DIGITAL PRINTING

Studio Workshops  –  Live and Interactive via ZOOM
•  10-11 February 2024 (AEDT)  9.30am to 1.00pm
•  18-19 May 2024 (AEST)  9.30am to 1.00pm
•  24-25 August 2024 (AEST)  9.30am to 1.00pm

This workshop can also be time-shifted for anyone unable to attend on the days it is presented, or time zone is too offset to comfortably attend in real time.

This introductory workshop is all about preparing and digitally printing our attendees’ images to the highest imaginable quality on Epson and Canon large format printers. Together we ensure that an informed understanding of the printmaking process, technology and materiality underlies the critical production skills and aesthetic distinctions needed to create a truly fine print. We also test and perfect your print path, and following the workshop remotely create a stunningly accurate and incredibly beautiful custom printer profile for your printer and favourite paper. The aim is to ensure your printing workflow is optimally setup and accurately calibrated so you can move forward with confidence as you perfect your understanding and the skills required to create stunningly beautiful digital prints. Specific topics that have been covered in this workshop include:

The Famous Five Categories of Print Making
•  File preparation, Materiality, Colour Management, Ink Control, Aesthetics
•  Media Characteristics: Colour, Surface, Base, Finish, Inkset
•  Productivity versus economy versus quality
•  Matching images to media

Evaluating and Selecting Media
•  Solids (wood and metals)
•  Woven media (canvas and silks)
•  Commercial Papers: Resin coated & microporous media
•  Art Papers: Cotton rag & alpha cellulose papers
•  Photographic Papers: Baryta and non-Baryta papers

Printing a Digital Print
•  Printing through printer drivers versus RIPs
•  Rendering intents and gamut compression
•  Custom versus generic printer profiles
• Upscaling and artefact reduction
•  Output sharpening techniques and strategies

Preparing Images for Printing
•  Levels – colour and density correction fundamentals
•  Re-sizing images and factorial scaling
•  Choosing the most appropriate working colour space
•  Printing with ProLabs and hard proofing on a local printer

Perfecting the Digital Print
•  Matching screen to print monitor calibration
•  Re-defining spatial and luminosity relationships in the print
•  Intensification and reduction – expanding print ‘presence’
•  Adapting files for printing on matte surfaced media

Displaying and Protecting Digital Prints
•  Metamerism, ink inconstancy, lighting and displaying prints
•  Flattening, trimming and handling digital prints
•  Protecting, annotating and storing digital prints
•  Printer and ink maintenance

Some people also attend this workshop to help them decide what printer to purchase, or to better understand the collaborative process between artist and master printer if they outsource their printing, or to investigate the latest printer, ink and paper technology and the creative options they provide. Our video conferencing and remote desktop software allow us to critically investigate the entire print workflow from file processing to media selection and final exhibition printing.

The workshop is also supported by a resource rich website including detailed course notes, videos, and test files.

Updated 06 December 2023