When I first started selling my art online this past Fall, I wanted to focus on creating affordable original art. But, lately, I have been thinking about making prints of my work. I started researching decent printers and eventually found a deal on craigslist that I couldn't pass up. I bought an Epson 1900, which is a pigment inkjet printer. The advantage of pigment ink is its archival quality. Supposedly prints can last 100 - 200 years.
So, for the past week, I've had fun testing out my new toy. For the first couple of days, I experimented printing on different inkjet papers. I went to a local photo store and bought a couple of sample packets of Hahnemuhle and Canson fine art papers. There were eight different sheets that I ran through the printer, all with the same image. I was surprised to find that there really wasn't much of a difference between the different kinds of paper. Although I really liked the weight of Hahnemuhle's Museum Etching paper, I eventually bought a packet of Hahnemuhle's Sugar Cane paper, which is made from sugar cane fibers and recycled materials.
The sugar cane paper has a textured and matte surface. Yesterday, I decided to print a photo of the Columbia Gorge that I took just a day prior, and I loved how it turned out. The photo looks somewhat like a painting (especially the background), which was the effect I was going for.
Here's another photo I took on our trip to the Gorge. The print is a little darker than the actual photograph, but I ended up liking the darker, muted colors as much as the original image.
Future printing projects I have in mind include postcards and notecards. I would also like to create a limited edition pocketbook gallery. The little books would be printed and assembled in my studio, so I'll need to work on the logistics of all that.
6 comments:
How wonderful!! I've been dreaming about a printer of my own, I currently have to get prints from SF. :-/
did you find a good deal on ink? I might have to email you for more info..so glad you blogged about this!!
.honeyhuckabee
The printer came with 14 unopened ink cartridges, so I lucked out in that sense. I've read that it gulps ink; but that's expected when printing high quality images.
There is quite the selection of printers nowadays. The one that I got is a great entry level printer for those who want to print their art themselves. So far, I'm very happy with it.
I haven't experimented with black and white photos yet. I have read mixed reviews about this printer's black and white performance.
Do email me! I'd love to share more info.
I'm so glad you did it! Looks great. Can't wait to see what prints hit your etsy store.
Love the business cards. I am so glad your new printer is all you hoped it would be. I look forward to see what you create with it.
I love my pocketbook. I just sent a piece/page to my brother for his birthday. Thank you so much, again.
this is exciting! it's great that you can chose from so many different papers. the colours look vibrant.
i never thought about buying a second hand printer! it's a good idea and sounds like you got a good deal.
i really love the print of the photo {second last} as well as the prints of your work :)
admittedly, i don't know much about printers, but everything looks great! i love the business cards- they are a perfect example of your style and aesthetic.
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