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The reproduction of botanical art - part 2 of 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

by Mike McNamee Published 01/10/2007

The simplest scenario is to scan or photograph up to A4-sized originals and reproduce onto an Epson 3800, HP 9810 or Canon 9000. Pigment inks and the ability to reproduce onto 300gsm art papers are the major requirements of the printer.

Scan or Photograph?

The scan or photograph decision depends on the nature of the art. Watercolours are easiest to scan, especially if they are small and fit on an A4, flatbed scanner, for a single pass. Multiple passes and reassembly of the scans with Photoshop CS3 or a specialist program such as RealViz Stitcher are also quite simple, providing a few precautions are observed. Four-up and six-up scans are quite commonly used. Delicate originals such as pastel work, oil and acrylics are best photographed, as this is a non-contact imaging method. Collaged artwork and art embellished with gold leaf also provide significant challenges, indeed some limited edition giclee prints are individually embellished after printing. As mentioned earlier, one of the best methods is that used on the Cruze scanner used by GBM in Manchester. For impFuji cameraasto work they use only one light (positioned to light from the top of the image) to bring out the relief of the brushwork. It is extremely effective.

In general, scanning of canvas originals is completely unacceptable, especially if the art is glazed. You end up with a mass of specular highlights from the 'summits' of the canvas weave. Even photography is difficult and you have to take great care with lighting, even to the extent of using polarised light sources and crossed polarisers on the camera lens. The bumps of the canvas are almost hemispherical and catch reflections of the lights from almost any angle.

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1st Published 01/10/2007
last update 09/12/2022 14:51:52

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