Art of the Print  |  Definitions

Q. What is an inkjet print and how is it created?

A. It was originally developed as a method for proofing prints. Images of an original work of art can be captured digitally in a sophisticated computer with unrivaled clarity and capability for color correction. Once the fine artist and skilled craftspeople agree that the image is virtually identical to the original, the work is printed on a remarkable new breed of printer, which can print on almost any surface. It sprays four million droplets of specially-created, differently-colored inks (which are no bigger than a single red blood cell each) onto a surface each second at a velocity of 90 miles an hour. These drops, or dabs, if you will, can create a palette of more than ten million colors.

Q. How long do Linda Hartough Gallery fine art inkjet prints last without fading?

A. The gallery insists on using the new set of more permanent and brilliant inks -- the finest inkjet inks available today -- which provide about fifteen years without noticeable fading. The gallery also uses optional ultraviolet coating which extends the display life at least 35% longer.

Q. Is that the best the collector can expect?

A. We are committed to using the most permanent inks, coatings, and materials possible. At the moment Henry Wilhelm and his Wilhelm Imagine Research company -- the world's foremost authority on the light fading stability of color images -- is testing a new set of inks which promise to extend the display life of inkjet prints two decades.

Q. Why buy inkjet prints as opposed to other forms of printmaking?

A. All Linda Hartough prints are quality works of art, but inkjet prints have gained the admiration of artists, photographers, graphic designers, and art lovers around the world. They have better detail and color matching than lithographs and better gradation than even serigraphs.

Q. How should one care for an inkjet print?

A. Almost exactly like a delicate watercolor original. An inkjet is so similar to the original that it might smudge if you smear or touch it too roughly. The benefit to the collector, however, is that you frame and display it with the same pride as an original. In fact, Paris' prestigious Louvre museum uses inkjet prints to display paintings which cannot be allowed out of the museum's cellars. No painting should be exhibited in direct sunlight, of course, but, even so, we would gladly support the beauty, vibrancy, and durability of the inkjet in comparison to any other kind of fine art print.

Art of the Print

      With all the new print offerings, it can sometimes be difficult to understand how one kind of print differs from another, and to feel confident about selecting one. As the pubisher, we have compiled the following guide to help you better understand the printing techniques that we choose to best replicate original paintings.

Offset Lithographic Prints

Look for classic quality and consistent beauty in all our offset lithographic prints. This process affordably allows more people to own and enjoy a single work of art on paper than the original painting would.

• Offset lithography is a photographic printing technique that uses inks, carried by rubber rollers called printing blankets, to transfer images from metal plates to paper.    
  
• Not all prints are alike, however, even at the same price. Our inks and archival paper are specially made to our exacting specifications.    
  
• While the industry standard for offset lithographic prints is often only four colors, we routinely create fine art prints in as many as ten different colors, resulting in unmatched clarity and color fidelity to the original.

Whichever work of art you choose, each offers its own unique qualities, and all offer you the pride and pleasure of owning a superlative work of art that might not otherwise be available. At The Linda Hartough Gallery, we will always choose the paintmaking technique that best suits the original.

Canvas Prints

      These are created by offset lithographic printing directly on canvas, as opposed to on paper.

• Our inks are specially adjusted for this technique, and the canvas we use has many of the same characteristics as the canvas that artists paint on.    
  
• A Linda Hartough canvas print has the authentic look of a more expensive original painting and, like the original, is framed without glass.

Textured Canvas Prints

      This unique and valuable technique replicates the look and feel of an original painting, including canvas texture and artist's brush strokes.

• The image is first printed by offset lithography with oil-based inks on a thin piece of oil-based material.    
  
• A mold of the original painting can be used as a guide to creat a feeling of brush strokes on the canvas, or the artist can re-create the brush strokes him or herself.    
  
• The mold is used with heat and pressure to bond the printed image to artist-quality canvas.    
  
• The resulting fine art print captures the texture as well as the image of the original and is framed without glass.    
  
• Published on a very selective basis and usually in much more exclusive editions, textured canvas prints have many of the popular attributes of an original.

Fine Art Serigraphs

      Also commonly known as silk-screening, serigraphy is a time-honored technique, based on stenciling, for creating prints by hand.

• Ink or paint is carefully brushed through a fine fabric screen, portions of which have been masked for impermeability.    
  
• For each color, a different portion of the screen must be masked, and each color must be allowed to dry before the next is applied.    
  
• Like Linda Hartough fine art lithographs, our fine art serigraphs are created from an original painting, and the artist can see and adjust the evolution of the colors through many proofing stages.    
  
• This exacting process can use more than 100 hand-applied colors. The depth of color is almost luminous.
  

  ---

  
  Definitions

Acid Free: A descriptive term for specially made materials -- used for the print itself or in the framing process -- that are free of acids, which can cause discoloration and deterioration of a print.

Certificate of Authenticity: A statement of the authenticity of a limited edition. Documentation includes edition size and artist's proofs, title of work, artist's name, and date of release. Also known as a "warranty card," this document guarantees that the edition is indeed limited and that the image will not be published again as a fine art print. 

Conservation Framing: The method of framing a print in such a way that the print remains undamaged, in its original condition. This is accomplished through the use of special high-quality components, including acid-free materials, to protect the work of art from deterioration, fading and wear.

Countersignature: On a limited editon, the signature of someone in addition to the artist, often adding historical value to the work of art.

Edition, Limited: A fixed number of identical prints of an images, signed by the artist, sequentially numbered, and showing both the print's number and the total edition size. Each print is referred to as a "limited edition print."

Edition, Open: Identical prints of an images, which are signed by the artist and published in unlimited number

Proof, Artist's (AP): Additional prints not included in the regular limited edition, produced for the printer's consideration and approval.

Proof, Printer's: A small number of additional prints not included in the regular limited edition, produced for the printer's consideration and approval.

Proof of Copyright Registration: One or two prints, produced in addition to the limited edition, which are sent by the publisher to the government agency responsible for copyright protection in the coutry in which the print is published.

Remarque: An original or printed drawing or marking made by the artist, usually in the margin of a limited edition print or on a small separate sheet of paper that accompanies the limited edition print. A remarque, especially if original, can add substantially to the value of a limited edition print.

Secondary Market: An unofficial network of dealers and individuals where the buying and selling of fine art prints takes place.