In the first part of this series a photographer who relies on a Canon U.S.A., Inc. wide format digital printer was profiled. Tamas Revesz offers fine art reproduction to a handful of patrons and works mostly with the printer for his own photograph exhibitions. This second part focuses on another artist, but one who has taken his talent and printer and moved into a full-fledged giclée printmaking studio.
Web Wonders
Mark Staples, founder, Staples Fine Art, Inc. and the Heritage Giclée Studio, entered the fine art reproduction business in 1996. Staples, a third generation professional artist, opened Heritage Giclée Studio with the intention of creating a privately owned business built around a family of artists producing their own limited edition prints while using expertise and technical skills to control the quality of their work.
That same year the company launched its Web site, exclusively dedicated to giclée digital art reproduction. In 1998 when the Google search engine was introduced, the company was immediately picked up in their index and the search term “giclée” brought up Heritage Giclée Studio as number one in nationwide search rankings. One of the company’s first contacts generated from a Google search was the Tokyo Museum of Contemporary Art.
Taking Craft to the Next Level
Today, the giclée provider serves clients worldwide—in all 50 U.S. states and 15 different countries. Based in Richmond, VA, it employs anywhere from one to seven employees depending on the time of year. Services include art printing and reproduction; wide format fine art digital capture, film scanning, and photography; fulfillment for online art retailers; canvas stretching and custom finishing; hand embellishment of canvas prints; laser cutting, etching, and engraving; and art project consulting.
The 3,700 square foot facility holds a variety of equipment. Its main scanner was created for the company in 2007 by Tarsia Technical Industries, Inc. The capture device scans an area of 60x40 inches in a single pass using a 384 megapixel scan back.
To print its reproductions, Staples Fine Art relies on five Roland DGA Corporation Hi-Fi JET Pro II FJ-540 54-inch printers using aqueous pigment inks. “The inks produce a rich color gamut that is comparable to the old Iris dye-based ink set but features archival quality. The equipment is incredibly durable, requiring little maintenance, and built for high-volume work,” explains Staples.
All of Staples Fine Art’s customers consult with the giclée provider based on its background knowledge of the craft. Artists, art publishing companies, interior designers, galleries, museums, manufacturers, corporations, and educational institutions rely on the company for its rich history.
“While superior equipment, software, and workflow are essential, equally important is a working knowledge of the art business and an eye for color and nuance. There is a lot of craftsmanship involved in the process, and there are only a few companies like ours in the U.S. that still specialize in the art business and take giclée to the level that we do,” share Staples.
