March 19, 2008

Fine Art Photo Printers in New York

IMG_0322.jpgiphone snapshot of this image
I'm often asked about printers in NY and I know I've promised to make a list for a long time. Here, at long last, is a rundown.

Ben Diep is the man behind Color Space Imaging on 20th Street betwen 6th and 7th. I do almost all my traditional c-prints here, including the print above (that's Ben doing some spotting). Ben has impeccable street cred, he's printed 2 MOMA shows in the last six months and every photographer I know who has worked with him has nothing but nice things to say. You can trust his taste/instincts and he will take as much time as your print needs to get it right. You might have to wait a week or two to get a slot at Color Space but when you're in you are given full attention. He has no website.
Color Space Imaging, 135 W 20th St NY, NY 10011 212-229-2969

Gabe Greenberg specializes in making huge inkjets on a variety of exotic papers. He's a master of the digital image and digital output. While his roster of clients is impressive, he's also someone who is you're likely to become friends with while hanging out in his perpetually expanding studio. Gabe likes technical challenges and pushing the limits of todays machines but his images often feel as if they were made by hand using traditional techniques. Sometimes he actually mixes traditional and digital techniques. For example he makes platinum prints by using a digital file and making large digital negatives on plastic film and then handing the negative to a platinum printer he works with in the same building. As platinum printing is normally a contact process, platinum prints tend to be small, but this technique allows for bigger prints, prints from digital files, and prints from small negatives. The results are stunning.

My Own Color Lab has a laughably amaturish website and a horrible name, but they make fine prints (They printed much of Sze Tsung Long's Horizons). I recently worked with one of their printers, Scott Eiden, a fine photographer himself, on an edition for 20x200. As an added bonus their prices are always one notch lower than many comperable players.

While I haven't printed much black and white lately my friends who shoot primarily black and white rave about the meticulous work done at Big Prints, a black and white only shop in Brooklyn specializing both in large prints and somewhat archaic techniques like Selenium toning.

Other printers of note include Gray Photographics for super archival Ilfochrome prints and the legendary Ken Lieberman (both have horrible websites).

posted at 02:18 AM by raul

Filed under: photographic services

TAGS: Chromogenic prints (1) drum scans (1) ink jets (1) new york city (10) nyc (5) photography (58) resources (1) traditional c-prints (1)

Comments:

03/20/08 03:16 PM

What about Duggal?

03/20/08 03:30 PM

Duggal is duggal but I prefer working with my printers 1 on 1...it's just too huge a shop for my tastes. Obviously if you are in a rush or are doing lightboxes or any of the thousands of things that they do they're great, but can't imagine I would ever print a show with them...

03/20/08 08:20 PM

What an excellent list. To add one that isn't in New York, but only a short 3 something hour drive north and east, Color Services ( http://colorservicesllc.com/ ). is phenomenal. They do a lot of work for big time artistes, but are also incredibly patient and generous to every single photo student in and around Boston. An incredible familial vibe as well, and they do a weekly drop off in Manhattan.
Anyway, check them out.

03/20/08 08:44 PM

another great b/w printer in New York is Jim Megargee (an interesting photographer too) - http://www.mvlabs.com/

03/22/08 05:30 AM

Raul, as usual such generous help in giving us this list.
Thanks also to the person who gave the Boston recommendation. It's good to know of these places.

What about great framers ? Can anyone do better than John Jones in London ? I doubt it, but would love to be proved wrong.

03/22/08 10:42 AM

My favorite framer anywhere is Bob Plummer in LA. He works out of his tiny apartment, builds his frames completely by hand starting with pieces of wood, and not only understands the art of framing better than anyone I've ever met, but also knows how to explain his art. He works very slowly. Sometimes it will take 6-8 months for a frame to get made ( "It takes as long as the frame wants." ). You must show up in person with the artwork to have the frame commissioned (plan on spending the entire afternoon talking about books, art and frames...Bob actually doesn't live to frame, he frames to read). Ultimately you'll end up with unique elegant frame worth the wait. His prices are beyond reasonable. 323/465-9997

04/07/08 01:21 PM

Sze Tsung Long's Horizon prints are very beautiful.

Great post.

04/07/08 01:25 PM

Raul: Another incredible framer (easily one of the best in the country) is Rhea Perakis of Perakis Frames in Philadelphia. Cheers, -Paul

04/16/08 01:27 PM

Can anyone recommend a reputable light jet printer, preferably some who uses fuji crystal archive papers.
I need to make a large exhibition print 85 x 72" and I'm wondering if there's anyone other than duggal that can
print that size?

thxs

11/16/08 10:36 AM

Great listing and reviews - I'm researching exhibiting in NYC but I live in England, so very helpful to get a professional's recs

11/20/08 12:49 PM

http://www.brooklyneditions.com/file.html is also very good. I've done lots of work with them

07/16/09 11:37 PM

Great reviews and compilation! Thanks for sharing!!

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