Of silk purses, sows ears and megapixels.
If you have a clear, well exposed 6 megapixel image or 35mm slide or negative, we would expect to be able to produce a 48x36 inch (that's 1200x900mm) canvas with
fine enough detail for you to be able to examine closely. If the picture was taken in bad light, or with very fast ISO speeds, it may not be possible to expand
beyond 24x16 with really fine detail. A 4 megapixel image will probably be good for a 24x16,
and to go to a 72x38 you would need a 16 megapixel or a high quality slide.
You could expect to magnify a glossy photo that we scan by a factor of 4 or 5.
The limiting factor is the anticipated viewing distance.
The bigger the canvas, the farther away you view it from, and the less resolution you need.
And, of course, some pictures lend themselves better to high degrees of magnification than others. A sunset, for example, does not need
to be as highly detailed as a head and shoulders portrait.
If you are in doubt as to whether your image is suitable, send it to us for a no-obligation examination. We will not print unsuitable images without your specific instructions.
If we are unsure, we send you a PDF file to be printed on your own inkjet printer. The resultant print will be an A5 sized snippet from your image after enlargement.
Then, the decision will be yours.
See also: What is the ordering process?
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It does not have to start out as a digital image.
If you picture was originally taken with a "chemical" camera, bring us the negative or slide
and we will scan it for you. If you only have a print, bring us that - so long as it is not creased or badly damaged we can produce
reasonable results. Satin finish prints pose particular problems, and we offer no guarantees that we will be able to get our
usual stunning results - but we are always prepared to do our best, and the results are often very good.
We have not yet found a picture we cannot handle, although
some pose more problems than others.
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How to get your image to us.
Use our upload system
We prefer you to upload your file to our server using our upload system. This will automatically link your images with your details.
When you have placed an order with us, you will be sent an email
which has a link to the upload system. We don't make the link available without a prior 'order' to protect ourselves from evil hackers
who might just fill the server with rubbish, and to protect you from making typing mistakes with your email address.
If you don't get our linking email, the chances are your email address was typed wrongly. You would be surprised how often that happens!
What it means, of course, is that we can't communicate with you.
See also: What is the ordering process?
Send us a CD
Send or bring us a CD or a memory stick or your camera, or the hard copy of your picture.
Attach to an email
If you really don't want to use our system, you may send your file as an email attachment.
In this case, please be careful NOT to use the
"send as email" feature often found in photo processing software. This will almost certainly result in an image that will be very
efficiently compressed for electronic transmission and viewing on a computer monitor, but will be useless for printing, unless you
want a very small canvas. Just send us the file straight out of the camera. If you use photo editing software, do not change the resolution
of the original image (leave that to us, if necessary) and send us the saved output of your editing in the native format of your program - PSD, TIFF, whatever.
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What is the ordering process.
This 'order' is quite without obligation on your part, and serves mainly to link your details, requirements and images. No obligation
is incurred until you specifically instruct us to manufacture after you have agreed our interpretation
of your requirements which we will confirm with you by email.
See also The steps we go through to get your photo onto canvas.
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Why not an Epson like many others?
Canon came later to the market than Epson, so Epson managed to get most of the early business.
But we believe the Canon machine is more technically advanced.
And, in New Zealand, unlike the competitive products, the Canon machine is serviced by the manufacturer.
Click here for another opinion.
Our printer is a later model than the one surveyed here.
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We use only Canon pigment based ink.
We believe that this ink should last for 70 years in archival conditions. It is perfectly possible to acquire ink that will work in our printer at a fraction of the cost of the official Canon ink.
The same stuff that many of our competitors use. They may even call it "archival", but without a brand name, how could you tell? However, we will use nothing but the best available
materials. Although the cheaper product may look the same to begin with, we just don't trust it to last without fading.
So, although our print may cost a little more, we believe it will be well worth the extra.
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We print on Brilliance Chromata White™ canvas.
We produce our prints on a polyester/cotton mixture imported
from Breathing Color in the USA.
This canvas is more expensive than pure cotton, and has several features that make it worth the extra cost.
Firstly, the material is more stable than pure cotton - it shrinks less, and is more consistent from roll to roll.
Secondly it has no surface imperfections.
Thirdly it has the best available coating for the pigment ink to react with, giving the widest available colour range.
We have chosen to use Brilliance Chromata White™ because we believe IT IS THE BEST CANVAS AVAILABLE.
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We finish with Glamour II Veneer.
Once printed, the canvas is given two coats of UV
protectant varnish, which imparts some degree of moisture resistance,
and protects the print from abrasion, as well as ultra violet light.
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How long will it last without deterioration?
This, of course, is an unanswerable question.
The word "archival" pops up frequently in discussion on this subject, but it is very hard to find a sensible definition
of what that means.
We can guarantee that we use materials sourced from reputable and well known suppliers, who have staked their businesses
on producing canvas, ink and varnish to the best possible quality.
Do not trust a supplier of Giclée prints who will not tell you who supplies his raw materials!
We do not import nor use "generic" materials.
But, if you leave your print open to the sun, wind and rain, on the outside wall of your seaside petrol station, you will not get the same life
as if you kept it in a darkened, air conditioned room.
Even so, we would be disappointed if you noticed the colours fading before several years had passed.
We would expect one of our canvases displayed in a normal New Zealand living room, but out of direct sunlight, to last for at least fifty years.
If it fades before that, we'll reprint it for you for no charge.
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Why is it called Giclée? (say "jee-clay" or "zhee-clay")
Because the people who originally dreamed up the techniques wanted to make it sound posh.
A frenchman would probably snigger, and his daughter may well blush.
We are quite happy to acknowledge that what we sell is an ink-jet print.
However, we have to set our stall where the customers look. If we were selling ladies underwear, we'd call it lingerie!
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What about Copyright?
We ensure that we are permitted to use any images we offer for sale. We make the assumption that you will also take the trouble
to ensure you are permitted to copy the images you supply to us. If you send us something to copy that may look a bit suspicious (such
as, for example, a wedding photograph with the photographer's stamp on the reverse), please also supply us with some form of assurance
that you have permission.
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Payment Methods
We do not directly accept any credit card payment.
We can take cheques, cash, or direct credit into our bank account, which is our preferred method.
If you are prepared to pay the extra cost, we can arrange to take payment via PayPal, so you can use your credit card that way.
The procedure is quite simple and secure. It may, however, add a couple of percent to the cost of your purchase.
Talk to us if you are interested in PayPal. When we send you your invoice, we
will add a PayPal link to the e-mail.
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Refund Policy
We want you to be happy with your canvas print. If your print is damaged on arrival, send us some proof (like a photo) and we
will immediately re-print and despatch to you. If you find ANY defect in our manufacture or materials, send it back to us, and we will
re-print or refund or print a different image to the same value at your option. If you are unhappy with
your print for any reason whatsoever - even if it's not our fault - we will do everything in our power to make it better.
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