Archival prints will last longer than standard prints because of the specialist materials used in their production. The Dot Foundry's papers and pigment inks have been laboratory tested to ensure their archival abilities.

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Two edge finishes are available for canvas:-

The Dot Foundry assumes that all customers submitting images for processing, printing or copying own copyright of the images for reproduction. The Dot Foundry cannot accept liability for copyright infringement when it has no knowledge of the infringement. We reserve the right to refuse work that we have good reason to believe would infringe the Copyright Act 1988. The Dot Foundry reserves the right to refuse to process any material we consider to be immoral or illegal.

At all times our customers retain full copyright of their images.

This refers to the method used to convert your artwork, negatives, slides or photographs to digital image files if no digital file already exists.

We use several different methods to do this.

Scanning  - We use Nikon film and slide scanners to scan all negatives and slides. Most formats of negatives and transparencies can be processed, contact us for further information. We can also scan unframed paintings and photographs.

Photography - We use high quality photography equipment and controlled lighting in our studio to capture large, bulky or framed artwork.

If your artwork is framed under glass it can still be captured without removing the mounting. Because of the layout of our studio there will be no reflection from the glass, no image distortion and no 'hot' spots.

If your artwork is already in digital form. We accept digital files on CD, via FTP and email. Images should preferably be saved as TIFF image files with a RGB1998 colourspace although most image formats can be used. If you need an FTP account contact us here .

We can accept digital image files in many ways. Smaller images (10Mb or less) can be emailed to us. Larger files can be sent on CD or the easiest method is to use the upload link on the web site menu. Failing all that, a service such as www.yousendit.com can be used.

Definition : Giclee (pronounced zhee-klay) - The French word "giclée" means a spray or a spurt of liquid. The word may have been derived from the French verb "gicler" meaning "to squirt".

About : The term  "giclee print" describes an elevation in printmaking technology. Images are generated from high resolution digital scans and printed with archival quality inks onto various substrates including canvas, fine art, and photo-base paper. The giclee printing process provides better color accuracy than other means of reproduction.

Printing Process : Giclee prints are created typically using professional 7-Color to 12-Color ink-jet printers. Among the manufacturers of these printers are vanguards such as Epson, MacDermid Colorspan, & Hewlett-Packard. These modern technology printers are capable of producing incredibly detailed prints for both the fine art and photographic markets. Giclee prints are sometimes mistakenly referred to as Iris prints, which are 4-Color ink-jet prints from a printer pioneered in the late 1970s by Iris Graphics.

Advantages : Giclee prints are advantageous to artists who do not find it feasible to mass produce their work, but want to reproduce their art as needed, or on-demand. Once an image is digitally archived, additional reproductions can be made with minimal effort and reasonable cost. The prohibitive up-front cost of mass production for an edition is eliminated. Archived files will not deteriorate in quality as negatives and film inherently does. Another tremendous advantage of giclee printing is that digital images can be reproduced to almost any size and onto various media, giving the artist the ability to customize prints for a specific client.

Quality : The quality of the giclee print rivals traditional silver-halide and gelatin printing processes and is commonly found in museums, art galleries, and photographic galleries.
 

JPEG / JPG (Joint_Photographic_Experts_Group) : Saving an image as a JPEG file compresses the file and discards image information that is not key to the display of the image. JPEG files are therefore referred to as "lossy." JPEG files are smaller in size than TIFF files. When working with JPEG files use the "High Quality" level of compression to ensure that the least amount of information is lost in the compression process.
 

TIFF (Tagged Image File) : The TIFF file format is an industry standard for saving high quality images because it is a "lossless" file format. An image saved as a TIFF file will be larger than an image saved as a JPEG file.

info@TheDotFoundry.co.uk 

Archival Matte - A bright white paper perfect for images that do not require a gloss finish.

Somerset Enhanced Velvet - The paper for artists / photographers who demand crisp “photo quality” reproduction without sacrificing the luxurious feel of fine art paper. This radiant white paper yields spectacular results. It provides exceptional depth of color normally associated with glossy photo paper and rich, vivid colors that grab the eye and command attention. 100% cotton mould made paper.

Hahnemuhle Photo Rag 188 and 308 - PDF Data Sheet - White, 100% rag, age resistant, printable on one side, smooth surface. The smooth surface structure of Photo Rag can be used for many different applications. This quality – 100% cotton rag - is especially ideal for archival printing of black and white and colour photographs.

Hahnemuhle FineArt Pearl 285 - PDF Data Sheet - In response to the growing demand for a superior fiber-based digital FineArt media with the look and feel of a traditional darkroom photo paper, the Hahnemühle mill is introducing the newest member of its digital FineArt media collection: FineArt Pearl. As with all Hahnemühle papers, FineArt Pearl has been developed to meet the highest standards of FineArt photographers using only the finest raw materials and manufacturing techniques. FineArt Pearl 285gsm is a triple coated, lignin free, 100% alpha-cellulose paper. The result is an age resistant paper with a surface that is remarkably similar to a traditional silver gelatin double-weight photo paper. Hahnemühle FineArt Pearl proved to be significantly superior in D-Max, white point and surface structure.

Hahnemuhle Torchon 285 - PDF Data Sheet - Bright white, 100 % TCF pulp, age resistant, printable on one side, coarse structure. The French word “torchon” characterizes a very coarse linen structure. So is the surface of this board. The original beauty and three dimensionality of a print can be captured with this bright white paper.

Watercolour - A thick, heavyweight paper with the look and feel of traditional watercolour paper.

Hahnemuhle FineArt Canvas 350 - PDF Data Sheet - “FineArt Canvas” is a natural white canvas with a matt surface made of pure high quality cotton with a matt inkjet coating. The surface has a perceptibly slightly finer linen structure than “Canvas Artist” that makes it ideal for printing portraits. The inkjet coating ensures outstanding definition and colour gradation. “FineArt Canvas” is also suitable for art reproductions with 3D effects.

Pigment inks use pigments as the colourant rather than dyes, thus producing prints that are blacker and richer in color and also have better color retention.

Resolution is an indication of the quality of a digital image, the higher the resolution, the higher the quality of the image.
 

The resolution depends upon the number of elements that make up an image. On a computer monitor the elements are called pixels (ppi - pixels per inch) and on a printer the elements are dots of ink (dpi - dots per inch).
 

A negative or slide scanned at a low resolution of 300dpi may look good when displayed on a web page but can appear fuzzy when printed or enlarged. By comparison an image scanned at a high resolution such as 4000dpi will look good when printed or enlarged, because the higher the resolution the more picture detail is captured.
 

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Printed image size and borders

We include a 1" border on our prints as standard. So an image 16" x 20" will be on a piece of paper 18" x 22". If you need a smaller or larger border, let us know.

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Printing time from receipt of order and payment

From receipt of payment, print orders normally take between 3 and 5 days before they're ready for shipping. This is dependent on the size of your order, our current workload and the printing process itself.

After we receive payment and your work is scheduled, you will receive an email letting you know our estimated shipping date.

Additional finishing such as mounting, framing, stretching and wrapping can also add time to an order. To minimize paper wastage we try to group print jobs by paper type. When prints are produced, we leave them dry for 24 hours to allow time for the inks to settle. Canvas prints can take 48 hours as they are sometimes processed with coatings to enhance their durability after settling. If you want to put a rush on a job let us know, unfortunatly we sometimes have to charge a 25% increase in the order price to meet rush schedules.

If you have special requirements for turn-around times, please feel free to contact us to agree service levels.

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Shipping and Packing

We usually ship by next day courier. This may take two days to certain parts of Scotland or Ireland. Shipments are carefully wrapped and packed to the best of our ability following the advice of our couriers.

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Sustainable Materials and Recycling

We use sustainable wood for stretching and framing artwork as much as possible. It is difficult to find but whenever we have the choice we choose sustainable products. All our waste paper, packing materials, offcuts and other waste is recycled

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VAT Rules

You can purchase from us without paying VAT, provided you meet certain conditions: