Fine art and photography experts choose Epson

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Galleries and exhibitions are some of the most demanding customers when it comes to print quality – attention to detail for complete colour accuracy is essential, as is the knowledge of how to print effectively working on uncoated stock. It’s a market that Brighton-based fine art and photographic digital printing experts, Spectrum Photographic thrives in. Providing Giclée prints for artists, illustrators and photographers, which are displayed and sold in galleries across the UK.

Spectrum Photographic

Spectrum was established 25 years’ ago as a fine art and photographic lab, using analogue photographic print production processes. In 2004 they invested in digital printing technology, and began to produce work for a wide range of fine art illustrators, galleries and exhibitions. The business is now firmly positioned as a fine art lab, delivering an array of fine art prints and photographic imagery, from one-off 65 inch prints to triple figure runs of A5 prints.

With a team of eight, Spectrum now delivers around 50 percent of its work to illustrators, and specialises in archival quality C-Type photographic prints on a selection of Hahnemühle, Innova and Ilford papers.

Achieving the Highest Quality Prints

A large factor in Spectrum’s choice of printer is that they need to be able to print in both matte black and photographic black. The simplest solution was to have two main printers, one always running matte black, and the other printing photographic black.

“We invested in Epson machines when we first moved to digital almost 16 years ago,” says Paul Lowe, Co-Owner of Spectrum Photographic. “For a long time, we had two Stylus Pro 9900s. Both were eventually replaced by SureColor P9000s. We did look at a number of manufacturers when we needed to reinvest, but we couldn’t see any advantage in moving away from Epson. We’d always been very happy with our Epson kit, and had no problems, as well as always receiving great service from the Epson team. All of our customers expect Epson quality, and all of our competitors use Epson. It’s definitely the best for our needs.”

“The most challenging prints we handle are large dark prints where a lot of black ink is laid down on the substrate” continues Paul, “We don’t use a spool, and we take these prints straight off the printer onto a low table where they can cure overnight. The Epson printers never struggle with these prints, and our customers are consistently impressed with the quality of the Giclée print work we produce.”

“Epson is thrilled to support Spectrum with delivering prints that meet the art industry’s high standards in terms of quality and colour precision,” says Phil McMullin, UK sales manager Pro Graphics Epson UK. “Ensuring not only galleries, but the artists themselves are satisfied with the quality of print is something Epson puts front and center in our product development strategy. The SureColor S​C-P9000 delivers incredible colour accuracy and an Epson TFP PrecisionCore printhead and automated nozzle-check function means consistent colour reproduction is guaranteed time after time.”

Expanding into Textiles

Spectrum works closely with its customers to understand what additional capabilities they would find beneficial, and is continually expanding its range of services based on the requirements of their customer base.

“We are currently seeing the fine art market moving into other media, such as fabric, so we are looking forward to working with Epson to expand our capabilities in this area in the foreseeable future” continues Paul. “Our customers trust us with their images, and if we can offer them more flexibility, it means when they want to expand into new media, we’re there ready to support them.

“We’ve always been very happy with our Epson kit, and had no problems, and great service. All of our customers expect Epson, and all of our competitors use Epson. It’s definitely the best for our needs.”