How To Make Prints Of Pencil Drawings

Notation: This blog post is a followup to the information posted on my website: Reproducing Drawings and Paintings [http://www.pencilplace.com/drawing-tips/reproducing-drawings-and-paintings.html]

Every year, I am asked the same question by emerging artists: "How can I reproduce my pencil drawings? I've tried scanning them and press them out … and they stop upwardly looking terrible!"

I try to respond to these desperate inquiries kindly, and convey as much information as I tin. Unfortunately, many people expect the answer to be found in 2-3 easy steps, or on a 4 minute youtube video. It's a niggling more complicated - that is if you desire the reproductions to wait professional!

Much of my previous article focused on the reproduction methods bachelor: offset lithography and digital press methods. However, before you can start printing reproductions of any kind, you demand something to reproduce.

You volition demand a loftier resolution, digital epitome of your pencil drawing. And this digital image will need a good bit of prototype editing done to it earlier it is ready to reproduce.

Let's commencement with the first part: obtaining the high resolution epitome. I highly recommend finding a store that specializes in digital scans of artwork. Getting the appropriate lighting (with no shiny spots or "hot" spots) is work best done by a professional. You may love your smartphone camera, but relieve that for sharng photos with friends. Information technology's not for getting an image to reproduce your artwork.

Note that a loftier res digital image, or "raw" scan, may expect very flat and unappealing at outset. This is normal. If the image is taken past a professional, it will comprise all of the digital information needed to create keen reproductions. It just needs i more step: the image editing (or pre-printing work) for reproducing the fine art.

You must know something virtually Photoshop and preparing artwork for a printer to do this pre-press yourself. If you are not skilled in Photoshop, observe a designer who understands press to do this for you. Depending upon where y'all had the epitome scan done, they may offer this service besides.

Image editing involves altering the tonal range of the image then that it doesn't expect so flat. And opposite to what yous might retrieve - highlights are seldom 100% white, and even the darkest areas of the prototype are never 100% black. If yous edit a pencil cartoon with a full grayscale spectrum going all the way from pure white (newspaper) to pure black (ink/toner), I can almost guarantee you lot will not be pleased with the reproductions. A skilled designer will know the percentages to hitting when setting upwardly the grayscale for the reduction. Typically, the highlights in the drawing should be almost 3% to 5% white, and the darkest shadows should be no more than 93% black.

One time yous have a digital prototype that is ready to utilize, you can move on to making the reproductions. Following are a couple of options for making prints of pencil drawings:

Commencement Lithography
This is a traditional press process involving the use of plates and ink with printing presses. Lithography is a great selection for quantity if you lot plan to impress hundreds of copies of a print, and you also have the funds to cover upward front printing costs. Your toll-per-slice will likely be the lowest with start lithography. Many commercial printers now have "digital presses" as well, yielding volume savings at lower quantities.

Digital Press
This term covers ink jet, giclee, and other direct press methods bachelor today. The big plus with digital printing is the ability to impress low quantities – fifty-fifty one print at a time. At the lower end of digital printing, y'all can purchase an ink jet printer (hopefully with archival inks and paper) and print your own reproductions.

One way to purchase high quality digital prints without investing in (and maintaining) a squeamish ink jet printer is to use a print-on-demand service. Fine Fine art America and Zazzle are two of the most popular sites for this, and they offering store options if y'all desire to sell your images online.