Have you purchased a high end print

[scovell001]

Just interested if there's anyone out there who has purchased (and perhaps has framed on their wall) a high end landscape print from the likes of Charlie, Joe, Colin maybe even an Ansel reproduction.

What did you think about the quality of the print?

Did you think it was worth the money you paid?

I've seen some of Joe's ciba's & inkjets. Colin's inkjet's & lightjets but none of Charlie's & nothing from the Ansel Adams gallery.

[DJ]

I have one of Joe Cornish's limited edition 20x24 prints on my living room wall, it's a Cibachrome and I enjoy it very much, I visited his gallery shortly after getting it and thought the prints were great, I would definitely consider buying another, but it would have to be a "treat", the last one was for my birthday a few years ago, when I had more disposable income I don't think the price was unreasonable, but it wasn't one of the *really* limited editions ( limited to 10 ), I would struggle to justify one of those.

In the spirit of your question, I have opposite that print another, one of my own, a 20"x24". It was printed in California on the Fuji Supergloss Pearl paper on a Chromira from a drum-scanned original. In terms of resolution the lightjet print beats the Cibachrome, and the paper has richer colours and a wonderful quality to it. If you remove the subjective artistic merits out of the equation ( Joe's image is far superior to mine ), I think the Chromira print is better of the two.

If you wanted to view some nice large inkjets, the Landscape Photographer of the Year exhibition is on at the National Theatre at the moment. Last year's exhibition had some very nicely produced prints, they did a good job on them I thought, I found it a very different experience from the book, I had a clear favourite from the exhibition which I thought a really great print, of an image which really didn't do much for me in the book.

[timparkin]

I have a Richard Child's Cibachrome which is pretty good quality (although it has a little problem with haloing on high contrast edges). At £100 it was well worth the purchase.

To put print value in perspective, there is an original 30x40 dye transfer print of Eliot Porters 'Pool in a Brook' from 1954 (the print was a later one supervised by Eliot) for sale in America for $5,000 dollars... Oh how I wish I had the spare cash. If I were buying a print tomorrow it would have to be either this (or a cheaper Eliot), a Christopher Burkett and a Peter Dombrovskis. Mainly because Christopher Burkett is such a perfectionist and I doubt we'll see similar quality colour work ever again.

Tim

[IanG]

I have quite a few prints from photographers like John Blakemore, Fay Godwin, Peter Cattrell, Robert Doisneau etc, all are superb and of the highest possible quality.

Ian

[joolsb]

I recently purchased two of Richard Childs's prints. I can't tell you much about the quality yet as I'm still waiting to receive them. I also have a Cibachrome from Michael Fatali ('Spirit Stones') which I purchased a few years ago when I was feeling flush. The quality of the Fatali is absolutely first rate.

Come to think of it, I also have a couple of prints by Ctein, purchased via The Online Photographer's print offer from last year. These two are both dye transfers from an absolute master of this complicated process. They are of phenomenally high quality.

[Paul Arthur]

I've just received this morning a print of Joe's (looks like an inkjet) and honestly, the quality is superb and stands up to pixel gazing no problems.

The colour reproduction is very good too - couldn't be happier.

Not sure where I'm going to put it though....

It's a limited edition of 1 too - won in a competition, so for me it is certainly worth every penny.

[scovell001]

Thanks all for your comments

Paul, well done you, thats amazing! If you're able to tell, what sort of paper has the print been made on?

Joolsb - a fatali Cibachrome, wow, wow wow. I bet thats a wonder to behold?

[joolsb]

I went for one of Fatali's less, ermmm, 'vibrant' images but, you're right, the quality is exceptional. Incredible detail and full of subtle colour transitions.

[Paul Arthur]

Well it's a gloss paper - but other than that I've got no clues. I'm havin the glass replaced in the new year so I shall check then when it is out of the frame.

[jennym]

You could probably email Joe and ask him about the printing process and paper. It is your print after all....

[timparkin]

Well it's a gloss paper - but other than that I've got no clues. I'm havin the glass replaced in the new year so I shall check then when it is out of the frame.

If it's a Cibachrome (which it may well be) be very careful as the surface marks/scratches very easily.. What is the picture of?

Tim

[Paul Arthur]

Well Tim, you remember that hill in Yorkshire that I don't really like? I've now got a chugging huge picture of it!

Rasberry topping isn't my favourite and this image is probably not one I would choose myself, but having such a quality product and it being the only one in the world makes it very special.

Doesn't look like a cibachrome to me - not glossy enough and bot smoothe enough. I'd imagine it was an inkjet print.

I shall try to post an image of it some time.