Who to use for prints?

mycaptures

Who do you recommend for prints? I want Lustre too. Thanks for advice/suggestions!

Andy

How about SmugMug?

http://www.smugmug.com/
http://www.smugmug.com/prints/digital-prints.mg

~Jan~

I think it's hysterical that you asked that question here. I'm sure lots of users here use a variety of printing labs, but still.... :giggle :giggle

I use Smugmug.

sirsloop

trick question

wolfejm

Archival Prints
I know this looks like a trick question, but I was actually wondering the same thing. I just ordered my first batch of 8x10's from smugmug and am pretty happy with them. However, I did a little research and it would seem that the archival quality of the Fujifilm Crystal Archive paper is not as high as some of the highest end inkjet systems. I'm looking to print some larger images as art and want to get a long lifetime out of them. It appears that under UV glass, I'm only going to get ~50 years out of a print from smugmug, while the right epson ink/paper combination yields over 100 years under the same circumstances.

Any thuoghts?

bham

wolfejm wrote:

I know this looks like a trick question, but I was actually wondering the same thing. I just ordered my first batch of 8x10's from smugmug and am pretty happy with them. However, I did a little research and it would seem that the archival quality of the Fujifilm Crystal Archive paper is not as high as some of the highest end inkjet systems. I'm looking to print some larger images as art and want to get a long lifetime out of them. It appears that under UV glass, I'm only going to get ~50 years out of a print from smugmug, while the right epson ink/paper combination yields over 100 years under the same circumstances.

Any thuoghts?

Do you have any prints that you have owned 50 years? Do you really think that the piece of art you print is gonna hang on a wall more than 7-10 years (let alone 50) before someone decides to put up something new.

Andy

SmugMug Archival Print Quality

wolfejm wrote:

IHowever, I did a little research and it would seem that the archival quality of the Fujifilm Crystal Archive paper is not as high as some of the highest end inkjet systems. I'm looking to print some larger images as art and want to get a long lifetime out of them. It appears that under UV glass, I'm only going to get ~50 years out of a print from smugmug, while the right epson ink/paper combination yields over 100 years under the same circumstances.

Any thuoghts?

http://smugmug.jot.com/WikiHome/Printing/FujiCrystalArchivePaper

"six - seven" decades - I'd say that you're in the ballpark.

wolfejm

bham wrote:

Do you have any prints that you have owned 50 years? Do you really think that the piece of art you print is gonna hang on a wall more than 7-10 years (let alone 50) before someone decides to put up something new.

None of mine are that old, as I am not yet of that vintage myself However, my family has paintings my grandmother made many decades ago that get passed around and down through the family. I would like to think that the same was possible with photo prints that are more art-quliaty.

That said, I suppose it is likely that over that period of time a piece might go up and come down a couple times, but it's hard to predict what that rate might be or what impact it might have on the image.

claudermilk

Do you really think those Epson prints will really last 100 years? It's all educated guesses based on accelerated aging testing (I used to do similar testing on plastics). Besides with it being digital, after those 50 years are up, you can just print a new one on the current (presumably better) paper & ink.

This is all new technology and nobody really knows the true lifespan. Every new product makes large strides in longevity. I have run into the guesstimate problem with DVD life (they claim hugely long lifetimes, while I have witnessed that the lifetime is actually measured in months).

Oh, BTW, to throw a monkey wrench into the "you won't own any artwork that long" theory--while it isn't a photo--I do have a piece that is at least 100 years old going back up on a wall soon.

wolfejm

Andy wrote:

http://smugmug.jot.com/WikiHome/Printing/FujiCrystalArchivePaper

"six - seven" decades - I'd say that you're in the ballpark.

I found the same article, Andy. But I couldn't find any data that backed up the claim. In fact, the article links to some WIR research that only pegs the crystal archive paper at around 40/50 years under glass (w/UV). The Fuji link in the jot article is actually the wrong paper (according to the back markings). The real paper is linked below (although still crystal archive). I couldn't find fade data from Fuji for this paper other than for dark storage or unframed. Neither of which are what I'm curious about.

http://www.fujifilmusa.com/JSP/fuji/epartners/Products.jsp?nav=1&parent=473609&product=7447256

I don't want to miss the real point here. Let's say someone has a photo that they feel is fine art - either because they like it as such or want to sell it as such - how do they get a fine art life expectency out of a print of it? As an owner of other fine art, I can say that I expect it to out last me, not fade out as I fade out. Other than paying someone to produce a limitted edition for me, or buying my own large format pro printer, are there any good services for making one-off archival quality prints with 100+ years of display life?

(Incidentally, the Epson UltraChrome inks on premium Epson paper were rated by WIR with these characteristics.)

Thanks!