THEPRINTSPACE: FROM THE ASHES OF THE PROLAB, A NEW ERA IN CREATIVE DIGITAL C-TYPE AND INKJET PRINTS

UK (SANEPR.com) April 11, 2008 -- With the rise of digital and the slow but sure decline of film and conventional wet lab processes, professional printing labs have found the struggle to innovate and adapt their services a principal challenge. The labs of old have also been largely overtaken by small and large format inkjet technologies, and increasingly powerful home computers mean that many photographers are able to set up their own high-quality print systems at home. Sadly, these changes and the pressures they have exerted on the industry have meant that many professional printing labs in the city have had to shrink with demand, or face closure.

In a bold step towards revitalising the conventional approach to top-end printing, theprintspace is the first ‘DIY’ printing lab in London. The ethos at theprintspace is to give creative control back to individuals, whilst giving them the access to the kind of high-end equipment which currently only the most successful photographic and creative companies can afford. The workhorse of theprintspace’s digital C-types is a ‘Chromira’ – a self-contained chemical photographic process printer the size of a small room – which is considered by those in the know as the cutting edge in large format digital archival printing. By incorporating the same professional standard of colour profiling into a user-driven ‘creative process’, theprintspace negotiates the prolab’s biggest problem – offering the standard of services professional photographers have come to expect, but making it accessible for more than a select few. The result - quality is of the highest standard, but the prices are really affordable, costing as little as £6.50 for a 12” by 16” digital C-type print, and £12 per hour for a cutting edge, colour managed DIY retouching booth.

In a clear reach towards democratising the top tier of photographic printing, theprintspace have turned the once-guarded technologies of colour profiles into common property. theprintspace is designed to give photographers total control over the final print, whilst offering proper technical support and full instructions. As such, theprintspace encourages its clients to act as ‘prosumers’, treating its profiles and printing hardware as platforms for their own creative invention. Colour-management is about to be demystified, simplified and made accessible. With the new era dawning on digital printing services, portfolios, end of year shows, and proper exhibitions are within everyone’s reach. Just follow theprintspace’s comprehensive colour-management instruction and off you go. Professional prints at affordable prices.

The team behind theprintspace are no strangers to the demands of the photographic industry, having run the successful retouching business Happy Finish for the past three years. Stuart Waplington the MD says, “Our whole culture is changing because of digital; information is becoming decentralised. We need to recognise this change in the industry and facilitate that change. And that’s essentially what we’re doing at Theprintspace. Photographers have become well versed in using these technologies... so it makes sense to provide and manage the infrastructure for them to use the best possible technologies available.” (British Journal of Photography, 21/11/2007) Promising unparalleled colour accuracy and precision, theprintspace colour management techniques help users to get exactly what they want from their prints. The wait is over – photographers, designers, and visual artists now have the capacity to produce beautiful prints, on their own terms.


Note to Editors:
1. theprintspace opened for business on October 15th 2007
2. theprintspace is located at 74 Kingsland Road, London E2 8DL
3. theprintspace offers Digital C-types prints up to 40” x 30” on Fuji Crystal Archive paper, Epson Giclée prints up to 96” x 60” on watercolour paper & GMG contract proofs custom designed for individual publications across Europe.
High-end Mac Pro Retouching booths are available for hire from £12.00ph, equipped with calibrated monitors, software and Wacom tablets for DIY retouching.


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If you'd like further press information or to request images please contact the Press Office at theprintspace:
Call: Dominic Apa +44 (020) 7739 1060
Email: dom@theprintspace.com

www.theprintspace.com