• Paper: Museo/Crane Silver Rag
• Printer: Epson Printer with Photo black (PK) and K3 inks. Yes, this ink paper combination is archival.
• Source files: about half the files are from negatives, and half are from digital SLRs.
• Print Borders: All prints have at least a 1/2 inch white border to make them easier for matting and framing.
• Signature / Date: All prints are signed and dated in the white border. Enough room is left so that the signature can show when you have the print matted. Limited Edition prints are also numbered in the lower left corner.
• Packaging:Large unmatted prints will arrive rolled up in a tube. This is by far the safest way of shipping them. Smaller prints, and matted prints arrive in a clear plastic resealable bag; sandwiched between at least two pieces of cardboard, and securely packaged to prevent damage. A lot of thought and effort goes into the packaging since the last thing I want to do is have to replace a damaged print. Prints also arrive with framing recommendations.

Two prints (matted and framed) at the Kips Bay Designer Contest I don’t supply frames or mats.

The Long Version

Printing: I spent decades producing darkroom prints on graded fiber paper. I was also experimenting with inkjet printers (sometimes called Giclee prints if you want it to sound fancy). In the early days, inks were known to fade; prints suffered from metamerism (color shifting under different light sources) and there just weren’t good fiber-based papers to match what I could produce in the darkroom.

At the same time, paper manufacturers began to seriously compete for the fine art market and double-weight cotton-rag based papers were introduced that rivaled the old darkroom fiber prints. In fact, before I put up any 4800 prints for sale, I set up an experiment. I framed two 8 x 10 versions of the same print (Night Storm). One with Silver Rag paper and the 4800, and one darkroom gallery fiber print. Whenever a photographer friend would stop by for a visit, I would ask them to see if they could tell which was which. I also asked which one they preferred. The results were interesting. Nobody could tell the difference. Half preferred the silver rag inkjet printer; the other half preferred the darkroom print.

Shortly after that, I sold my darkroom equipment and bought the Epson 7800 printer (24 inches wide by any length of paper). I printed for several years with the Crane/Museo Silver Rag (and in fact was a beta tester for them). Silver Rag became the standard fine art paper custom labs.