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Summary:
In this thesis a methodology for the evaluation of the colorimetric and physical quality of photographic reproductions were elaborated and systematized, from professional captures in RAW format, output in high quality printing systems using materials of high permanence. This mode of reproduction, called Fineart printing, requires some important care so that its result has high fidelity compared to the final file prepared by the artist/photographer. In addition, other good practices adopted in the method developed here guarantee the museological quality of reproductions that comply with hereby established requirements. Color space for image acquisition, printing methods, measurement methodology, control strips with colorimetric target, targets, and colorimetric tolerances are part of this methodology. It is expected that its use will allow objective quality control and easy implementation in this important field of visual arts.
For more than a century, professional photographers have had full autonomy to capture their images and then participate in the process of reproducing the images made up to enlargement onto photographic paper/film, analogic process. When the processes of capturing, processing and reproducing photography went digital, artists/photographers continued to perform their photographic captures (and processing) completely autonomously from other professionals. However, when it comes time to print the images, they depend on professionals who adjust their files for the output processes. This causes uncertainty in the process and delegation of authorship by photographers, artists, gallery owners, and museums, and reinterpretation of the images by print providers. The lack of participation in the authors’ output processes is due, notably, to market inertia with the division of tasks and the lack of a methodology that can support authors in the evaluation of printing services, which are, in general, outsourced.
File adjustment (with consequent reinterpretation of the image) is necessary in the case of printing books and other products printed in analog methods (offset, flexography, or gravure), because these methods use the CMYK color space, and the RGB to CMYK transformation involves specific knowledge of the printing process, usually not well known outside the field of this industry.
For Fineart museum photography printing, which is the scope of this work, the images prepared by the photographers are RGB files, and their appearance is within the decision domain of their authors. In this workflow, images that have been captured in RAW are “developed” on computers with appropriate and calibrated monitors. The photographer/artist, exercising his role as the protagonist of the artistic/technical production process, makes explicit his desire for the appearance of the image by adjusting exposure, white balance, tone curve, saturation, tonal curve adjustment, sharpness, and other visual characteristics of the image. At the end of this process, the resulting RGB file with ICC color profile is the artist/photographer’s final file.
This file is passed on to reproduction service providers, and it is this file that indicates the author’s intention and that it should be reproduced as faithfully (colorimetrically) as possible. However, it is quite common for photographers to hire professionals or send them to print providers to have their original images adjusted, with the justification that these professionals “would know how to prepare the images for Fineart printing”. At this point, besides losing the autonomy of their own images, the artists/photographers decline the right to control the colorimetric appearance of their originals, opening the possibility for other professionals to modify their creation. Professionals involved in Fine Art reproduction services should do their best to honor the artist’s original, avoiding editing its content. To control the final reproduction of the creator final files this thesis presents a full methodology allowing all stakeholders to certify the resemblance from the artist/photographer’s final file and the fine art reproduction. The controlled reproduction is done strictly with the use of color management, museum materials, calibrated instruments, and proper methodology.
This work allows the authors to objectively evaluate the reproduction and minimizing the risks of having their final files edited. This methodology covers all the steps and tests performed that determined the formulation for evaluating reproductions of digital photographs in Fineart museum systems.