SHOP! PRINTS! SALE!
But how are they made? Materials, places, information!
I have shared in the past what inspires me and I want to share how my prints and postcards are made.
There is 25% SALE in my shop until end of January, so no better time to buy something from me. So let me tell you a bit more about the things I offer.
I hope it will be of interest to everyone who draws, buys art or is curious about the process of printing and making products.
When I moved to Norway I closed my shop for some time and had to do a lot of rethinking about how I sell and make things. To be honest partly because of ethical reasons and also practical, like being outside of the EU and not being able to outsource as easily.
After taking a break I decided to outsource prints and cards as locally as possible. My digital prints are made here in Bergen at a small indie shop with a high-quality printer, only a 10-minute walk away from my studio. My greeting cards are printed in a local koppibutikk, run by women and literally 3 blocks away.
INK
All the prints in my shop (except Bergen Rooftops, Looking for Spring & Lille Lungegårdsvannet) are printed with pigment inks. Why does it matter and what’s the difference?
This type of high-quality digital printing is called giclee. Standard digital printers use dye inks, they can produce high-quality digital prints with great colour representation. The only place where they are lacking is blue’s. But performs well with pinks and bright yellows, that’s why I chose to print some of my motifs with dye inks on bright white archival matt paper.
Those prints are printed at my studio on archival matt paper.
Blue is one of the trickiest colours to reproduce. Did you know blue pigment is very rare in nature? A lot of birds and butterflies we see as blue use optical illusion to appear blue. I tend to use a lot of blue in my work, so having a good blue representation in a print really makes a huge difference. So your print has beautiful colour representation and is a step closer to an original painting. The pigments sit gently on top of the paper, without being absorbed as much (depending on the paper) and often they do look exactly like an original.
PAPER
The paper I use is Hahnemühle William Turner
Hahnemühle William Turner is a traditional mould-made watercolour paper. The fine yet highly pronounced felt structure of the genuine mould-made paper gives art reproductions a striking depth and three-dimensional effect. The premium matt inkjet coating guarantees excellent print results with outstanding reproduction of colour and detail, impressive contrasts and deep blacks. William Turner is acid- and lignin-free and meets the most exacting requirements in terms of age resistance. The characteristic feel and structure guarantees extraordinary Fine Art prints and art reproductions with artistic flair.
I am just quoting from the paper manufacturer, and I must add that the paper is truly exquisite.
So pigment inks combined with textured cotton paper and the final result is as good as it can get and as close to an original. Some prints are limited edition and others are open edition, but both come with a certificate of authenticity. Limited edition prints are numbered and both prints are signed and dated.
The paper manufacturers guarantee lightfastness for up to 200 years.
All of my mini prints are also printed on the same paper and with the same inks.
My process is that I scan my original paintings, which include some shadows created by the layers of paint, and textures of pastels. And once they are printed on this beautiful textured paper they really do look like originals.
CARDS
My greeting cards are printed locally on environmentally friendly paper. They come with matching envelopes. I am having so much fun finding cute envelope colours and making fun combinations with designs. Do you pay attention to envelopes or is it just about the cards?
Will you pay customs? What about shipping?
It depends on where you are ordering from. All orders are shipped by me from Bergen once a week. If you are in the Nordics you don’t have to pay customs.
The rest depends on the customs in your country. Each country has a price limit, for example, UK is £39. So it means that with a 25% discount in my shop, you can buy an A4 print or an A5 print, or A5 + some cards without paying TAX.
A3 size print and you will be charged. You will have to calculate and investigate it depending on where you are, but that’s it, small A5 prints + mini prints and cards are a safe bet and you won’t be charged.
However, I try to split the parcels in two, if the parcel goes over a certain money limit.
Norweigan Kroner is doing quite poorly, my shop is set to NOK and that means you are buying things at a little advantage.
I also offer FREE shipping on all print and postcard orders (except books, I would recommend buying them locally).
All orders are gift-wrapped in cute tissue, with fun stickers. The parcel includes a thank you note and a cute concertina business card. Each print is backed with cardboard and wrapped in plastic in case it happens to be in some wet conditions upon arrival.
I hope this was interesting for some of you who are really into this kind of details! :) I am, from choosing paper to matching envelopes to cards. And getting the cutest stickers for packing orders is my addiction. :)