Scanning Your Original Art

Do you have an original painting or drawing you’re dying to make prints of? Have you tried to scan your work with a typical office scanner or a Kinko’s only to end up with low quality files? We’ve had several customers ask about scanning recently and here’s the rundown of why you should get your art professionally scanned and how we make the magic happen.
 

Why Professional Scans Matter

We’ve seen it time and time again, someone has an incredible painting but sends in files that are a watered down remake of the original. Some of the most common errors are banding (light horizontal stripes going down the print), washed out colors, and a low dpi. Home scanners may be fine for documents, but they lack the ability to capture large color gamuts resulting in low quality prints. 
We use a Contex IQ Flex scanner that can scan anything from stretched canvas to pen & ink drawings on a napkin. Our max scan size is 18x24”. However, our team can seamlessly stitch multiple scans together in photoshop to capture up to 24”x36” paintings. For $25 per 18”x24” scan, you’ll get the highest quality files possible making sure you end up with the best prints. 

How to Get Your Art Scanned

If you have an original you need scanned, send an email to orders@mindzai.net so we can set up a time to meet with you and check in your artwork.  Out of state? No worries, just send us an email letting us know you’d like to send an original for us to scan.   Please make sure you insure the shipment for the replacement value of your painting(s) and let us know that amount.  Once the scans are finished, we’ll send over a digital proof for your approval. 

 

What’s the Deal with Color Matching?

We only offer color matching on our Fine art Giclée prints and please keep in mind that at best the prints will be about 98% true to the color of the original artwork. Here are the options we offer:

1) Let Mindzai Do It - Our computer monitors are calibrated as well as all our papers profiled to our printers' color gambit. We will print a test swatch, compare it to what we see on our monitor and make the appropriate adjustments to dial in the color.  In order for us to do the best job possible we need a high resolution 300ppi (or higher) file in Adobe RGB 1998 color space. There is no charge for this service.

2) Email Proofs - We print a proof (as above) and email it to you for a list of adjustments you would like to see. We charge $75 an hour for color matching services and it can take between a half hour to 2 hours of work.

3) Physical Proofs - We print a proof and mail it to you for your review and suggestions. Again we charge $75 an hour for color matching and $25 per proof we print and mail. Keep in mind we print all proofs at a reduced size or just a test strip of your art to save on printing expenses and shipping costs.

 

Ultimately we want you to get the best prints possible, so if you can’t get us your original, we suggest finding a local blueprint company and ask them for a high quality scan of your painting.  Remember you need a 300-600dpi scan, preferably in RGB format.

Once archived, your scans are kept on file so you can order at your leisure.  Keep in mind we can also make t-shirts, stickers, enamel pins and other merch from these scans! We hope this article clears up any questions you might have about scanning your artwork. If you have any additional questions, send an email to orders@mindzai.net or give us a call at (866) 283-3427.