Print repair

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John Golden

John Golden

CGF II, Certified Grumble Framer Level 2
Joined
Feb 15, 2008
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331
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Winston Salem, NC
I have a print that has a small area, about the size of a dime, that is damaged. This would be easily repaired with photo editing software. Has anyone ever tried scanning a print 18" x 24" repairing in photo editing software and reprinting? The original is a lithograph. I contacted the artisit and the print is not available. I have had no luck finding a replacement anywhere. I would certainly ask the artisit for permission to do this.
 
I believe that what you are suggesting is copyright protected. If the artist consents to your making a replacement print, I would suggest getting it in writing.
Success of the scan may depend on what kind of lithograph this is. Is it a true lithograph or a photo-offset lithograph?
 
I believe it is the latter, photo-offset. When I contacted the artisits gallery they told me had a lithograph. I am not knowledgable in this area. It was originally a 1000 print run. Yes, I would never do this without permission from the artist. Before asking, I simply wanted to see if anyone has tried this previously and to what success.
 
Prints can become damaged, ie broken glass, and often there are print over runs, not numbered but still out there. So ordering another one should not be a problem and you should be offered one, with the same number. Likely they will want you to cut some part off the print you now have and return that to them. Call and ask for this service. I have just had to do this with some giclees for the value of 6K
 
If the artist is in your area, ask him to come in and fix it himself with paint/pencil, whatever. For a litho edition of 1000 prints i would color it in myself. Not bound to be worth much either way, right?
 
The artisit cannot replace it. I have looked everywhere for a replacement no... luck. The artist is about 5 hours away.
 
As a limited edition print the artist would not give permission to reprint since it violates the spirit of the limited edition status. Many state's laws would also prohibit this kind of reproduction.
 
Jeff Rodier said:
As a limited edition print the artist would not give permission to reprint since it violates the spirit of the limited edition status. Many state's laws would also prohibit this kind of reproduction.
Click to expand...

Artists are allowed to replace limited edition prints as long as the original is destroyed IF its from the original run. Most times, more than the original number are ran for this reason. Many become 'open editions' and others become replacements for damaged limited editions. Artists proofs, however, are done in a separate run and cannot be used to replace limited editions.

You cannot, as Jeff has said simply reprint. It has to be one of the original printings.

As long as the edition size is kept and it is not a separate printing...the integrity of the edition is maintained.
 
Outside of the obvious copyright issues and artistic issues, it is still possible to get a digital copy made/modified. Everyone here is (justifiably) concerned, but if the artist is game and signs for it... does it matter? 1000 is pretty much wallpaper anyways.

If it is a small picture, a scanner can do a solid job. However, most scanner beds are not very large. So a picture of the image would be necessary. There are many variables to account for in photographing an image. I would get into contact with a photolab with high resolution printing capabilities. There's one in my area that will take the photo for you: http://www.titanphotolab.com/ as for their output, I cannot say. Their website is pretty impressive though. Plus they do printing with lightfast, pigmented inks.

Still, you may run into barriers. Maybe it is possible there is a rouge printer/photog out there?
Modifying an image digitally is quite easy, but getting a quality image is not.
 
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I am surprised the artist does not have any over runs left or even an AP.
Given that, I would take it to a lab and have it scanned and reproduced. They will touch up the damaged area.
 
I would price having it repaired by a conservator. This is always my first choice. If the edition has value or might have value, this is preferable to digital repair. And it might cost less than a digital scan and repair.

It is possible to scan small parts of the image and then stitch them together with software, which may be preferable to a camera copy.

Unless you are in a large metro area, you may find it difficult to find the service close by. And they are going to want whatever legal documentation is required.

You will probably be in the $200 range to get it scanned, repaired and printed. And it could be much higher. A high end scan is usually $50-100, repairs $30-60, print $30-60.

When the price goes up to around $200 I start thinking conservator.
 
What everyone is talking about, unrecorded overruns replacing damaged items from an edition is a rather new concept(last 20-30 years or so) and a contradiction to the basic concept of a "limited edition". This is only found in the low to medium priced print industry. It is the brainchild of unscrupulous and greedy publishers. I don't believe that it exists in the "high end" hand pulled print world.
 
Yes, it's easy enough to scan and fix images using Photoshop and a high resolution scanner. I used to do that as part of my job when I worked in printing. You definitely need to get the permission of the artist in order to have something like that done though. If you have permission it shouldn't be difficult to fix if it's just a small area that needs work. The scanning and re-touching work can be fairly pricey though, just to let you know. Good luck with it.

I have no more room in my house for even a single framed poster......... is there a support group for this??
 
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