Preparing an Image

Artwork: $25 to $300 (average $120)
Photography: $0 to $150 (average $15)
Restorations: $25 up (average $100)

There is a $25 minimum charge, which includes the first half-hour of work plus permanent archiving of your finished file in multiple locations. Most images are prepared for under $50, but some artwork that needs critical color work can take much longer. To protect our clients we have a $300 ceiling on prep work (excluding restorations).

Digital artists and photographers who bring in files that are “print ready” move straight to color correction and are NOT SUBJECT to a $25 minimum.

Image prep can be divided into two primary categories: editing and color correction.

Editing
Square and Crop - Scans include some area outside of the image to ensure that the entire image is captured. We crop away any excess while retaining the entire image. Often we need to rotate the image slightly to square the corners and minimize any clipping of the image.
Included in the $25 minimum.

Sharpen - No matter how detailed a scan is, it still represents a minor degradation of the original because each tiny pixel that makes up the image is a solid color. A single pixel that has a line running through it is forced to interpret the two colors on either side of the line as a compromise value. To compensate, we sharpen the image to match the actual quality of the original (if we have it to work with), or rely on our experience (when we don’t).
Included in the $25 minimum.

Clean - The cost of cleaning depends on the quality of the source. Direct Digital Captures of original art need no or very little cleaning. The cleaning they require is due to reflections off glossy media. Scans from film usually take about a fifteen minutes of work if the film has been well cared for. If the film is old or has been handled a great deal, there can be thousands of tiny particles embedded into the soft emulsion side of the film. There are scratch and dust filters that can remove them quickly, but that process degrades important raw information in the image. Once we look at your image we can give you a ceiling cost for preparing your image so there are no surprises.

Editing - Most images will require little or no editing, while a restoration project may be all about editing and cost hundreds of dollars. For art reproduction, editing is usually limited to refining sloppy edges and removing the artist’s signature. Some photographers who know our capabilities come in with many editing ideas like removing or moving signs, wires, people, and buildings.
For most jobs editing is included in the $25 minimum.

Color Correction
Color correcting is a wildcard area that is usually only a serious cost when precision color matching to an original work of art is the goal. Artwork reproduction when the original is no longer available usually goes faster. With photography the process is usually minimal. Having stated the “usual,” color correction is not complete until the client is happy.

Color Proofing Costs - These are the actual costs for media (paper or canvas) and ink used in the proofing of your image. If we do multiple proof prints, the client is charged for paper and ink up to a maximum of $60. Most photography is accepted on the 1st or 2nd print; most art is accepted on the 3rd or 4th print; critical color matching can generate 12 or more proof prints.
Typically $10 - $25