How I make Quality Art Prints at Home

All the info on my printer, paper, ink and process making quality art prints at home. The first 1,000 people to use the link or my code minniesmall will get a 1 month free trial of Skillshare: skl.sh/minniesmall04221 . I print postcards and art prints to sell in my online shop and also provide prints through print-on-demand services like inprnt which you can check out here; www.inprnt.com/profile/minnie... so today I'm talking through how I do it all, the tools and supplies I use and the pros and cons of different printing methods including outsourcing.
*This video is sponsored by Skillshare. All views expressed are always entirely my own.
· Let's Connect! ·
+ website&shop· minniesmall.co.uk/
+ instagram· / minniesmall
+ prints www.inprnt.com/profile/minnie...
Find extra content and goodies or just come to say hi over on Patreon; / minniesmall
*All links below are affiliate links. If you choose to buy anything through these links, I'll make a small commission at no extra cost to you 💛 Thanks for your support!
·Mentioned·
+ How I Scan My Work For Print / 38051997
+ Skillshare Classes
- Etsy Launch skl.sh/369oymh
- Print On Demand skl.sh/3xngzNA
- Sell Fantastic Prints skl.sh/3KIx4ru
+ Printer amzn.to/3xqwhI4
+ Paper
- Epson amzn.to/37JFnVe
- Bockingford bit.ly/36ec1y8
- Canson bit.ly/3xnfWDO
- Hahnemuhle bit.ly/3EgK84X
+ Ink amzn.to/3LZyH49
+ Other Services
- Inprnt
- Awesome Merch
- Printed.com
·My Filming and Editing Equipment·
+ Canon 77D amzn.to/3y2SkBD
+ Canon EOS M6 amzn.to/3h7Ytpj
+ Tripod amzn.to/2UCSeC5
+ Horizontal Tripod amzn.to/3h051ay
- Edited in Adobe Premiere Pro
+ (Voice-Overs) Zoom H4n amzn.to/3dll4O5
See how I film my videos here; • How I Film My Videos ·...
Overhead camera rig; • Simple Overhead Camera...
· Music ·
+ Bittersweet Skyline - American Legion
+ Not Blue (Instrumental Version) - Kylie Dailey
from share.epidemicsound.com/mvS29
Here's a flower for reading all this 🌼 You're amazing!

[@moonflower1616]

You took something intimidating to me and simplified it a lot. It feels so much more accessible now and I sincerely thank you. 😊

[@JennHoffmann]

Printing on the right side is CRUCIAL. I print graphics at work, and I can attest to this from first-hand experience. You might not think it matters, especially if both sides seem identical. Sometimes they’re JUST different enough that it won’t print right.

[@amiloulew]

I've just watched this for the second time as my printer has given up the ghost, and wanted to thank you (like others have) for this very useful content!

[@keshnadonia]

I always love the prints you send us so I appreciate the detailed information you've shared here. I'm surprised you aren't using photoshop as the primary software. I know printing and color grading/color matching is a specialty in itself. The thing that I like about doing it at home is you get to know your customers. Where as out sourcing - depending on the platform, you don't know your customer/art collector as well. I think this video will help many artists so thank you for sharing this.

[@HarryLoveTV]

This is golden information, thank you so much! It’s surprisingly difficult to find such thorough info about printers which is a minefield. On top of it your work is lovely as well, glad to have found this vid.

[@connieebinger6343]

Oh my gosh! What great information! Clear, concise, and very very informative! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us. What a huge time and money saver! Thank you also for the Skillshare reference, I belong to Skillshare and love all the options I have to pay one price and see classes from a lot of different people!

[@whatsaroxy]

Even though I already own a printer and print my giclee at a specialist, I still enjoyed your video. Thanks for sharing! Always enjoy seeing what other people’s technique is.

[@KamuanyaDesigns]

Oh wow!! I have been trying all kinds of combinations to make my prints at home and still can't get the colors to match my original illustration. This video has SO many other things for me to try, so thank you for making it and as always being super thorough, hehe! I have watched the one on Patreon too, and highly recommend it to anyone who needs to learn this stuff but I can't wait to try with the Epson software and check the paper side (I never thought of that!!) Thanks, Minnie! Happy Easter weekend :D

[@criskoberart]

I use a pixma pro 100, and have found that using their software gives me the best results. But, still not as bright and contrasty as I wish. I have found the paper seems to be the culprit most of the time things don't look good.

[@silvertales]

You may also want to color calibrate your monitor using a spyder (or something like it.) But, a lot of times the problem also stems from the fact that your monitor is RGB and backlit, while prints are CMYK and the gamuts are different between the two color spaces.

[@KamuanyaDesigns]

@@silvertales I will look into that too! Thank you so much for the suggestion :)

[@silvertales]

@@KamuanyaDesigns I used to drive myself nuts trying to match my prints to my originals until I got a color calibrator for my monitor. Definitely helped quite a bit!

[@KamuanyaDesigns]

@@silvertales I've been printing from my iPad for so long because of that lol! I hope I can figure out the printing on the Eco-tank now 🤣

[@Thebookrat]

Girl, your timing is PERFECT.

[@glowycloey]

Thank you. Was just about to look for how to do this, and here you are!

[@thatsthat8421]

I'm thinking about starting to print my work. Your advice here was invaluable

[@wendydashwood7879]

Brilliant. So helpful. Thank you. Its reinforced all my decisions so far with what to do to get started. 👍😊

[@pat4005]

Thank you a fantastic video on this topic! ❤️ I'd like to add, that it's very important for artist's who are printing using their home printer, to be aware that the archival inks are only "archival", when used on the specific papers that they were tested upon and rated by, the company that sells the ink and printer! When first looking into making prints of my work using a home printer, I saw that many artist's were stating about their prints for sale, that the prints were rated as fade resistant for a certain number of years because they used archival quality inks. They also gave info on the paper they printed on, which was usually high-quality also. BUT, the ink is ONLY considered archival when printed on the paper tested on and specified by the company that makes the ink. So if you make prints on other papers not specified by the ink manufacturers, to be compatible and actually tested as archival with those inks, then the print seller can't say the print is of archival quality and the ink won't fade. Using a high-quality, non-yellowing archival paper does not mean that the archival ink you are using, automatically make the print end result "archival", because different brands of archival inks will react with different types of paper in ways that may not be truly archival. Be sure to double-check the ink company's website to see what papers they tested their archival inks on and what other papers they recommend, if any. ☺️

[@MariaCastro-df2gi]

Thanks so much for this very informative video!!!❤ I’ve watched do many, but yours have answered so many questions!

[@redwanmarashli6496]

As a new digital artist i find your tips to be very experienced and useful. Thank you

[@aida087]

Hello Minnie, thank you so much for sharing! I've been thinking of getting into how to make Art prints and also, getting a scanner and printer!! Thank you for your suggestions!!❤️🥰🙏🏼🙏🏼

[@brianchelette1336]

This is brilliant and so informative! Thank you! It’s exactly the info I’ve been looking for

[@jacintatate]

Thank you for making this video, it was very helpful. I am currently working full time in an accounting firm but I want to start a creative side hobby with income on the weekends. I love art prints and can see myself using the same scanner and printer to create pieces of art.

[@deboramissoorten6765]

Thanks for sharing your experience, I always enjoy your videos a lot !

[@Zenithxblack]

I have one of your "Devil's Ivy" prints hanging over my kitchen table. It looks so beautiful.

[@RV-dr8gc]

Oh there is so much art of you in the video that i didn't see before 😍

[@WillowRoseArlen]

Wow this video answered so many questions I had! Thank you! 😊

[@justmilfy]

Thank you 🙏 Just subscribed and I’m not disappointed. I appreciate your content so much.

[@agold1702]

As a student I was gifted a huge professional Epson printer. I spent more time, ink and paper trying to figure out what the issues were, etc. Later I worked with a local printer to have my work printed which saved my sanity. If you are confident in troubleshooting then DIY is best.

[@jessicagraydon3793]

Hi! I took your advice to the tee and went as far as going into the transcripts to make sure I got the right stuff, I went str8 to Amazon, and I am sitting here now thinking how I WISH you had affiliate links so I could have supported you while starting myself up! Thank you! for giving us such rich information pool.

[@alexiswilliams3233]

Absolutely loved this video very helpful

[@AnnieNoodle]

Really great, helpful video! I'm hoping to get my old PIXMA working and do some prints with it, just small batch. Ink is sooooo expensive though, it's so hard to take the risk that I won't be able to get it working! Your prints look gorgeous, btw!!

[@VedikaKannanDesigns]

That was very informative❤ Quality art printing made simple!

[@sujanithtottempudi2991]

Very crisp and practical information.thank you👌👌😇

[@samanthaschurter747]

Thank you for this post. It’s so helpful.

[@silvertales]

Giclee started out a term to refer to fine art digital prints on a specially modified IRIS printer, but now it’s just a catch-all term for fine art prints on any inkjet printer (hopefully using archival inks and good quality paper.) So, you ARE making giclee prints at home! 😁 I’d been thinking about making limited edition, specialty paper print runs of my newer works, and was in need a good printer recommendation, so I’ll have to look into the Epson! I’ll definitely still outsource the large open edition batch runs of prints I take to events, though.

[@creativestudio101]

True, it used to be a Giclee was a more specialized type of "art print" than a regular "art" print... but I'm not sure that you can really still call a regular home-made print a "Giclee" per say. Also, do you usually do limited editions, or do you prefer to do "open editions" to keep the earnings potential of a specific piece?

[@silvertales]

@@creativestudio101 So long as your paper and ink are archival quality, then, technically your print is giclee. I do limited runs of some images, usually embellished in some fashion, and open edition runs. All of my prints have an open edition, to maximize earning potential, and some, specific pieces have embellished limited runs to make them a bit more special. Usually, it’s prints of paintings I’ve used gold leaf on, and I’ll go back over those areas with gold paint on the print.

[@creativestudio101]

​@@silvertales Gotcha.. makes sense. I figured if I ever do any reprints of my best pieces I'll do a high-count. Or from what I read, you can always do reprinted re-numbered set of limited editions if you were to do a different size print, say 8X10 and 11X14 limited edition for each set. Or not just different sizes, but different custom materials. Thanks for your input!

[@silvertales]

Absolutely! Limited runs can be reprinted so long as there is some difference between the runs: size, paper, embellishment, etc. I’m always happy to talk with other artists, so many people have different approaches that can often make a huge difference in how I can improve how I work, so I’m happy to share that info! Hope it helps!

[@creativestudio101]

@@silvertales Thanks again Silver.. if you dond mind, can I ask, when you size your prints, do you include the artist-signature area in the stated "size" of the print, so if you were making a 8X10 print, the art-image itself would be smaller to account for the signature area, or do you do the actual art-image at the 8X10, and then add say a 1" border which in turn makes the actual "print" size 10X12 ?? just wondering.. I've seen artists do both... what is your preference?

[@everausten]

This is very helpful info to fine tune my set up - thank you! 💛🌟✨🌙

[@moodymiss]

Thank you for making this video! I live in New Zealand and I’ve just brought a Epson XL-15000 and finding nice paper for it is so difficult 😂 But I managed to source some bockingford ink jet paper so I will give that a go! Would have been lost again without that suggestion. Thank you 😊

[@creationslandscapedesigns]

I buy 100% cotton laser jet paper and have the local copy place print my work. Overall it ends up being more economical for me. Then again making and selling art is not my bread and butter.

[@paigetomkinson1137]

Thanks for this! I've only ever sold and gifted originals of my 2-D art, and needed to find out how to move that next step: Printing my work!! ( 🤯) To me it has always been the idea of dragging it down to a print shop. Now that I'm almost ready, though, no print shop of that kind here! I had no idea, really, how to even start looking. Voila! Thank you and Minnie for the invaluable advice and life experience.

[@RONANAWAY]

It doesnt matter which printer the local copy place uses? Or do you request for it to be printed in a specific printer?

[@creationslandscapedesigns]

@@RONANAWAY I got mine printed at FedEx office. Their self-serve printers were not really that good quality when I try to test print. So they did it in the back printers which were better quality.

[@RONANAWAY]

@@creationslandscapedesigns thank you!! i will try that! my room gonna look so fire 🔥😎

[@reginadunn8525]

Hi Minnie, thanks for the trial skillshare. Also, I'm not getting the actual papers you mention when I click your links...will continue to try. Great video and great work. Wish I'd seen your video before purchasing my printer. It's too complicated for me, a tech amateur.

[@matthewwilson3673]

Great video, you make cool art and the prints look good

[@eiami3450]

Very helpful video, thank you! 💖

[@mpazadaros]

Lovely as always. I don't know if your doing it on patreon, but I love also your 1 hr chatty catch ups ☺️

[@kristiapamungkas697]

Thousands thanks for making this video! I ended up buying the same printer and I am very happy with it. However, I didn't expect the whole paper testing could be so exhausting :( and just like what you said, cheaper paper often sucks

[@Marceau.Verdiere.Atelier]

Thank you for this really helpful video.

[@elenamigaldi7404]

Yay! A new video!

[@TracieWho]

Extremely helpful! Do you only sell prints or do you also sell original works? I am at the point where I need to start selling my work, but the costs are daunting. I have a great printer, an Epson similar to yours, although my scanner is an Epson as well. I've been trying to make my own prints but the "quirks" of the printer so far have been a steep learning curve, as is the cost of good quality printing paper. I'll be watching this again! Thank you so much!

[@RootVegetabIe]

Thanks so much for this video. May I ask what paper setting you use when printing on watercolour paper?

[@lywaa2300]

Great vid!

[@mardiellendesigns4298]

Hi Minnie, I have so many questions for you in regard to your printer! I have the same one but am really struggling with getting it to print the correct colours. Do you save your artwork in CMYK? And in regard to the software, is there a way to add more paper sizes? I regularly try to print cards that are A5 before being folded and it is just not an option on my Photo+ software. Sorry to bombard you with all these questions. I've spent days trying to get my printer to print at a quality I'm happy with. Also since watching your video, I am now going to get some higher-quality print paper, maybe that's my problem !!?? Thank you so much for all your amazing videos and your help. =)

[@AC-eb5wj]

Hi Minnie, I'm curious to know if you digitally remove the paper background in your artworks in PS (or a similar editing software) before printing. Or do you instead print the entire original scan, with both the artwork and the original paper background in your reproductions? I'd like to reproduce some light pencil drawings that were done on white paper. The problem I'm having is that after I change the images to greyscale in PS and adjust all of the values to bump up the brightness of the whites, the tone of the background paper remains visible in the final print, as a light textured grey tone. Ideally, I'd like to try to separate out the light pencil line work from the surrounding textured paper, but I'm finding it tricky to do so, without compromising the quality of the light pencil lines, since they're so light. Have you ever run into this issue before? If so, I'd love to hear your thoughts! Thank you!

[@BROVIBRATIONS]

Thank you so much!!

[@soundsoftheworldextended3022]

Cool. Thanks for sharing.

[@trevorwalsh3392]

Thank you!

[@Aknayirpuna]

Please keep posting 😊

[@InfiniteXPeach]

Thanks!

[@maura462]

I'm not an artist but have a few patreon prints from you and have always wondered how they're printed! They always look so incredible ^.^

[@lily5769]

Thank you

[@Jonalexher]

Hi Minnie, awesome video, thank you! Just wanted to let you know that the link for the ink is only for a yellow one, and all the links for the papers don't seem to take you to the specific product, but just the website. Thanks!

[@michiro_art]

Thank you so much! This is very helpful (^^

[@hawraahusain5439]

Thank u❤😊

[@lornatw]

Hi, do you ever print any art that has gold or silver metallic on it and if so how do you make sure this shine shows on the actual print?

[@CaptainNim]

Is the Epson XP-970 is elligible for Epson's ready print ink subcscription??

[@joesummers9107]

How do you photograph your work? I struggle with making the photos look identical to the original painting

[@FunArtForKids]

Hi there, thank you for the informative video. The printer that you are using, does it use archival inks and how many can you print from new cartridge? Thank you 😊

[@connieebinger6343]

Hi there! I saw your question on the number of prints that she gets from her inks and if they’re archival and didn’t see a response. I just watched the video and she talks about the number of prints she gets from her set of inks as around 500. The time marker is at 4:27. I think the inks were archival but I’m not sure maybe relisten on that inks section. Happy art work from Redding, California, USA!

[@StudioHannah]

I bought a printer that was supposed to be good and it makes TERRIBLE prints. Was very disappointed, but couldn't return it. I'll get a printer that YOU suggest next time!

[@iamhumanbeing3]

heyyyy i lovedd your videoo!!! also i wanted to ask how I should I ask at the shop about the paper quality what is the specific name for the paper cause I want to print my art and then again I don't have the instruments +supplies and I am worried If my prints would be on a cheap or low quality paper!! so i need help!!! love humanbeing3

[@juliaonions3444]

My dad is 88 yrs old and loves painting. He wants to print pictures out then paint over parts. What would you suggest for the paper? Xx

[@AI-Hallucination]

P700 with pigment ink it's expensive but if you were to print RA4 which is c41 colour film process it would cost an arm and and leg I do both the results in colour are not that different tbh black and white you can tell the because of the silver in the film but overall printing your own work is the way forward

[@hiddentidesgaming]

Since your printer is for photography specifically, it makes sense that jpeg settings work best for it.

[@marklola12]

can i ask a cheeky question...i am going to start doing a3 prints and i am struggling on what packaging to use to send to customers. i accidently bought the wrong A3 postal tubes off amazon as they were only 46mm in diam and when testing a print in it i had to roll it ultra tight which resulted not just in massive curls but kind of creases too since it had to be rolled tight. I spoke to a packing supplier and they had the long postal boxes which are 108mm wide which would be great but when i asked them they said there will still be curling and reccoment the card backed envelopes. i keep hearing different things from people saying prints can be more damaged i card backed envelopes, but when ever i have had big prints etc they have always come in these long recangled/squared postage tubes. am i right in assuming these would be best as they will always be a bit of curling on prints when posting

[@hobsignrho]

I recently went on Amazon, and looked for A3 printers, for art prints. Then I closed all tabs and forgot about it. 😖 We have the same scanner though. Only I have the newer model. 😛 Are you able to get a quality enlarged print of smaller work, when you scan at high resolution? I have never been able to test this.

[@tinas6459]

What computer do you use? Thanks

[@morganw_]

Hi Minnie. I'd love to know why you use a separate scanner and not the inbuilt one on the printer. I have the same printer and struggling with the quality of scan, even when it's set to the highest quality, it still comes out like it's lost resolution and isn't sharp. So disappointing, feel like I've tried everything to make the print crisp and clear, but to no avail! Thank you for sharing this helpful video

[@rocketsackcreations]

Hi! May I ask, do you edit your scanned artwork at all? Scanning, even in high resolution, looks almost always faded compared to the actual painting. So, ideally, you should edit it tiny tiny bit (for example, by increasing saturation, brightness etc - depends from the colours and the result you want to achieve). I do this small edit of the scanned artoworks on Photoshop but I am sure there are more softwares that can help.

[@MrHowardMoon]

I'm looking at the XP-970 myself. What is the highest gsm paper you've been able to use with it?

[@RootVegetabIe]

From what I understand, 300gsm is the max.

[@lauren185]

Is there any reason you don't use the printers scanner? ☺️

[@lindawatianugrah3794]

Can we printed A3 watercolor artwork into A1 paper?

[@elenamigaldi7404]

Do you ship to the US?

[@myoldsoul]

Why do you use a separat scanner when you have a scanner on your printer? :)

[@morgannwilliams967]

I am trying SO hard to find the right art prints paper which is archival acid free paper and no one I have seen so far purposely and specifically shows about it. 😞😔🙏

[@dollycatlin5077]

Just found your KZbin. Are you making electronic art? Or or are you scanning originals rather than taking a photograph????

[@kirsty8135]

Would you be able to do a video reviewing Inprint as a seller? Would be interesting to get your view! ☺️

[@khloe38]

The links for the papers no longer work are you able to update this?

[@fremont111]

how do we know the ink lasts up to 300 years? lol

[@1000mizz]

Art is not a glamorous field, everyone is struggling in this field to stand out. Don't believe the hype.

[@fishst6233]

if any of you guys have the Epson xp 15000 DO NOT BUY THE EPSON PAPER!!!! it sucks so bad. i used it in the beginning and i got very blurry photos i thought there was something wrong with my printer turns out it was the paper. So i now use Koala paper!!!

[@TubeByJAC]

I hope this message finds you. Can I ask what type of Koala photo paper you use with your epson xp15000? Satin? Glossy?

[@kellierobinsonartist]

Great video, I definitely think the ink is a scam too! I have a 970, don’t want to speak too soon but it’s been a good printer 🖨