Several major types of fine art digital prints have become part of the contemporary art scene due to digital creative technologies. Fine art digital prints, which are high-quality reproductions of original artwork, can be mass produced and distributed much more easily than with traditional press printing. The major styles of fine art digital prints include photographic prints, giclee or iris art prints, light-jet relief prints, digital silkscreen prints, and canvas prints.
The most common of fine art digital prints include photographic images captured with traditional or digital camera equipment. These images can be edited prior to printing, so that they come out with the highest possible quality. Photographic fine art digital prints can also be printed in a variety of sizes and printed as many times as desired.
Another type of fine art digital print is the giclee or iris art print, which is a high quality digital image that incorporates original or montaged artwork. The giclee or iris print is produced by either digitally scanning images or pulling from digital graphics to create an individual piece of artwork. Once the digital image is completed, high quality inkjet printers may print it onto a variety of digital papers or fabrics for display.
Light jet relief fine art digital prints can be reproduced in mass quantities or on demand. This style of digital art print is a favorite of graphic artists, mass printers, and digital designers who can easily modify the size and colors of the images to produce a wide variety of works. Light jet relief fine art digital prints with classical and limited edition images are also displayed in fine art galleries.
While digital silkscreen prints are considered another form of fine art digital prints, they are often seen on the mass consumer market in the form of wearable fashions and corporate logo products. The method by which images are transferred to fabric is vastly different with digital silkscreen from traditional silkscreen printing, which uses a hand-applied coat of paint. Machines transmit the digital image in layers of special fabric ink, which is then sealed to the textiles with a heat process.
Canvas prints are similar to silkscreen prints, except a different method is applied to create eye-catching digital fine art prints. First, the canvas is treated and stretched to a flat surface. Then a series of digital files are passed through the ink printer onto the canvas to create the varying colors and textures on the canvas. The ink used on canvas is a flexible, heavy duty fabric paint that can withstand wear and tear.
