Greyscales Print Studio have recently obtained their gold studio certification with the Hahnemühle Excellence Program.
The Hahnemühle Excellence Program is based on the successful and internationally renowned Hahnemühle Certified Studio Program and aims to highlight and reward print studios and laboratories that focus on printing excellence, quality consistency and outstanding service with Hahnemühle inkjet papers.
A print studio with the Hahnemühle Certified Studio Gold status has successfully completed the Hahnemühle certification process and enjoys validation of its expertise in the fine art printing industry through this internationally recognised certificate. You are considered a skilled printing partner offering assured archivability and consistent quality of all prints produced on Hahnemühle media.
Importance of becoming a Certified Studio
Here we have a Q&A with Nuala from Hahnemühle and Craig from Greyscales, covering the studio’s recent gold certification.
Q. Hello Craig, congratulations on recently becoming a Hahnemühle gold certified studio – please tell us a little bit about yourself and your studio
A. Thank you very much. I originally trained as a press photographer, then as a commercial photographer, and later founded the Picture Pantry photo agency that represents 100 food photographers worldwide. Greyscales was a natural progression and formalised our position as a premium photographic print studio. Our latest studio has recently been completed and built to the perfect specifications for printing, including regulated temperature and humidity levels to ensure every print is produced in an optimal environment. It now operates to serve the needs of photographers, both amateur and professional, who require the absolute best in print quality.
Q. Why was it important for you to become a certified studio?
A. The studio is built on 30 years of photographic experience to provide premium prints to photographers, so it was important to us that we were both independently assessed and certified by the leader in the field. That leader is Hahnemuhle, and so we welcomed the assessment of both our printing ability and knowledge, as well as the studio itself.
Hahnemühle Baryta Papers
Greyscales Studio uses a range of Hahnemühle papers, here we have Craig explaining the advantages he feels baryta papers give photographers and why he chose to add the new Photo Gloss Baryta X to their range.
Q. What do you feel are the advantages of a Baryta paper for photographers?
A. Baryta papers produce beautiful photographic prints, and work equally well for colour or black and white images. If a photographer wants an image to last for decades without fading, then baryta is the way to go – and for that reason, it is preferred by galleries for exhibition and print sales. It also has many other properties that appeal to photographers, such as its similarity to darkroom papers, a variety of finishes (such as pearl, matt or gloss), and traditionally they are thicker which prevents curling. A professionally printed photograph on baryta paper is considered the premium option amongst both photographers and galleries alike.
Q. Recently you reviewed your range of papers to include the new Hahnemuhle Photo Gloss Baryta X tell us a little about your findings and why you introduced the range.
A. As part of our regular testing of new papers, we received some samples of the Photo Gloss Baryta X paper. We printed sample images on this gloss paper, alongside all of the gloss papers we presently utilise, and others available to us. The Photo Gloss Baryta X paper produced a beautiful level of colour saturation, deep blacks, and sharpness, and so we decided to offer that alongside our other papers. This gives photographers the gloss finish, combined with the archival qualities that ensure the print will last for many decades.
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Greyscales Printing Process
Find out how Craig helps his clients to choose the right paper for their work, and what hardware + software is used at Greyscales Studio
Q. What hardware and software do you use in your studio for your Fine Art Prints?
A. We use a beautiful 46 inch Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-4600, giving us the ability to produce images of all sizes that combine the pigment inks with specific papers. This combination provides us with incredibly long lasting archival prints (sometimes termed giclee prints). We also use a number of Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1100 for testing. Our colour calibration relies on Apple Macs with BenQ monitors that ensure we can accurately reproduce the colours and tones within your photograph.
As for software, we utilise programs that are familiar to photographers, including Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop, but also Mirage Dinax software for laying out prints and ensuring the print colours and inks match the paper perfectly.
Q. How do you help your clients choose the right paper for their work and how would you advise a photographer printing their work for the first time?
A. Selecting a paper is always a very personal choice and depends on a number of factors. Archival qualities are important, but it is also necessary to consider how the print will be displayed (e.g artificial lights may influence the choice of paper), and what you would like the final image to look like – are the colours subdued, or have pastels that would suit a matt paper, or do you require a print to display vibrant colours and deep blacks that suit a pearl finish.
Ultimately, we often ask a photographer to send us an image, and we can take a look for them. Our experience means we can typically help them select a paper that provides an outstanding result. If the prints are for an exhibition or sale, the paper choice obviously needs to be consistent for all of the prints, so we would recommend small test prints on various finishes.
When printing for the first time, and if you are unsure of the print finish you require, the best option is, again, to have a few very small images printed on a number of paper choices. This will let you choose your personal favourite… or just ask your printer for some paper samples.
Selecting the correct paper is very important, as it really does provide the photograph with its own personality, but it also has to reflect the photographers personality too.
