Black Point Editions
We understand that every client has a different method for getting to a final print. Some clients want only test strips; some clients want full proofs; some want both. Described below is our standard process for going from the original film/file to the final print.
Once you have decided on your end print-size, the scan is made in RGB 8bit (or 16bit) mode at the appropriate resolution for a print-size output of 200-360dpi.
Either you take the file and work on it yourself, or we work on it with you in-lab.
Once the file is clean and visualized on-screen, we print a small proof and a one-to-one proportional test strip.
After any adjustments are made, we do a first full print. If the print is good, you take it and we charge a first-print price. If the print is bad, a first print price is charged and then only material fees (+ new labor fees) are charged for the next “adjusted” print. You get both full prints, all test strips, and the file used to make the final print.
Often we will keep a test strip of your final print as a record for us to keep. Later on, when you want a second and third print, we will use the test strip as a control to make sure our equipment is printing exactly the same as when we made the first print.
Scanning: We scan film originals on the Scanmate11000 drum scanner with an optical resolution on all areas of the scanning surface of 11000dpi. We also have a Scanmate4000 drum scanner that we use when there are a lot of jobs on the table. We are able to scan any film size up to 8×10 inches. We also scan on a Heidelberg Tango drum scanner. This scanner lets us scan larger than 8×10 inches and has incredible reflective scan functionality.
SCANMATE 11000 DRUM SCANNER
HEIDELBERG TANGO DRUM SCANNER
EPSON 4990 FLAT BED CCD SCANNER
EPSON 750 M PRO FLAT BED CCD SCANNER
Printing: We print on three modified Epson 9600 K3 printers with a width of 43.75” and a maximum length of 38 feet (100 feet for some papers). We also print on one 11880 with a maximum print width of 63.75” (on select papers) and a maximum length of 38 feet (100 feet for some papers). Because most papers are still milled only at 60”, we won’t be able to print a true 60” print with white border for a little while until Epson gets it stuff together.
For small prints, we use an Epson 3800 printer. This printer is great for detail as it has six variable droplet sizes.
EPSON 11880 64” MICRO PIEZO PRINTER
EPSON 9600 44” K3 ULTRACHROME MICRO PIEZO PRINTER
EPSON 3800 17” K3 ULTRACHROME MICRO PIEZO PRINTER
Inks: We use both Ultrachrome K3 color pigment inks from Epson and Piezotone monochrome pigment inks from Cone Editions. (We run Quadtone inks on the 9600.)
Paper: We print on three in-house papers: Hahnemuhle Photo Rag, Epson Premium Luster, and Epson Premium Semi-gloss. We also create our own ICC profiles and can print on any digital surface on the market that accepts pigment ink and is thin enough to fit through our printer.
Other media we are experimenting with and like is the Crane Portfolio Rag and the Moab Entrada Natural. We also print on the Hahnemuhle Pearl and Crane Silver Rag Fiber-gloss papers with a maximum dMax of 2.6.
To all those who are interested in printing on non-traditional papers, we now offer ICC profiling for your printer. We will give you a specific file to print in a specific way. You then send the print back to us and we make an ICC profile for your printer. Custom profiles are between $30 dollars and $75.00 a piece. We use GretagMacbeth’s Eye One spectrophotometer. We make RGB, CMYK, and Grayscale profiles. Please call us for instructions.
We also make StudioPrint CMYK ICC Profiles. You will need to have a fully linearized environment before you start an ICC profile with us. This means a minimum of 3 swatch prints! ICC profiles through StudioPrint are labor-intensive and often require fine-tuning or re-profiling based on different ink limits, etc. If you are really needing this, we can do it. However, we can’t give you a set price. It could take a good day to fully profile your StudioPrint environment.
We ship FedEx unless a different carrier is requested by the client. We can also use the client’s shipping number if that is preferred. We add a 10% shipping and handling charge above the FedEx charge per package. If unique packaging is required, we charge material fees for Glassine, Cardboard, and Light Impressions interleave paper. That said, the fees aren’t that much. We also deliver prints by hand (in Chicago) or via courier.
Please download one of the below FTP applications in order to access our FTP file service
Email Walker hamilton at for user account information.