- Lithograpy -
Unless you collect prints, the complex world of limited editions may be confusing. After all, one print looks as good as the next to the untrained eye. Why, then, do some prints cost as little as $45 and other's as much as $5,000? Much of the answer lies in the printmaking process.
Limited edition prints can be produced a number of different ways, but the most common is a mechanical process called photo Offset Lithography. The word Lithography is taken from the Greek words lithos (stone) and graphein (to write.)
Originally, smooth stones were used to transfer the ink image to paper. The modern method uses metal plates and a printing press to combine four colors --- Black, Cyan (blue), Magenta (red) and Yellow --- to build the full range of color found in an artist's original painting.
- My Process -
My artwork is printed through Offset Lithography. This is where the industry takes the word "lithograph" in reference to such prints as mine. However, you can intellectually refer to them as either Lithographs or Prints.
Depending upon its size and complexity of detail, an original painting takes me around 6-8 weeks to complete. I take the painting to be photographed by professional photo lab which specializes in the highest quality pre-press photography techniques. The lab produces an 8 x 10 Color Copy Transparency.
As a point of reference, the transparency is equivalent to a 35 mm slide -- it's a "positive" -- it's in full color -- opposed to the more familiar 35mm film "negative," where lights and darks are reversed
The lab scans the 8 x 10 transparency. I then sit with a skilled graphics technician at a huge monitor and go over every square inch of the image. For inspection purposes, it's enlarged 200% to search for any tiny dust contaminants which might not be evident to the naked eye. At this point I also ensure absolute sharpness and color integrity. Once we ascertain everything to be in order, the image gets burned to a compact disk (CD) and it's ready to go to my print shop.
- Making The Print You Own -
For work such as mine, I need a print shop with a sophisticated, 4 Color Offset Lithography Press. I like my work printed on a "40 Inch" Heidelberg brand, sheet-fed press. Don't be confused by it's name. These presses are as long as small house and cost well over a million dollars.
The first step is my CD goes to the pre press specialist at the print shop. At his monitor, we determine image crops and final trim size. We also add any typesetting for a title inscription in the bottom margin. From there, he out-puts high definition film at actual-size to my painting. These films are called Color Separations.
The pre-press guy then photographically burns the images of my painting onto aluminum plates. A separate plate is created for each of the four colors used in the process (again: cyan, magenta, yellow and black)
The aluminum plates are secured on the press and come in contact with the printer's ink. The plates transfer the ink images onto pads. The pads, in turn, print the original's image on sheets of my pre-selected, museum-quality paper, laying color over color to build up the image.
Prior to the final, approved print run, a series of press set-ups are run to regulate the color. From the outset, color adjustments are made by the pressman on all colors to get as close to the original painting as possible. The press operator is an artisan in his own right. Replicating the colors of a painting through printing ink is a true skill and work of art.
In advance, the pressman will run between 500-1,000 "make ready" copies in order to stabilize the color to provide me with 1,000 perfect prints. (Fortunately, an inexpensive and recyclable paper is used for this task.)
I typically print on white, Mohawk SuperFine brand, 100 lb., 26 x 40-inch long, acid free paper.
A lot of artist's leave the printing task completely up to the discretion of the press foreman, but I'm always on hand to oversee the printing of my work. This get-together is called a Press Inspection.
Just behind the Heidelberg press where the sheets come out, the pressman has a large, independent table which is tilted like a drafting board. Above it are bulbs which throw down perfectly balanced white light. At the base of the table is a large, wide lighted key board. It always reminds me of Mission Control at Johnson Space Center in Houston. It seems to have hundreds of square buttons.
Periodically during a final print run, the pressman will throw a sheet up onto the tilted board. It slips onto a tray and aligns perfectly with the lighted key pads. At this point we inspect for universal color integrity and any possible contaminants. It's also the moment when any final color adjustments can be made. Because the print is aligned above the key pads, if I specify I'd like to see a little more color in one specific spot, or perhaps a little less in another, the pressman can make these precise adjustments with the buttons immediately below the area I indicated needs addressing. He can adjust any color in any spot on my 40 inch sheet of paper.
Last, after the job is completed, the prints are left untouched for a minimum of 24 hours. This allows the inks to fully cure. After 24 hours they're ready for final crop trimming. The prints are then wrapped in blocks of 50 and delivered to my studio.
I use Triangle Printing Company in Jessup, Maryland, and believe they're as good as any print shop in America. They not only have skilled technicians, but shop owner John Hamlett will often put my job up on the press within 24 hours of bringing it in. You won't find another high-end printer in the country as accommodating and understanding of an independent artist as Triangle. I'm lucky they're located so close to me.
