By Eileen Fritsch

When I first started editing The Big Picture magazine in the mid-1990s, the possibilities for digital printing were just beginning to be explored.  Our articles helped show business owners and creative professionals the many different ways wide-format digital printing technology could be used in outdoor advertising, retail signage, interior décor, prepress proofing, photography, and fine art reproduction. It was fun to see the wildly creative things that ad agencies, graphic designers, artists, and photographers wanted to do with the new printing technology, print media, and software being developed by the innovative engineers and scientists working in the R&D labs. The technology developers were driven by the requests of the creative professionals, and the creative professionals were in turn empowered by the technology developers.

That process of technology exploration and mutual inspiration is still going on.

In HP's booth at the Print 09 show in Chicago, the three talented artists of the Digital Atelier are showcasing new possibilities for creating and presenting art. At the show, Dorothy Krause, Bonnie Lhotka, and Karin Schminke are introducing a Collector’s Boxed Set. The boxed set accommodates a piece of original art by each artist plus a 74-page book 11 x 14 in. hardcover coffee table book. The three prints and book all fit neatly into an archival, black, anodized aluminum box, with a title engraved to the match the foil-stamped fabric hardcover of the book. Both the book and the original art were produced as a signed and numbered limited edition of 100.  

After the selected images were proofed on the HP Designjet Z3200, the book was produced on the HP Indigo 5500 press, using three different types of paper (one for the text and images; one for endpapers; and one for overlays).  Acme Bookbinding bound the printed text and Universal Laser Systems laser-engraved the box made by Pina Zangaro.

Dorothy Krause used the HP Scitex FB6100 UV flatbed to print her edition of Beachflowers (right) on .024 mil aluminum. She selected this technology because she could use the Scitex opque white ink under selected areas while allowing other areas to benefit from the natural reflectivity of the metal. She says, "The ability to print on uncoated metals with white ink expands the visual vocabulary available to the artist in ways not possible with traditional inkjet."


Bonny Lhotka used the HP Designjet Z3200 to print a phantogram entitled Water (left) on HP Matte Litho-Realistic Paper. Using a HDR (high-dynamic range) image, the phantogram is a pair of flat images distorted to mimic the perspective of a three-dimensional object in which the illusion of depth and perspective is visible when viewed with (red-cyan) 3D glasses.

Karin Schminke’s piece, Margaret’s Meadow, (right) combines a base print made on the HP Designjet Z3200 with an overlay of intricately cut black paper created on Universal Laser System’s Professional PLS4.60 laser. Schminke notes that "The drama of the black laser-cut edge pairs beautifully with the strong color achieved on the HP Matte Litho-realistic paper, creating a very expressive print." 


To protect each print in the collector’s boxed set, a portfolio wrap was printed on the HP Indigo WS6000 Digital Press and includes a Certificate of Authenticity for each print.   

To read more details about all of the equipment and materials used in the project by downloading this PDF. Or you visit the website of The Digital Atelier and download a copy of the 13 x 19 in. broadside that folds to a 6.5 x 6.33 in. book.

When I first saw the Collector’s Box Set, it occurred to me that this type of presentation could be used by many creative professionals. For example, wedding, portrait or architectural photographers could adopt this new way of collecting, presenting, and selling their best work.

Last year, I interviewed an architectural photographer who was making portfolio boxes of prints on fine-art paper for an architect of high-end home. The architect knew that a portfolio of the photographer’s prints would make an ideal housewarming gift to his own clients. The photo prints focus on some of the most exquisite architectural details of the client’s new home and serve as a great conversation piece when the new homeowners entertain guests.  

So, it was a win/win situation all around. The professional photographer found a new format for selling his work. The new homeowners treasured the gift of the photo prints. And the architect couldn’t ask for any better publicity for his firm than having his clients enthusiastically show off the prints to their friends. Just think how this presentation could have been even further enhanced by including a custom photo book showing all of the phases of the home’s design and construction.

When you think about it, the role of an artist is to challenge us to look at things in whole new ways. What the artists of the Digital Atelier teach is that digital printing offers endless possibilities for creativity. While digital printing has made traditional methods of fine-art reproduction, photo printing, signmaking, and book publishing more efficient, it has also opened up many opportunities to do things that were totally impractical before.

I first learned about The Digital Atelier in 1997, when I sent a reporter to cover a two-week digital-printmaking demonstration project they were leading at the National Museum of American Art at the Smithsonian Institution. When my reporter returned, she told me about how inspiring Dot Krause, Bonny Lhotka, and Karin Schminke had been—especially when some skeptical reporters from other magazines harshly questioned the legitimacy of using digital technologies to create and print art.

We’ve come such a long way since then, as evidenced by the widespread acceptance of inkjet-printing in reproducing fine art and printing fine-art photographs. Yet there is still plenty of room for exploration and discovery of new opportunities.

If you can’t meet the Digital Atelier artists at Print 09, check out their websites or their book The Digital Art Studio. The book explains specific techniques for combining inkjet printing with traditional art materials.

Plus, Dorothy Krause has published a new book entitled Book + Art: Handcrafting Artists’ Books. In this book, she shows how digital-printing can be integrated with traditional painting, drawing, and printmaking media and different bookbinding techniques.

At The Future of Imaging Conference in November, Bonny Lhotka will discuss “Dimensionality in Imaging” and present a selection of 3-D images at The Alvarado Gallery at the Monterey Conference Center.  The 3D effects and illusion of motion in her photo prints are created through lenticular imaging, a process in which a rigid plastic sheet with parallel rows of optical lenses is laminated to the surface of a print that has been created with interlacing software. The interlacing software slices up multiple images or image layers and positions the image slices for correct alignment and magnification through the lenses. Lenticular imaging has been used in retail and point-of-purchase advertising since the late 1990s, but Lhotka has been commissioned to produce artistic 3D photo prints for office buildings, a spa, and a hospital. Now that Adobe® Photoshop® CS4 Extended includes 3D-imaging capabilities, she believes more photographers and artists will begin exploring lenticular imaging.

Over the years, I’ve seen many good things happen to imaging businesses that are open to new ideas for using digital printing. It’s encouraging to see that many artists and photographers are following the lead of the artists of The Digital Atelier and opening their work up to new possibilities as well.