration is a good first step and fine if you are planning on just printing inside your home and nowhere else, it, however, doesn’t transfer at all once you step outside your home. This is because the color choices and brightness levels etc you choose are based solely on your specific monitor and printer in your house, and the color comparison between the two of them. They were calibrated to have consistent color with each other but not with everyone else outside your home. The software doesn’t sample and base its colors from a proper accurate industry standard since it had no way of achieving this without the use of a colorimeter.

    This is why we recommend using a hardware unit that comes packaged with custom software. The colorimeter units are made to sample your monitor and printer and compare and adjust them to properly display and print industry standard, accurate, consistent colors. Calibration takes less than 10 min on most units, and they are pretty simple to operate.
     


    If you are in the market for calibration units here are 2 we suggest:
    ColorMunki Display by X-rite - A simple efficient way to achieve color accuracy on a monitor or projector – a great option for hobbyists.  
    iDisplay Pro by X-rite – An easy to use, professional grade display and print calibration unit which gives more color control and options.

    If your monitor has in fact been calibrated by an industry standard hardware unit then it’s possible that some of the colors you are seeing on the monitor are outside the printable range of the colors available with normal inks. To test this, use your image editing software (i.e. Photoshop) to check your gamut warning levels in your image. If you are seeing any grayed out portions in the image then those colors are not available print colors, and so the printer will correct them the best it can, to achieve the closest color in its print range.

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  11. I’m a novice and in need of some extra photo retouching. Can you help?

    Yes! After you’ve uploaded your image for printing, follow the steps for paper selection, and then see our Options page. Three different levels of retouching are now available including a FREE basic retouching selection for simple things like changing your photo from color to black & white or removing red eye. We will keep your original image and your edited file with any changes made for future reference and reprinting needs. Remember to please include specifics in the Special Instructions section at checkout so we know what edits you want done.

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  12. If I order prints from you, will you frame them for me?

    Absolutely… and it’s FREE. There is no additional assembly or framing fees when you purchase your print and frame from us. Your finished artwork will arrive professionally framed and ready to hang right out of the box.

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  13. How quickly can I expect my order?

    Print orders typically ship within 3 business days. Lead times may vary depending on the type of print ordered and if it is custom framed. In a rush? Tell us in the ‘Special Instructions’ section at checkout - we’ll do our best to serve you. Keep in mind, during the peak holiday season, almost every order is a rush, so we do need to process orders on a first come, first serve basis.

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  14. I have a large order I’d like to place. Do you offer any discounts?

    Our discount schedule is:
    25- 124 – 10%
    125 – 249 -12%
    250- 499 - 15%
    500 -999 – 18%
    1000 or over – 20%

    Discounts only apply to regularly priced items and cannot be combined with other offers.

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  15. Still have questions concerning printing?

    Contact our Printing Department! 
    Email:     printdept@americanframe.com
    Phone: (800) 537-0944 M-F, 8:30 - 4:30 EST. 

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