The Artist's Giclee Handbook
How can it be that it took this long for a book like this to come on to the market? The author is Susan Fader. She co-founded Ditto Editions with her husband, Nick. They have turned the business into a highly respected giclee printing atelier with a well-deserved reputation in the industry. Clearing the air on the digital printmaking process There always has been much confusion and misinformation about giclees. I found this book to offer clear concise instructions for artists who desire to make digital fine art prints of their work. If you are making plans to get into the print market, you need this book. Its content truly reflect its title. It is the handbook that every artist working in or towards using digital fine art reproductions should have in their library. Although I have rarely been successful in dissauding artists who wanted to try their hand at printing their own work, it was not without trying to help them understand the downsides and how much goes into taking an original artwork and creating a satisfying digital reproduction. I am sure referring them to this book would strengthen my case. An argument against making giclees in the garage or basement When one begins to understand the complexity and need for specialized equipment and training, it should come clear that popping a few thousand for a nice digital camera and a refurbished digital printer are not nearly enough to create high quality professional reproductions. What is often not considered is the value of time and the hidden expenses in wasted materials that come from compounding problems at nearly every level of digital printmaking. At any point along the way amateur mistakes in mounting, lighting, scanning, color adjustment, proofing, equipment calibration and printing can create issues where chasing the problems becomes exhausting and expensive. I have always thought artists would do better spending the same time and money on finding new sources of buyers than trying to shave a few bucks off the cost of their printing. Before anyone writes to complain or debate, I will state I know there are some artists who have the tools, time, skill and temperament to make professional quality giclee prints. That this is so is a given, and it is also a given that only a small percentage of artists enjoy true success in getting the best self-made prints. You will find honest, straight facts well-presented here Although Susan comes from the printer perspective, she is careful not to color the wisdom offered with that perspective, you get straightforward advice and years of experience. Regardless of whether you are a seasoned pro or just getting started in the print market, this book is sure to help you get better results in the digital printmaking process. I highly recommend it. Has the use of the term giclee outlived its usefulness? A word, or two, on the use of the word giclee Susan was the first to mention the idea to me that the word giclee might have outlived its usefulness. I am certain is was a conversation with her that inspired this 2007 post, Is Giclee Passe? She addresses the question in the book. In fact, the * in the title leads to the sub-title, or sub-note, *Digital Fine Art Reproduction. If one thing is obvious about the title to her book, it is that Susan is a realist. She knows that changing the use of the word giclee to digital fine art print is not something that will happen quickly, or maybe ever. So, while she makes an eloquent case for why moving on to a better descriptor makes sense, she realizes selling books, and art for that matter, most often requires going with the flow. You have to to give people what they want to get their attention. Once that is accomplished you then do your best to educate them to new perspectives. This book fulfills that ambition perfectly and much more. --Barney Davey, Art Print Issues --Joan Colt Hooper, ArtistEarlier this year, Susan Fader, co-owner of Ditto Editions in Salem, MA, asked me to help edit the initial drafts of a book she was writing for artists on the topic of digital fine-art reproduction (aka giclée printing). I was honored to be asked and thoroughly enjoyed working with her. Because I have been covering digital fine-art reproduction as a reporter/editor since 1994, my role was primarily to evaluate the thoroughness of her content and suggest some additional points and perspectives she might have overlooked. Now, I am pleased to report that Susan has completed the book. She tells me she has received orders from artists around the world, as well as some orders from fellow printmakers who want to help educate their own clients. The high level of interest in Susan's book doesn't surprise me because she was so well qualified to write it. Not only does Susan have a bachelor's degree in fine art, but she has spent the last decade working one-on-one with hundreds of artists both as a printmaker and art-marketing coach.  As a result of these years of experience, Susan knows firsthand the types of questions today's artists are asking, and how much confusion has been created as new technology has emerged and inexperienced newcomers have started promoting art-reproduction services. As Susan puts it, One of my goals in writing The Artist s Giclée Handbook was to correct some of the biggest misconceptions and to help people understand that digital reproduction of fine art is an ideal way to provide more art for more people, while providing more exposure and income for the artist.  Why the asterisk? If you re wondering why there s a big asterisk by the word giclée on the cover of the book, it s because Susan strongly believes the popular term giclée has been grossly overused and misunderstood. She devotes a portion of the first chapter to explaining why the market for fine-art prints would benefit if more artists started moving away from the term giclée. (It s mostly because no standards currently exist to assure art buyers that the giclée was produced by a reputable printmaker using archival pigment inks and high-quality papers and not on a color copier or desktop inkjet printer.) In the book s foreword, Susan also makes it clear that she wrote the book specifically for artists who use paints, pastels, graphite, or other media to create one-of-a-kind 2D originals. A lot of her advice doesn t pertain to digital photographers who sell fine-art photography because starting with a digital image is far different than reproducing art originally created in other mediums. Throughout the book she emphasizes that final print is only as good as the file used to create it. As Susan puts it, Making reproductions of a painting requires a unique process, specific knowledge, skills, and experience....Doing this process well and responsibly is a learned and mastered art. The eight chapters in the 120-page book cover much more than the technical fundamentals of image capture, color control, media selection, and printing. She also devotes a chapter to the historical evolution of art-reproduction processes, starting with the Intaglio engraving method of making prints that was used in the 1430s. In other chapters, she talks about what to expect during the proofing process and provides tips for choosing print sizes, determining edition sizes, and selecting print media. Personally I learned a lot from working from Susan, particularly about the many different ways reproductions can help artists who are at different stages of their careers. Taking the first step of deciding which works to reproduce will force you to think about your work in a whole new way, writes Susan. The whole exercise of selecting work for printing can also help you clarify your goals and identify your target markets. --Eileen Fritsch, Great Output, Oct. 12, 2010I just finished reading the whole book. I literally couldn't put it down. You have written so clearly and informatively, that I felt I was not 'reading' but that you were including 'me' in your writing. It was as if you were in the room having a conversation directly with 'me'. And I was listening....I think the book is terrific! --Joan Colt Hooper, Artist