This post is basically just to say that I’ve got some more prints coming to the Etsy shop soon; I finally found a local printer who does giclee prints on watercolor paper!
It took some research to uncover the difference between a giclee print and a regular print from a graphic design firm or a service like Staples; the biggest difference, for anyone who’s curious, is in the type of ink used. Graphic design and print services typically don’t use archival-quality inks, as the things they’re printing (marketing materials, brochures, invitations, etc.) aren’t typically expected to last. They also generally aren’t hung on a wall and exposed to light indefinitely. In addition to different ink types, giclee prints are often printed on watercolor paper or even canvas, especially if it’s a full-color piece like my paintings tend to be.
I’m slightly displeased with my local printer option, I have to confess, because in addition to charging a fee for scanning a painting, they charge by the hour for color adjustment, to make it so the printed piece matches the original piece. My printer in Michigan charged no such fee, and perhaps I’m a little spoiled by that, but it seems to me that matching the print settings to the original should be on the printing service, not on me. But having a local option is so much more convenient… We’ll see what the bill ends up being next week when I go to pick up my prints.
Aside from issues like these, I find that I do enjoy the business side of all this a little bit. Not as much as the actual act of painting, but it’s a different way to feel productive, which I apparently thrive on.
Other business owners — creative or not — do you enjoy certain aspects of the “business” process? The website, the social media, the marketing, the budgeting…? Or do you find it a necessary evil to facilitate the good stuff?
Fairy Tree Studios 