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Do you have an original work of art that you want to sell or just get multiple copies of? Note that no matter what kind of artist you are, whether a sculptor, painter, or any other kind of traditional artist, the original copy of your piece of art will always be one.
If you want to make several copies of it, then you would naturally want to learn how to make prints of artwork. The result will come in the form of art prints that you may want to produce for a wide range of purposes – one of which would be to share your creativity with others.
It could also be that you want to produce these art prints, so you can sell them and earn more profits. No matter what your reason for printing your artwork is, you will get to know how to make that possible through this article.
Step-by-Step Guide
A lot of artists decide to make prints of their artwork, so they can sell those for extra profit. By learning how to make prints of your artwork to sell, you get the chance to earn more from your original piece, instead of just a single sale.
What’s even better about having these art prints is that they guarantee ease of access to your artwork, especially among younger buyers. The reason is that the prints are usually cheaper compared to the original painting.
Now, it’s time to learn the steps in making prints of your artwork:
What to prepare:
- Professional-quality printer/scanner
- Desktop computer/laptop
- DSLR camera
- Paper for printing
Detailed steps:
Step 1 – Gather the tools needed to print your artwork
Of course, you need to prepare all of the tools, equipment, and things that you need to make prints of your artwork first. You may have to set aside some money for the things you need but most, if not all, may already be present in your home.
Here are the things you need:
DSLR camera – The need for this camera will actually depend on the size of your artwork or painting. It may be okay for you to use a scanner but if you are like many artists that use a bigger canvas, you need a digital camera. This ensures that the canvas will fit and will accurately represent your artwork.
Laptop/PC – You will be using this device to retouch the image you reproduced before transmitting it to your printer. Your PC also has to be connected to the printer to handle the printing task while keeping the output under control.
Make sure that your PC features a high-definition monitor and impressive color accuracy capable of accurately reproducing the colors of your artwork.
Printer – Go for one of professional quality. It should be able to handle the specific type of paper you have chosen to use for printing your artwork. In most cases, artists recommend the use of inkjet printers with the ability to support inks based on pigment.
The reason is that pigment ink is highly durable, thereby helping the art prints last for a long time, provided you care for them properly. Stay away from printers with inks based on dye since their outputs may not be as long-lasting as the pigment. The colors and ink will most likely fade within just a couple of years.
Paper – Look for sturdy fine art paper as it is the most suitable for art prints. Also, take note that the best type of paper for this purpose is the one capable of withstanding the sunlight’s brightness, even if indirect, without the risk of fading.
As much as possible, go for the acid-free archival paper since it has a higher level of resiliency to yellowing, which often happens within just a short period on regular printing papers.
Once you have gathered all these things, you can move on to the next steps.
Step 2 – Take a picture
This step is necessary so you can have a digital version of your artwork. You can fulfill this step using two methods – one is by using a scanner, which is ideal if you have a flat artwork that is around 8.5-inch x 11.7-inch in size, and the other by taking a high-res photo to process it further in Photoshop or any other photo-editing software.
Adjust the settings of the camera and the lighting manually when capturing the image as it helps in giving you quality results. It is also the key to getting a sort of control over the image’s saturation and colors.
Another tip is to align the picture accurately in the viewfinder. Let’s say that you are taking a picture of your artwork based on an angled view or perspective. If that is the case, the final output may appear greatly distorted from your original artwork.
Once you are already satisfied with the picture you have taken, upload it to the photo-editing software you decided to use. Make the necessary adjustments and retouches before you print the image.
Step 3 – Edit and retouch the captured photo
After getting the digital version of your artwork, make the necessary adjustments to its saturation, brightness, and colors using Photoshop or other similar software. The goal is to adjust these elements enough so the output will match the original.
Crop the picture first before you retouch its colors, though. You need to do this to get rid of every dead space surrounding the painting because of imperfections in photography. It also helps to save a new document that is near your desired art print’s size prior to editing.
While there is no need to make this new document precisely resemble the size of the original, you still have to make sure that it is relative. Once you have gotten the ideal size, start adjusting the brightness and saturation.
Step 4 – Do proof printing
Keep in mind that printers are incapable of printing exactly what is on the PC monitor. The reason is there could be some differences when it comes to producing colors. It could be because the RGB color scale is the one used by monitors while CMYK is the one that printers use.
This is responsible for making the art print appear slightly duller than the one on your PC. With that in mind, you really have to do proof printing. If you are still unfamiliar with it, take note that proofing is all about getting your artwork printed until you are satisfied. The printed output is referred to as the proof.
Step 5 – Make the last art print
Once you already have a few test proofs printed, you may have already gotten a piece that accurately represents your original work of art. Do not stress yourself out just so you can produce a flawless duplicate. Just set a goal of getting a genuine art reproduction that is really close to the original.
If you are already satisfied with the final print, you can choose to print several copies of it based on the sizes you prefer. Print as many as you want depending on how you intend to use or market the art prints.
Conclusion
How to make prints of artwork is actually not that difficult to answer. Provided you have all the tools and equipment in this article, you will surely be able to derive several copies of your beloved artwork.
You can do whatever you want with the copies, including selling them for a profit or making your name more well-known to the industry through the art prints.