Printing art could be overwhelming whether or not you are printing on an 11×17 printer. Nonetheless for an artist, to have an adequate and working knowledge of the process of printing is vital. Popular for his iconic film posters, Paul Shipper has been producing quality, large-format prints for many years. “Creating a print that matches the color, quality of line, and texture used in the original artwork is very important for me to capture in a fine art print,” Paul states. “I want the art print to encapsulate the vibrancy, thought, and consideration that went into the original illustration as closely as possible — so much so that whoever looks at it may find themselves wondering if it is actually the original piece.”

Providentially, there are techniques to make certain that your printed art would appear similar to the genuine article as possible. Utilizing the appropriate creative software or program is crucial. “I use Adobe Photoshop as part of my daily workflow and use it to send all my artwork to print,” Paul says. “It has all the necessary options and makes printing super easy work.” Whether printing from your desktop computer in Photoshop or a tablet in Adobe Sketch, comprehending the following aspects and how they influence printing will aid in putting and giving all your best.

COLOR

One of the principal worries when printing is keeping the integrity of the colors used. So as to have accurate, consistent color management, it is an advantage to comprehend the profiles of color. A color profile is a piece of information that identifies color within a certain space such as a program or printer. Programs normally have preset or predetermined color profiles, however, you can make changes or modifications if needed.

PIXELS

The term pixel is a portmanteau of the words “picture element” (picture + element = pixel). They’re the tiniest unit on a grid showing a picture or an image, and they can be square or round. They’re like the atoms of an image and are gauged by PPI or the number of pixels per inch. The more pixels per inch you have, the sharper your picture will look. On the contrary, the lesser pixels per inch, the more pixelation encounter you will have, this is when the edge of each pixel is seen.

RESOLUTION

When talking about printing, the image resolution must always be considered. Resolution is the number of pixels per square inch of paper print. Standard resolution for an image to be printed is 300 PPI. This indicates that when printing a 4×6, you must have 1200×1800 pixels. The resolution has a major impact on whether your print would look professional or not.

DOTS PER INCH

Dpi is parallel to pixels, however, this stipulates the number of ink dots to be used or printed per inch. This figure or digit is the resolution of the printer itself and is not directly connected with your picture. “I send all art to the printer at 300 dpi,” according to Paul. The greater the dpi, the smoother and more improved the quality of the image will be. The printer or printing facility you make use of will typically identify the resolution they require to produce quality prints, nonetheless the standard dpi is 300.