Interview

Interview questions from Art Business News Magazine and unedited responses to them:

What does Erik Ciel Fine Arts offer artists (seeking Giclées of their paintings or digital originals of their photographic works) as far as quality?

e can bring to bear and apply for any artist whose works we publish the techniques, practices, understanding and technology that cost us nearly three years of effort to perfect. Efforts which ultimately enabled us to begin offering VirtualOriginals™ of the works of the artists I represent as well as of those for whom we now produce prints. This capacity relates to both fine art painting reproductions as well as photography.

What sets your company apart from other giclée printers?

            The process we have developed and our understanding of how to configure that process in a way that enables us to offer results that only a handful of firms in the country can offer.

Can you elaborate on the steps you take to create Giclées, including scanning, editing, proofing and printmaking?

            No. To give specifics would get into revealing proprietary processes and practices that have cost us untold amounts of time and capital to acquire. Suffice it to say, no cutting of corners; as my friend, Academy Award winner, David Coons said recently, “Many printers know what to do, they just don’t do it.”

Why is the printmaker so important in the creation of a high-quality giclée?

            The printmaker is the human face (interface) between a work of art and the technology labyrinth that produces a giclée. A printmaker must be dedicated to and capable of pushing that technology to its limits or that potential is like fertilizer left in the bag.

            They must also keep their role transparent and not unduly intrude upon the original’s transition to its giclée. The best printmakers see themselves as a conduit that enables the power of the original to flow uncorrupted through them to the print. It is a balancing act that necessitates blending a subjective awareness of the artist’s intent with very unforgiving, pragmatic hardware and software.

What is a VirtualOriginal™ Giclée?

            A VirtualOriginal™ is an uncompromising reproduction of an original painting. The term VirtualOriginal™ is the name I coined and trademarked to both describe our process as well as the end results of said process. Our goal, from the beginning of what turned out to be a nightmarishly long learning curve, was to hold absolutely nothing back. I wanted the collectors of my artist’s work to have a reproduction so true to the artistic intent, power and excitement of the original that it and the original were “virtually” indistinguishable.

            Amazingly, many people felt this was a silly goal; I’ve even heard artists and print makers say, “Why bother making it that good, they’re never going to see the original so why waste your time trying – they’ll never know the difference.”

            I shake my head when I hear such talk and walk away; they just don’t get it. Namely, that unless they are striving to give you as much of the magic of the original as is humanly and technologically possible, they are short changing you with a watered down version of the artist’s work.

Do VirtualOriginal™ quality prints debase the value of an original painting?

            Some argue that it “will undermine and debase the value of the original” to have reproductions that for all practical purposes are indistinguishable from the original. Such thinking, in my opinion, is not only unfounded from a marketing standpoint, but elitist and selfish in its origin – not to mention practically guaranteed to help kill sales of an artist’s reproductions. Would you want to buy and hang a glorified, deliberately compromised reproduction of an original work that in its original form had the power to make your heart sing a song?

            It is the artistic magic embedded in an artist’s original work that causes people to be attracted to an original and its reproductions. It is that magic and a collector’s desire to experience it again and again in the privacy of their home that hopefully makes them want to buy it. Anything (including ideas born of stifling marketing techniques or a printer’s laziness) that dilutes or stands in the way of a reproduction evidencing that magic risks making it ring untrue to the artist’s intent. The more magnificent the reproductions; the more of them that are out there putting the artist’s “best foot forward” the more likely someone will happen along; someone who can afford the original and who only buys originals, who will think to themselves, “Wow, if the print is that powerful, what must the original look like?” 

And then, they seek out the artist and the original.

            This has happened and continues to happen when people see our VirtualOriginals™.  I sold a $10,000.00 original oil to a client, whom I have yet to meet and who never saw the original until after he paid for it and it arrived in Houston, TX. He based his decision solely on his impression of the painting conveyed by its print. And, yes, he was thrilled when he received the original; so much for quality prints debasing the value of an original.

            The markets for expensive originals and quality Giclées are separate and distinct and do not intrude upon nor compete with one another; except in the minds of those types whose self-image and ego are flattered by being able to brag that they are the only person in the world who has this or that object of beauty in captivity; I mean in his or her possession.

How many artists do you print for and why did you get into this business?

            I personally represent a small number of artists, which is a fact dictated by time, choice and practicality - there is only so much time in a day.

            I only set out seeking what seemed at one point was becoming the "Holy Grail" of prints after deciding  – by trying out various giclée providers who were supposed to be among the best - that the only way I was going to achieve the quality of prints I wanted was to have complete control. At that time, I had no interest nor thought of offering the service to others.

            Occasionally, I may arrange to print someone else's work, but it is a rare occurrence. You see, I represent the artists I represent only because I represent the artists I represent. If I did not represent them specifically, I would not sell art, which arguably is one of the most difficult things to sell.  In fact, there are only two things on earth harder to sell than art.  Do you know what they are?  Peace on earth and good will toward men.  Basically, it is not cost effective nor feasible for me to take the time to print for others. My efforts, be they ever so humble, must be devoted to the people who have devoted themselves to me.

How did you gain knowledge of digital printing?

            By seeking out the best people; working with and learning from them and ultimately developing a set of guidelines and protocols that yielded the results that were our goal.

What should an artist consider when deciding whether to buy or hire a printer?

            They should ask themselves what their goal is. Do they want to be an artist or a printer? Yes, it seems like it would be a marriage made in heaven – you make the art, print the art, sell the art and keep all the money. I suppose some people can do it all. Should they though is the question?

            My feeling is that the knowledge needed to print at the highest levels is simply too overwhelming for any artist, seriously pursuing their art, to waste their time on. The time they would loose from producing art while fighting to learn a complex set of printing skills could even sidetrack their career and delay attaining mastery of their style. There is also the question of whether the effort will yield them any real financial gain; not to mention they could – inadvertently – end up denying their collectors exceptional reproductions of their works.

What unforeseen challenges are common when an artist buys a printer?

            Too numerous almost to mention – but I’ll take a shot – Who will scan your paintings and how? The entire process begins with the scan – garbage in, garbage out; this cannot be emphasized too strongly. What inks will you use; the printer manufacturer’s or third party inks? How much color gamut do the inks have? Do they even have the ability to generate the vibrant colors, the rich blacks, etc needed to reproduce your art? (Not a small problem). Will you use the printer manufacturer’s software that is wedded inextricably to their printer, their inks, their papers and their canvases or will you buy a RIP (to be read expensive, complicated third party software that precisely translates the edited, proofed RGB file into CMYK so your printer can use it and hopefully print it out the way you want); what papers/canvases will you use; what D-Max do they have; do they have optical brighteners added; if so, how will this affect your colors – short/long term?

            What coatings will you use? Water based or solvent based ones; do you know how to apply them and have a place to apply them; and how do they react with the canvas/paper you have chosen? (Some will literally wash away the image) What monitor will you buy? If you want a good monitor be prepared to spend around $3,000.00 to get into the realm that has the ability to do the job right.  Of course, that is assuming you know how to profile the monitor to your printer and sync it up with your software (RIP) so that what you are seeing on the monitor is actually what prints out. Do you understand color spaces like Adobe 1998, Colormatch, Pro Photo, etc and when to or when not to use them? Would you know how to profile the inks you are using to canvases or papers you use that are not on a manufacturer’s list of approved papers or canvases; the ones they make and sell and hope you will use with their printer/paper/canvas/ink specific software profiles. The list goes on, and on and on. Are we having fun yet?

            Even though I have an excellent grasp of the process and how all the factors interrelate, I could not sit down and run the equipment and have the slightest hope of yielding for myself or you VirtualOriginals™.

Is the printmaker going to get more out of the technology than an artist who buys the equipment and tries to do it for himself/herself?

            Ask yourself this question and you will have your answer.  Which is more likely to be reliable? The medical advice of an M.D. who has devoted his life to medicine or a self-diagnosis you make on yourself based on a book you happened to pick up in a bookstore? Fine art print making is a profession, not a hobby.

What other knowledge do printmakers have through experience that self-printing artists might not have?

            They have the ability to bring to bear levels of experience and understanding upon issues and/or problems that no one doing it as a neophyte could hope to possess. The reason we call people professionals is because they have the ability to solve in the twinkling of an eye problems that amateurs wouldn’t even know how to define well enough to ask an intelligent question about – much less solve.

            The artist should view their printmaker as an extension of their artist’s skills; someone who will be able to listen to what the artist wants to achieve and then – without the artist having to even trouble thinking about it have the printmaker do the job right.

What is the major difference in technology between printing photos versus paintings?

            The overall technology used is identical in almost all respects; the difference in the past has been the medium upon which photographs are printed.

            Traditionally, since the first photographs were taken, they have been printed on paper – necessitating costly framing, matting and the use of glass to protect them. Up until recently even with ink jet technology – due to the lack of canvases capable of delivering the full quality of a photograph –  we were stuck using paper. That is no longer the case. It is possible now,  if you know what you are doing, to produce high resolution, huge – if the original capture of the image was of sufficiently high quality –  photographic images on artist’s canvas and, as with oil painting reproductions, they can be stretched on wooden stretcher bars and hung without being framed. For the first time you can hang a large photograph and not have glass standing between you and your full enjoyment of its power.  No longer need we endure this affront to our delicate sensibilities!

            Getting back to the question of photography vs. painting renditions, what you are printing is not the real question but rather, what do you want to achieve artistically? Out of that ephemeral, intellectual and artistic mix, when coupled with a commitment to preserving the artistic intent of a work, that will then come the choices and techniques needed to achieve it within the capabilities of your technology.

            Here is the important point to keep in mind. The key to producing a true work of art or a superb giclée is not just having all the handy dandy ingredients handy; but rather the ability to know how to combine those ingredients creatively, intelligently, technically and artistically in a way that transports the work beyond ordinary to extraordinary. Seeking mediocrity or “close, but no cigar” because you are afraid it will undervalue an original's price in the mind of some narrow minded collector - who wants to be the only one who has something so they can brag about it to their equally empty headed, nouveau riche friends - or because a "fine art" printer is too lazy to really master their craft, has little honor nor excitement attached to it.

Copyright © 2009 by Erik Ciel. All rights reserved. VirtualOriginals™ is a trademark belonging to Erik Ciel. Only works published and overseen by

Erik Ciel and his associates may bear this trademark.

Web site developed by MKFineArts^®.