HOW DOES IT WORK?

The number of colours in your print determines the number of screens we need to make and the length of time it takes to sample and edition your artwork. If your artwork does consist of subtle blends and tonal gradients we will endeavor to minimise the number of colours we use to reproduce it, however if your budget does allow for additional colours the result if often well worthwhile. 

Our in-house designer is on the end of the phone and email to advise you on your options. More information and guidance along with graphic examples can be found in the Artwork Guidelines. 

We buy in papers from over a dozen different suppliers to give you a rich choice of papers from around the world. Our range includes mould-made, uncoated recycled and graphic papers and boards each in a range of sizes, weights and colours.

The mould-made papers we use are made from 100% cotton. The fibres are ground up and mixed with water to an even pulp. The pulp is passed into a vat containing a rotating cylinder mould. As the cylinder rotates the fibre forms into a matt on the outside of the cylinder. This matt of fibres is couched off onto a felt and removed for furthur processing. The outer edges of the mould are covered by a removable frame called a deckle. Fibre seepage under the deckle give these papers their "deckled edges", a ragged gradation down to nothing. 

Most clients wish to maintain this natural edge on their editions. This does pose a challenge to our printers as they don't have a defined right angled corner from which to register. We do have techniques to overcome this but they do add considerable time to the print process. For artwork requiring intricate registration we may need to trim the deckles off. If you do intend to maintain the deckled edges on your paper consider the dimensions and borders of your artwork as obviously we can't alter the paper size. Mould-made papers are commonly supplied at 56 x 76 cm, 76 x 112 cm or 80 x 120 cm. 

Arches 88 is our most popular mould-made paper. Developed in France as silk screen paper it has a very smooth surface. It is deckled edged, acid free, 100% cotton, watermarked and waterleaf.

Velin Arches provides a good textured alternative to Arches 88 and its available in wide range of sizes and comes in a white, cream or black. 

Somerset manufacture an impressive range of UK mould-made papers. We tend to use Somerset Velvet which comes in White, Soft White and Black. 

In keeping with our environmental policy we've always encouraged our clients to chose from the now broad selection of 100% recycled papers suitable for fine art reproduction. The Cairn range offers a smooth yet natural feel and comes in white, cream and buff. For a raw, chunky recycled feel we would recommend the Cairn board range or versatile Testliner. Alternatively the Colourset range of 100% recycled smooth graphic papers offers a broad palette of 20 rich colours.

As we're no stranger to commercial graphic screen printing, we're fully versed in the creative papers on offer from the larger UK paper merchants. The Keycolour range offers an impressive colour choice over many weights and sizes. GFSmiths colourplan range offers an unrivalled x colours combined with x embossings. Their minimum order of 25 sheets of any of their papers makes them a popular choice if you're looking for something different.

Once your edition is printed we prefer to ship direct using a dedicated same day courier. We find this more secure and reliable than shipping via overnight couriers. 

If you would like a quote for reproducing your artwork please use our Quote Form. If you have the time please take a look through our Gallery of past prints of which we're very proud.