We've had some questions from artists about how to order art prints. It can be confusing and I'm here to help! Because we aren't just a run of the mill print shop that will take your money willy-nilly and print your files and hen ship your prints to you. AND THEN, ONLY THEN do you discover upon eagerly opening up the box that they don't look so good because of many possible reasons... maybe the photo or file wasn't good, maybe the printer isn't taking the care to get your print right before shoving it in the mail or maybe a combination of both. We'd like to help guide you! We like to to do our best to make sure you have a good experience from the get go. There's always factors we can't completely control but we do our best to set you up for success in having the best and finest giclée art prints so here's our process explained.
*If you're local to Wilmington, NC it's best to make an appointment (we are call ahead/appointment only but we are here Monday-Friday 10-5) to discuss everything. We can help scan and/or photograph your work and get the truest color correction as we can compare and contrast test prints with your original.
Here's our process when working with people who aren't local to Wilmington, NC meaning you'll need us to ship your order to you most likely.
1. If you're not local then this guide is mainly for you! You're going to email us or upload to our website your files. Hopefully you have good hi-res (300 dpi) files of your work. Or maybe you're a wiz with a smart phone and you've achieved great photos that way. Awesome! Make sure to tell us what sizes you are trying to print your files out at.
2. We will check your files and let you know if we think they'll print well.
3. If the quality looks good we suggest a TEST PRINT on the material of your choice: paper or canvas. We always do test prints because each computer and screen is different and even if it looks great on your cellphone in Alaska that doesn't mean the colors are going to print exactly that way on our (or anyone's) equipment. We usually provide 2 test prints (see photo) to start: one at our base settings and one that's a little brighter. The difference is subtle but with artwork we find the little subtleties can make all the difference.
4. Test prints are available as a single test for $10 including domestic shipping or multiple images as a test strip. We can fit multiple images on test on a strip (if you have tons of images you may need multiple strips). A test strip is $20 if we need to ship it domestically. Then we will ship it to you (or you can drop by and look at it if you're local or visiting the area). We can take your notes into account at this point like ex: "I want it more saturated. The purple needs to be lighter. Etc..."
5. If you don't want to wait on a test print to arrive in the mail we can send you a video of the test prints in natural lighting. This process works well for most people but again each screen is different so there's a small risk the prints could be slightly different in person.
6. Once we have approval of your test prints then you can place your print order at full size. You can either email us with what you want and we will send an invoice to you OR you can place the order online just like online shopping from our RE-ORDER page.
7. Ordering from the RE-ORDER page can also be found at the bottom left footer of our website. You'll add your total of each size to your shopping cart and then in the notes section you can split it up. So say you add 8 9x12" prints to your shopping cart but you want 4 of those as your painting titled "Quiet Fire" and the other 4 as "Two for Joy" you can put that in the notes (see photo below) or simply email us.
Common Questions:
•We ask for a week for turn around time but your order is usually ready sooner.
•We have a $25 minimum order.
•$25 rush fee available if you're in a time crunch.
•Shipping is billed separately but we have found an affordable source.
Our Instagram is a great place to see examples of our work and the process!
I hope this helps! Again, this is mainly to help our clients who aren't located near us. We are always happy to help your through the process via email or phone. You can even text us at: 910-782-5278