The colour experts at Fine Art Solutions are able to transform and manipulate images to your specific needs and the most stringent briefs.
From simple colour changes to the restoration of badly damaged originals or the removal of signatures & blemishes, our artisans with a combined experience of 90 years in retouching and printmaking can undertake any retouching project.
Our knowledge of the latest software and techniques, combined with full implementation of ICC colour management, puts Fine Art Solutions at the forefront of art reproduction in the United Kingdom.
Clients are welcome to discuss proposed projects, no matter how large or small, and we will provide accurate costing before any work is undertaken.
We will produce proofs for each piece of art that we print on request. The proofing process allows us to match colours accurately to the original artwork. Our enormous colour matching booth enables us to accommodate very large originals alongside each proof, so that both can be judged in a colour controlled environment. We use industry standard 5000k colour matching daylight to ensure consistency.
We prepare actual ‘press proofs’ on our fine art presses, using the chosen substrate (paper, canvas etc.) for your approval, before your image is printed. Our standard proofing size is proportionate to the full image at 16 inches (40cm) on the longest edge.
Fine Art Solutions has a long established reputation for exact colour matching. Our master craftsmen will spend many hours adjusting, optimising and fine tuning images, making us the most unrivaled studio in the country. It is this outstanding ability that differentiates us from other printmakers.
Artists should consider having their important work scanned, proofed and archived prior to selling it, once we have completed this work, we can store it for you for later reproductions. This process also ensures you always have a high quality image of your valuable work.
Once the original work has been sold, the ability to create revenue from that piece is lost if a high resolution digital file does not exist. We always advise artists to ensure work of any significance has been scanned, proofed and archived prior to the sale. These simple steps will allow the artist to make use of their copyright going forward.
One of the most regular things we deal with at Fine Art Solutions is people bringing us photographs of family and loved ones. These are quite often from before the age of digital photography and social media. This gives these photographs huge significance and immeasurable emotional value as there are no readily available backups or replacements. Given how old some of these can be and the variety of conditions in which they have been kept, many may have deteriorated, faded or been damaged.
While many people do come to us with undamaged photographic images, wanting them to be reproduced faithfully for posterity, others may wish to restore some of the content that has been lost or is becoming illegible. From both types of sources we are able to produce new prints and preserve digital copies in our archives.
A great deal of information can be retrieved from damaged originals and our high resolution scanning equipment is able to extract many details that are less easily identifiable by the naked eye. Our skilled retouchers are then able to take these scans and restore some of the tones that may have been lost over time, as well as fixing tears, creases and holes that are unfortunately common in these precious items.
As an example, a client asked us to reproduce a photographic original removing the silvering and banding that had occurred and restoring the original`s faded details. All tears and marks in the surface were also healed and all of this was created while maintaining the antique feel to the image.
A vintage family portrait was reproduced with the focus on maximising the detail in areas that had faded as well as restoring any scratches or blemishes. The image was scanned from a tiny original not much larger than a stamp and it was cleaned-up and repaired digitally so that the client was able to preserve and enjoy this precious photograph.
Capturing the look and feel of an original artwork within a giclée is one of the most difficult aspects of fine art reproduction. Our aim has always been to – as far as possible – convince the viewer that they are not seeing ink on paper, but rather paint strokes sitting proud on a canvas, carefully applied gold leaf reflecting the light or the built up layers of a collage; each one over lapping the other.
This level of accuracy comes from many carefully controlled aspects of our reproduction workflow: from adapting our 3D illumination for each artwork to either encourage or discourage texture from brush strokes through to the careful proofing process ensuring that we do not lose any details within these shaded areas and likewise within the brighter side of brushstrokes.
Artworks that involve the use of reflective materials, such as varnish, glossy oils or gold leaf, can also be extremely difficult to capture. These require a very careful balance of ensuring that the lighting is even across the whole artwork, but also reflecting the correct amount of light specifically within the reflective areas to give a bright feel, while retaining all details within these bright areas.
We can produce and design a Certificate of Authenticity to provide our clients with a different way of selling Limited Editions.
The text and layout of the certificate can be created individually, to reflect the piece of art and yourself as the artist. Often, clients will then add the certificate to the back of a mounted or framed print when sold.
We use a high-quality paper and a design for one of our clients is illustrated here.
We only produce certificates for prints that we have made ourselves in our workshop. This means we are certain that our quality control practices are correct and prevents anything that falls short of our standards from being associated with our craftsmanship.
Hand deckled edges are a wonderfully informal and artistic finish to fine art prints.
Our craftsmen can produce a beautiful deckled edge that has been torn by hand to give a unique feathered finish, which has the look of a high-quality mould made paper (which was the term originally given to genuine, hand-crafted papers). Fine Art Solutions achieve this effect by using heavy weight fine art papers, such as Hahnemühle’s German Etching or Photo Rag papers. When this is torn it leaves behind a nicely feathered, uneven edge which gives the desired effect to the finished print. Many of our successful artists and fine art photographers have come to use this style of finishing to contribute to the overall look of the finished piece when float mounted and box framed.
Take a look at what our satisfied clients have to say.
Design & Marketing Agencies • Dec 18, 2023
The prints arrived safe and well. I’m really pleased, they are an amazing representation of the original sketch. Thank you for all the help and arranging the shipment. They were extremely well packed and have reached us in perfect condition.
Design & Marketing Agencies • Nov 01, 2019
I couldn’t recommend Fine Art Solutions highly enough! I think they are wonderful and would recommend them to everyone. Their quality of the work is always excellent and make every effort to meet short deadlines when they are unavoidable. They are all lovely, happy people who clearly enjoy their work - always friendly and accommodating and I look forward to dropping in.
Design & Marketing Agencies • Jul 01, 2018
Gerry and his team at Fine Art Solutions have been one of the most professional companies we have worked with. The quality of their work is absolutely outstanding, worlds apart from any other printer we have used in the past. Their attention to detail is also second to none. All in all a wonderful company with a fantastic ethos for outstanding customer service and to deliver exceptional quality every time.