File Preparation...A 10 Step Check List

Indian Hill Imageworks makes the finest digital prints possible on exquisite inkjet papers and handmade papers from around the world. The 10 tips listed below will ensure your artworks will look their best no matter where your work is printed.

  1. Always work in 16 Bit and, if possible, save your artwork as a 16 Bit file. If you have to convert to 8 Bit do so only near the end of your workflow and only after major tonal and color corrections have been made.
  2. Always save your work as a TIFF file and not a JPEG.
  3. Always avoid massive interpolation of data...optical information is always best.
  4. Calibrate your monitor using a monitor calibration device such as the Eye One Display.
  5. Work in a dimly lit room or attach a hood to your monitor to reduce flare.
  6. Always sharpen appropriately for your output, ie: Matt surface papers and uncoated papers can require a higher degree of sharpening than gloss surfaces- if you are not sure what to do, ASK.
  7. Always make sure your file contains enough information (dpi) for your selected output size. Most printers require at least 240 dpi for high quality inkjet printing. Indian Hill Imageworks requests 360 to 480 dpi for the finest quality printing possible. Additional Dpi beyond 480 is not necessary and does not result in a higher quality image.
  8. Always make sure that your file is not clipping tonality by using the levels adjustment in Photoshop. Indian Hill Imageworks prides itself on our long print tonality. Typical printer profiles made at Indian Hill by Hybrid Artist Stephen Schaub can reproduce detail from around a K (black) value of 5 to 96 (Scale of 100). THAT IS HUGE EXPRESSIVE TONALITY!
  9. Make sure your image is not out of Gamut for your chosen working color space. In Photoshop under VIEW select Gamut Warning...if anything grays out in your image then those areas are out of Gamut for your color space. It is destructive to your image quality (and a photo SIN). Most colors can be printed to a close relationship of the original even if they are out of gamut but deep Blues and bright Reds really have problems in the out of gamut area due to Hue Angle as measured in the CIE Lab color system. IHIW suggests Adobe RGB 1998 as a standard working color space.
  10. Make friends with your printer. A good printer can make or break your artworks. We suggest chocolates, flowers and expensive dinners in Paris as a good starting point.