Frank Morgan is an Arlington, Virginia-based
artist who uses the Indigo digital press to produce 11 x 17” reproductions
of his paintings. He has built a strong clientele for his images of Washington,
DC and the local area as well as military memorials. Frank has been marketing
his work for over a decade, beginning with a series of note cards and
then branching out to a variety of media.
AP: What advantages does our digital
press give you in producing art prints?
FM: The Indigo has significantly lowered
my printing costs and virtually eliminated my need to maintain inventory.
I can produce one or two copies of a print for a minimal investment and
test market the actual product. Then I can print based on demand. I don’t
need inventory. I can pick up the phone and order 100 prints and pick
them up the next day.
AP: Do you ever modify your product
based on test marketing?
FM: Yes, and the beauty of the Indigo
is that I can customize my individual clients with low additional costs.
I can easily satisfy a request for a text block or a specific type of
border. It’s a great selling point.
AP: Has the Indigo given you other
advantages in marketing your product?
FM: I believe it gives me a tremendous
edge in selling. My principal market is dealers who are concerned with
the quality and longevity of an art print. All to often, a dealer is faced
with an unhappy customer and must replace an offset lithograph that has
faded over time due to light exposure. My digital prints have the reproductive
quality of high-end offset but give dealers something that an offset lithograph
cannot --- COLOR THAT WILL LAST.
AP: So, the oil-based inks used
on the Indigo are more stable than the water-based inks of a traditional
press?
FM: Absolutely. I’ve actually
done some testing myself to evaluate how the oil-based inks last. When
I tell a dealer he can stand behind his promise of quality and longevity,
It touches a nerve. Bottom line? The dealer wants confidence in his product.
I believe that a digital print bridges the gap between the offset process
and the archival quality of materials the dealer uses in matting and framing
a print.
AP: How does the process compare
with your experience in traditional offset printing?
FM: I start out the same way, with
a good color transparency of the painting. But from start to finish, I
spend about half the time I used to involved in producing the product.
After the transparency is scanned, my proof comes right off the Indigo
press. I can then sit with Phil on press and fine-tune the color. If I
don’t like the paper stock, we can change it right there. Once we
are set, I can go out for a sandwich and when I return, my 250 prints
are ready. There is no drying time and no worries about consistency –
because it’s all digital.
|
