by Linda | Feb 28, 2012 | my creative journal
I know that when it comes to digital printables, most are worried about the process of printing at home. We want the best quality possible, but very few of us have professional heavy duty equipment! I admint that the process of printing seems to be a whole art form in itself! However, these days the technology available to us gives pretty fabulous results… and many independent artists selling art prints, actually print at home as well. Regular home printers are pretty darn good and I’m able to get really great quality prints with ease.
Most of us are able to print a quick photo at home with our inkjet printers and it works the same for art prints and other downloadable printables as well. There are many factors that contribute to a beautiful looking print and with a bit of testing and experimentation, I’m certain you’ll find what is acceptable to you – for your particular use at that time.
YOUR PRINTER
To print at home, you obviously need access to a printer. Most of us have inkjet printers…the most common for households these days. They have a lot of features and the trick is to inform yourself of what is possible. Of course, the more expensive the printer, the more quality and control comes with it. Artists in the business of printing their own artwork usually have large format printers that accept thicker, speciality papers. They usually have more control over their ink colors as well – 4 to 8 different ink cartridges. It can provide better picture detail and color quality.
I personally have a very inexpensive “home office” Canon PIXMA MP240. It’s nothing special, but does give me a lot of flexibility when it comes to borderless printing at any custom size. It’s not the best out there, but the quality is pretty darn good and more than anything, it’s about understanding how to maximize my printer’s potential. Let’s use and make the best of what we’ve got!
INK
An extremely important aspect for me, is to use ink from the same brand as my printer. I know that it costs and might seem like all the same thing in the end. But if you think about it, there’s a compatibility when you use products from the same company – whatever that company might be. They test and use their own products, so that it works together. When they claim that pigment ink can last up to 100 years, it’s on their paper and using their ink.
I personally don’t know if the generic brands are really the same thing chemically or not. However, instead of fussing around with injecting refills which I abhor doing… I always go with the name brand. I think it’s totally worth it and makes a difference. There are exceptions I’m sure and I think the only way to go is to test and see what works for you at the best price.
PAPER
Another major component in the quality of your print is the paper choice. In fact, I think it’s a pretty HUGE deal. I use Canon brand papers with my Canon printer, but sometimes opt for other professional papers as well. The key here is professional. There is a huge difference. Just do a comparison. Print on regular paper, on photo paper, on canvas, different brands, etc. You will see the difference in vibrance of color when printing on regular cardstock versus photo paper. Perhaps you can see in this photo how much more bright and true to color the top sheet is – matte photo paper, versus the bottom which is regular cardstock – same printer centers. It’s about how the paper absorbs the ink.
The bottom sheet looks completely washed out by comparison, right? And no, my printer was not running out of ink, I actually printed on the cardstock first and realized my mistake! The reason why photo paper looks so much better is because it’s manufactured to capture vivid and bold colors. The ink doesn’t sink down and become absorbed by the paper and fibers. That’s why there’s always a right side to print on and the back side, has their logo and looks dull. I also print on high resolution paper that is much brighter white to begin with – ever realized how dull and yellowish regular copy paper looks? That aspect also makes a difference in your end product.
Your best bet is to print test prints on the different types of paper you have. Just print a tiny 1inch by 1inch square, something large enough so you can compare with perhaps a crop or graphic that has different colors. You’ll see the difference in how your paper takes your ink and can make a judgement from there. Obviously, for whatever budget you have, get the best quality you can afford and go with that.
SETTINGS
A huge tip when printing from home is to set your printer settings on the best quality possible. There is a noticeable difference between high quality and standard quality in my experience. Some people don’t use the high quality because it uses more ink, so you just have to do a bit of testing and see what is acceptable for you.
Selecting the specific paper you are using also makes a difference. If you think of a putting a puzzle together, when you have all the right settings, your image will look great. When you don’t have them matched up properly, it can be off. Dig into the printer menu and settings! Look through everything and understand what options your printer has.
I usually print directly from the preview image program on my Mac – simply because I prefer the menu options. Of course, you can print from any graphic program and simply open up your printer settings specifically.
Things to check:
- What are you printing, how many copies? Consider doing a test first! Can you see a preview?
- Select your proper paper size
- Select the proper sizing for your image – do you need to scale it down? (my girl art prints are 10″x10″ at 300dpi, so you usually will be sizing them down. the even number makes it easy to just enter percentages for whatever size you are going for, 50% for 5″x5″, etc)
- Select the proper paper type – it makes a huge difference!
- Select the highest print quality possible
I have certainly run into problems myself when printing at home, but I know from experience that it simply took a bit of education and experimentation to find the sweet spot. When I tried all the Canon products together, my prints looked pretty fabulous! In fact, I have upgraded and use even the super thick fine art museum etching paper – and WHOA it makes a huge difference!
So give printing at home a try and know that it takes just a bit of experimentation to maximize the use of your printer. These days, the quality is really fantastic.
I should note that if you aren’t satisfied with the quality at home, you can always send the image to a profesional printer or even a photo printing service. Anything printed as photo quality looks significantly better!
Let me know if you have any tips and tricks for printing beautiful artwork at home. How you find the process of printing at home? I know that with different equipment and materials, we will all get different results. I also know that some artists cringe at the thought of letting others control the quality of their work. However, I want my girls to spread far and wide and I want people to see them and feel better seeing them! Even if it’s maybe not that vibrant of a print, I don’t think it degrades the worth of the original work and idea. I think that the power of the visual imagery and message, still carries through. So although it’s wonderful to see the high quality prints, I think the not so professional copies still have just as powerful effects. I suppose that in this digital age, it’s no longer about that physical tactile item sometimes. It’s much greater and intangible…
by Linda | Feb 27, 2012 | my creative journal
Have you seen Babiekins Magazine before? It’s about style and comfort for your kids, featuring fashion items, new designs, party ideas and projects for your children. It’s a beautiful magazine with stunning photography and styling. I love how it inspires us all to be a bit stylish and trendsetting, especially our cute little ones. Ultimately, I think it motivates mother and child to see all the beauty around us.
I had the honor of creating an illustration for issue 8 and had so much fun drawing up those stylish children characters. Check out the magazine for yourself and take a peek on page 85-86. (You might hear music from a video that is on page 71-72, super cute!) I’m so proud of my little accomplishment, so had to share the news.
And in even happier news, Babiekins is actually going to be in print October 2012! It’s refreshing to know that beautiful magazines will still be printed. Sometimes you just want to physically flip through inspiring images, you know?
by Linda | Feb 23, 2012 | my creative journal
Last week, I wrote about my doubts in offering digital downloads of my artwork and the dilemma of wanting to get my work out into the world, but still retain ownership and rights. Although I do not know if there is a huge market for digital downloads of artwork, people seemed to like the general idea – even though they shared my concern for piracy. Offering the print quality source file for sale, brings up immediate concern of attracting copycats and scammers in this world. Some might even say that it goes against the “fine art print” aspect of Art.
The topic of infringement in the art world has been discussed and blogged about so many times. Every now and again, a shocking infringement case will surface and our little world is rattled up with fury. I certainly cannot make sense of how people can blatantly copy and not feel and know in their bones that it is wrong.
But then again, there’s a whole lot of people in this world driven to do bad things. There are many reasons, albeit not justifications… but it doesn’t change the fact that there will always be risk involved, in all facets of life. We fear so many things, but we can’t let that fear control us and bind us down. We can listen to that fear, but then… we figure out what we will actually do.
After much thought and consideration, I’ve decided to offer my Girls With A Message series for sale as digital downloads. (Note: no longer available online)
We live in an everchanging landscape and I want to embrace the technology that we have available to us. This will be my little experiment and I certainly have my reasons for taking a chance. I know there are those who don’t even consider digital art as a true art form. However, it’s always a question of time and education for people to accept new ways. Instead of concentrating on all my fears and worries, I want to look forward to all the pros in this situation.
- Digital downloads = instant gratification
- Reach anyone in the world with an Internet connection
- Unlimited quantity to spread, so everyone can enjoy my work
- No shipping fees for you the customer
- No packing materials for me to fuss with (I live in Italy and 99% of my supporters live out of this country)
- With the source file, you can always renew your prints – just print it again!
- Variety of applications since one could print on paper, cloth, transfer paper…
- Or even use digitally as your desktop, screensaver, phone wallpaper…
- Easy to change the size in proportion with digital files, print at 100% size or a mini copy to use as notecards
I certainly don’t want to encourage piracy, because the digital copy is for personal use only. I’m doing my part in officially copyrighting and registering my work, but I know the risk is there. I think the digital format makes it easier for people to mis-use the work. But that isn’t going to stop the rise of the digital revolution. Ebooks are everywhere and so convenient – taking over the publishing the world.
The funny thing is that I’m already offering my work digitally. I design digital scrapbooking products at CatScrap and have my own digital stamp shop. Why the hesitation for art prints? I have to admit, there must have been some kind of haughty, snobby, worth-more thought in my mind… and I realized that it’s silly. It’s all my work and I put the same passion into my efforts, no matter what the end result becomes. I’m already out there in the digital world, why not go full force?
And in a way, I would love for my girl illustrations to spread like wildfire. It’s funny how the messaging is urging me take the leap as well. Ultimately, the whole point is to spread all the positive and motivational messaging. I hope that people who support me, would simply direct interested parties to buy their own copy of the download. It’s really the same situation for any kind of product that can be scanned and ripped off. The risk is not stopping people from releasing their work and becoming successful. I figure the best way to combat the fear, is to work on getting my girls out there and known. There will be no question that I’m the illustrator and ultimately, to be recognized for one’s work… that is a great feeling of success. I believe true fans will come back to the source. I also believe that if I put my good intentions out there, it can’t be a bad thing. Good things will come out of it.
I’m going to let go of fear and shoot for stars… please wish me luck!
Also, here are some articles around the topic of copycats and copyright for artists:
Pikaland – Copycat Lessons We Can Learn
Fine Art Views – Don’t Fear The Copycats
Kate Harper Blog – Fear of Getting Your Art Stolen? Look at the Numbers
Protecting Your Art: Interview with Alyson B. Stanfield
EmptyEasel – Copyright Information for Artists: How Copyright Laws Protect Your Art
Tara Reed – How copyright infringement is like stealing my sandwich…
by Linda | Feb 22, 2012 | my creative journal
The latest issue of Pensieri Issue 9 is all about the art of paper-mache. I titled this issue The Magic of Paper and Glue and share my adventures and experimentations. It was a really fun process, even though glue and paper got everywhere. I discovered some interesting possibilities in using this medium (so affordable and accessible to all). It’s not just about Halloween masks.
I created a variety of items using paper-mache and glad to have this technique up my sleeve. It’s another tool in my toolbox, when it comes to crafting and having fun.
Of course, this issue took a while to complete. I couldn’t keep up with my schedule of publishing with everything else going on in my life. The weird thing is… I really love writing and sharing through my zine. I’ve blogged about my zine quite a few times and it’s actually something that sells in my Etsy shop. But it was becoming such a pressure and moving away from the original intent. Pensieri is simply published documentations of my art and crafty experimentations. All different subjects, at different times of my life. I can’t put a schedule on my creative playtime, so I will stop publishing Pensieri on a schedule. It’ll happen when it happens… if it happens.
I want to thank ALL the people who have bought issues of Pensieri. I hope to have inspired you… I hope that I shared interesting information to spur your creativity onward. I also hope to sell out the current issues I already have available. After that, I might consider making it a digital product… maybe…
So grab a paper copy of Pensieri while you can. Until my next adventure in print… enjoy!
by Linda | Feb 21, 2012 | my creative journal
Today I actually followed along the LOAD prompt and scrapped about my hometown. I was born and raised in Los Angeles and even though I’ve traveled all around the world, living so many miles away now… my hometown still has a special place in my heart. My husband and I would love to live back there for some part of the year. One day.
I created the layout digitally, then printed it out and added some paper bits. I still have trouble choosing the best paper, getting colors right and the like… but regardless, hybrid layouts are super cool to me.
I can use digital tools and get a degree of accuracy and neatness, but then the touchy feeling, playing with paper part can come in the embellishment stage afterwards. I get the best of both worlds and really love the process. Perhaps I’m finally learning how I truly like to scrapbook.
Journaling reads:
Born and raised in Southern California… growing up I didn’t realize how lucky I was to live in such a beautiful area. Although I’ve traveled far and wide, my hometown still holds a special place in my heart. Forever sunny days, never owning a real jacket, being able to grow things year-round outside, still getting to see snow if you drive up to the mountains, the Chinese community and readily available cuisine… so many things I love and miss dearly… my new home in Italy is so different and also wonderful… but it doesn’t replace my first love.
by Linda | Feb 21, 2012 | my creative journal
Scribbling here and there. I prefer my characters to have completely out of human proportions. But it’s cute to me.
by Linda | Feb 16, 2012 | my creative journal
I must admit that a calendar alert popped up a few minutes ago reminding me to blog. Last week I had made that big declaration and subsequently sort-of, kind-of, forgot about it. Granted I did write up a bit of a plan for my various efforts and updated my calendar as well. That’s why the reminder popped up…
However, some freelance work came up and I didn’t have time to follow-thru said plan. I actually spent most of my non-working time, scrapbooking. I do feel a bit lame and you’ve probably never witnessed such immediate failure, after a semi-dramatic declaration… but instead of beating myself down, I took advice from karenika’s blog post about slipping. I am hereby admitting my failure and probably, lack of willpower, if anything else. It’s okay though, not the end of the world.
I can start heading down the right path now. I don’t need to wait until next week for a fresh start. We often do this with diets… “I’ll start on Monday. Seriously.” In fact, I actually did schedule my newsletter and it prompted someone to ask me about printable art. So I’ve got somewhere to start now, something to work on that people are actually interested in buying. One important creative business – or general business tip – is to work on those important items that actually lead to sales – closure – cash! I know it sounds all salesman-ish, but it’s simply true. If you have a hard time prioritizing, go with your survival instincts. That’s exactly why my freelance work takes precedent, because I get paid for those hours of work. Must eat. I really do like food.
So back to my issue of pricing for printable art. Previously, I had not considered offering my artwork as a downloadable PDF. Countless hours were spent researching about printers and paper – how to make beautiful art prints at home. Then more countless hours were spent researching companies and wondering if the commission was fair and if it would be profitable in the end. Most all my current customers are not from Italy, so offering downloads eliminates the cost of shipping as well. This option can prove to be a really smart path to take.
Of course, I still wonder if people would buy printable art. Would the value of it be dampened because it’s digital and printable and easily transferable? How much would people pay for such a thing and what kind of watermarks or signature would I include? Lots of questions in my mind. This is the problem I must tackle and to hold myself accountable, I need to figure this out by next week. I don’t want to add it to the list of things that never gets done. Why do I hesitate to give this option a try?
I worry that my art will be easily pirated? But do the people who buy my art… do that kind of thing? I might be worrying about things that I don’t need to worry about. What do you think about pricing for printable art and the whole deal? I know that the latest technology is actually in 3D printing… so perhaps it’s inevitable and actually cutting edge to offer digital products of this sort?
Please me out here. Please let me know what you think in the comments below – whatever your thoughts are, I would really love to hear them.
by Linda | Feb 15, 2012 | my creative journal
Today’s prompt for LOAD was about favorite songs from the past and I immediately thought of Oasis. I was so obsessed, seriously! I grabbed some photos online and created a simple digital layout.
After printing it all out, I added sewing around the page, a popped up heart and some diecut shapes in the right column area. It took me forever to die-cut the text right side up though… have to bop my head a few times for that. So silly. Since there’s so much going on, didn’t feel like adding anything else.
Journaling reads:
It all started at Islands in Brea, California. My friends and I were having lunch when the mesmerizing notes of Champagne Supernova started playing on the radio. Somehow the love for this band became a complete obsession. My friend Carol and I were crazy over them. We bought every single magazine that mentioned their name, we had all their albums, singles, boxed sets, printed books, and even interview CDs. It was most definitely more than an appreciation of their music. We were both crazy infatuated with the brothers, Liam and Noel Gallagher… both of them for completely opposite reasons. grew up listening to Oasis, reflecting upon their music and lyrics. Somehow it all applied most seriously and deeply to my life and feelings. During my college years, I remember flying to Las Vegas to see a show at the Hard Rock Cafe… even though it was finals week. However, over time I became less frenzied and less little- screaming-teenaged-girl. Maybe I just grew up or maybe because the band changed and grew as well. But listening to the songs today still brings back happy times and great memories. Thinking about it now, I appreciate how music helped me bond with others. It also helped me reflect upon my own thoughts and emotions. Sometimes when you listen to a song, you can relate and feel something so strong… but you can’t put it in words. You just know that it’s important. The language of music and song is still magical to me…
by Linda | Feb 10, 2012 | my creative journal
It happens to be a super cold, windy, and gloomy day. I had to use this super happy yellow paper I designed… and it definitely brightened up my day. I’m so easily impressionable! A beautiful memory of my little Vash came to mind – all smiles. Yes, I am obsessed with my furbaby.
I used some pretty patterned paper to create the pinwheel embellishment…then the final remaining strips I incorporated into the journaling block… literally no waste of that patterned paper. Otherwise, it’s a pretty simple layout and I sort of messed up the alignment, oh well! I suppose my style is clean, but with some organic touches…like the crazy sewing. In my mind, it looked much neater, but I went out of control in reality. Note to self, sew slower!
The marathon scrapbooking with LOAD this month is definitely helping me to learn what I like to use in my pages and how satisfying the process can be, even without a whole lot of stuff on the page. At least for me. I suppose there’s no time to second guess or fuss too much. I’m a huge fan of little stickers, banners, and tags as well – I know it’s the trend these days. They add just a little something to satisfy my decorative tendencies, but not too much because I tend to not like those pages in the past that have loads of eye candy. I will have to take note to design my own little tidbits to scrap with…
The journaling reads:
Vash has always been a great traveler in the car, no problems since the day we brought him home. He has now associated the car with adventure and regularly runs up to the door and hops in immediately. We often have to tell him to get out, because we want to go for a walk, not a ride! I really love this photo because I caught his expression in the side view mirror. What a cutie. It makes me think of vacation, fun times, and rollin’ with my homies…
by Linda | Feb 9, 2012 | my creative journal
I was surprised to look back at the date of my first creative business 101 post on this blog… almost a year ago. The unfortunate feeling though, is that I’m not very far from my original struggles. I’m still working to license my art, however I’ve actually added on some other ventures as well. Reading through the comments from people made me feel like I failed them all. It’s obvious my attempts to focus are futile. I can’t help but want to do more. The problem is that diverting my efforts causes chaos in my brain…and scarce results in real life. Taking on more than I was planning to, gave me an automatic excuse to fail as well.
I could go into a deep analysis of what this all means and how my actions are probably unconscious attempts to sabotage myself. Perhaps because I don’t really want what I think I want? It doesn’t really matter though. The obvious solution is to just concentrate on doing one thing and get some damn results – or some definitive answer with measurable proof. But I don’t have the willpower to focus in that way. I often get distracted by a new shiny idea, derailing my own plans.
I’ve been thinking a long time about my struggles and I just need to suck it up already. I know it must be weird to be pep talking myself on the blog… but here I am typing this. I’m tired of not being able to do it. I want it all. So I’ve decided to swing to the other side of chaos. I will do it all…yes, call me crazy now and try to send me virtual shaking-you-with-2-hands vibes.
This might very well be the beginning of another failed experiment. Oh well. I’m going for it anyway. One aspect that has really helped me, is accountability and regular check-ins. So I’m going to be posting weekly and spilling my guts on how things are going. How I’ve been successful or how I’ve failed and fallen flat on my face. It will be my own fault, no matter what lame excuses I come up with. I hope these blog posts will not be used to analyze my psychological state in the future… hehe…
So why the sudden push? I suppose everyone hits a point where they need to make change. And often, change works the best when done in an epic manner…some kind of great gesture is needed. It helps with momentum anyway. Plus, I’m finishing up a project this week and should have no excuses to not be carrying out my creative business plans. So there.
As I mentioned previously, doing it all means that I have plans for about 3 people. I’m going to attempt to do them all as 1 person. I don’t really think I’m super human, but at the same time I also don’t think it’s impossible. So there. (I have no idea why I’m typing frantically, as if needing to answer back to a bully…maybe the fear inside of me is the bully I’m speaking to.)
And now, I just have to muster up the courage to publish this post. Wish me luck.
