Prints of your paintings.
Four steps. Most bad prints fail at the first one.
- Capture. Scan watercolours and small work on a flatbed at 600 ppi. Photograph oils in daylight or with two lamps at 45 degrees, camera square to the canvas, no flash, RAW. Glare is the usual failure; varnished work needs a polarising filter.
- Check the pixels. The file caps the print size. Below the floor, the print goes soft.
- Pick the paper. Textured for paintings, smooth for photographs and line. German Etching or Photo Rag.
- Pick the lab. A fine-art lab prints your file on a named paper for a per-print price; you hold stock and keep the margin. Print-on-demand prints when someone orders; no stock, thinner margin, their paper. Either way, order one proof first.
Pixels to inches
| Long edge | Max print at 150 ppi | Max print at 100 ppi |
|---|---|---|
| 1,800 px | 12 in | 18 in |
| 2,400 px | 16 in | 24 in |
| 3,600 px | 24 in | 36 in |
| 5,400 px | 36 in | 54 in |
Colour
Send sRGB or Adobe RGB, 16-bit if you have it, with a grey card in one test shot so the lab can neutralise the light. Matte paper takes the deepest darks down a notch; if a shadow matters, lift it slightly before sending.
Questions
What resolution does a giclée print need?
150 pixels per inch is comfortable; 100 is the floor we use. A 24-inch print wants a 3,600-pixel long edge at 150 ppi, 2,400 at 100.
Can I print from a phone photo?
Up to about 8 × 10 inches if it was shot square to the painting in even light. Larger goes soft and the colour drifts.
Limited or open edition?
Open unless your buyers ask for numbers. A limited edition restricts what you can sell later; it does not change the print.
German Etching or Photo RagGiclée prints, explainedSelling nature paintings onlineAll guides