For artistsBefore a painting or drawing can become a print, it has to become a file, and the print can only be as good as that file. A quick phone photo is fine for Instagram but rarely for a print you'd sell. Here's how artwork gets digitized, what a good file looks like, and when it's worth doing yourself versus having it done.
Quick answer
The short answer
To digitize artwork for prints, you either scan it on a flatbed scanner (best for flat work that fits) or photograph it with even lighting, a tripod and a color target (for large, textured or framed work).
Aim for a file of at least 300 pixels per inch at the size of the original, saved as a TIFF, with the color checked against the real piece.
01
Scanning vs photographing
| Flatbed scan | Photo capture | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Drawings, watercolors, prints, small flat work | Paintings, large pieces, thick texture |
| Size limit | The scanner bed, or stitched pieces | Almost none |
| Texture | Flattens it, which suits flat media | Light can show brushstrokes, or hide them |
| Main risk | Stitching lines on oversized work | Glare and uneven light |
02
Doing it yourself with a camera
You can get a printable file at home with care. What matters most:
- Even, indirect light. Two identical lights at 45 degrees on either side, or bright overcast daylight. Never direct sun, never one lamp.
- Square to the art. Use a tripod and keep the camera parallel to the artwork so the edges stay straight.
- No glare. Take the art out of the frame or out from behind glass. For glossy or varnished paintings, angle the lights further to the sides.
- A color reference. Put a gray card or color checker in the first shot so the color can be corrected later.
- Shoot RAW at the camera's lowest ISO and fill the frame with the artwork.
Then crop, straighten, set the white balance from the gray card, and compare the screen to the original side by side before saving.
03
What a print-ready file looks like
- Resolution: 300 PPI at the original's size. If you want prints bigger than the original, capture at a higher resolution.
- Format: TIFF, or a maximum-quality JPEG. Keep a master file and never print from a compressed copy.
- Color: Adobe RGB or sRGB, embedded in the file.
- Cropping: straight edges, with a sliver of border so nothing is cut off.
- Checked against the original: the colors that are hardest to capture, like deep blues, bright greens and fluorescent pinks, are where files most often drift.
04
When to have it done
It's worth having artwork digitized professionally when you plan to sell prints or an edition, when the piece is large or heavily textured, or when the color has to be close. A good capture is a one-time cost: the same master file can print every edition, size and paper after that.
05
Digitizing artwork at IMPRESO
We digitize originals in our Ridgewood, Queens studio and print from the same file, so the people who capture your work are the ones who print it. If the color matters, we can proof against your original and adjust until it's right; color matching to an original is $150.
From there, giclée prints start at $30 for an 8×10. Most artists print on Hot Press or Cold Press cotton rag. Ask for a quote on the capture, and see the pricing page for print prices.
Get your work digitized
Tell us what the piece is, its size and the medium, and we'll quote the capture and the prints together.
Contact the studio → See giclée printing →More guides
