1035 22nd Avenue Unit 18 Oakland, CA 94606
Our Services
From printing to scanning and art capture, we are your collaborators for museum-quality, fine art projects.
Printing
Every print is color-profiled, hand trimmed, and securely packaged in our Oakland, CA production studio
Artwork Scanning
Your original artwork or archival document is captured, color-edited, and retouched to fill your specific needs
Drum Scanning
We are keeping the technology and art of drum scanning alive. Your film is cleaned, fluid mounted, and scanned with a powerful Heidelberg machine to deliver gorgeous results
Custom Printing
If your project needs custom retouching, test printing, file upsizing or gallery curation, our team is here to help!
Printing
Every print is color-profiled, hand trimmed, and securely packaged in our Oakland, CA production studio
Artwork Scanning
Your original artwork or archival document is captured, color-edited, and retouched to fill your specific needs
Drum Scanning
We are keeping the technology and art of drum scanning alive. Your film is cleaned, fluid mounted, and scanned with a powerful Heidelberg machine to deliver gorgeous results
Custom Printing
If your project needs custom retouching, test printing, file upsizing or gallery curation, our team is here to help!
FAQ
Direct to Print VS Custom
Both our Direct to Print service and Custom Printing service use the exact same large format printers, archival inks, and fine art papers. Direct to Print is our more affordable service for you to upload your files for printing. Custom Printing gets us involved in editing.
If you need assistance choosing a paper, print ratio, or optimizing your file for print, please reach out!
How do I prepare my files for printing?
For best results, prepare your files like this to send to us for printing:
- Adobe RGB, Display P3, or sRGB for color prints and Gray Gamma 2.2 for Piezography
- Flattened Tiff or JPEG saved at maximum quality
- Don’t uprez your image – send it at the native resolution.
Scanning VS Art Capture
Both methods create digital files of your artwork. Larger paintings, or those with textured brushstrokes, metallic paints, and/or glossy surfaces must be digitally captured using our capture system with up to 400 megapixels of resolution. We use a suite of color matching software for best possible color match to the pigments of your originals. Our optimized lighting enhances brushstrokes and fine details. Cross polarization is used to eliminate or control reflections. All in all, it’s a finely tuned system that records the subtle hues, delicate details, and color fidelity of your original artwork.
I already have scans or files of my artwork – can you print from them?
We can work from your own scans or digital captures, provided their quality and resolution is suitable for printing. Imaging, correction, and color matching is $150/hr, billed in 1/4 hour increments. Proof prints are $20.
If you have copy slides of your artwork, you’ll order a drum scan instead of an artwork scan/capture – we can scan any format film up to 11×14″.
Should I add a border to my prints?
At Candela, borders can be ordered through our online order portal and are all outset, adding to the sheet dimension of your print. This aligns with current standards for fine art, custom framing, where a framer can mount and then trim off the border, or attach it behind a mat.
We recommend borders for the majority of our papers to protect your print when you or your client handle it.
If you would like an inset border while retaining a standard sheet size, you must edit the file prior to uploading to our online store, leave a note at checkout, or reach out to our team so we can complete this edit for you.
If you would like a borderless print, we recommend choosing one of our hardier papers, including
What is a drum scanner, and why should I use one?
A drum scanner a film scanner that makes the best scans of negative and transparency film. Nothing else captures the dynamic range, tonal quality, detail, and sharpness of your image. These are professional machines designed for exacting reproductions. Our Tango drum scanner is five feet tall and weighs 550 pounds. Our Aztek (the small scanner) weighs 140 pounds.
Your film is fluid-mounted to an acrylic cylinder (the drum) and sandwiched between optically clear Mylar. The fluid mounting increases highlight and shadow detail in your scans. It improves fine detail while removing much of the dust & scratches, emulsion blemishes, etc) in your film, and reduces film grain. There’s no way to simulate the improvements fluid mounting your film offers – you can only fluid mount film with drum scanners and some flatbeds, not with an Imacon or Noritsu scanner. The end result is drum scans that are cleaner and sharper, without feeling like the scans have been sharpened with a filter.
After mounting, the drum is loaded into the scanner, where it spins at high RPM as the scan head (also called the “periscope”) travels up and down in a series of extremely precise micro-steps, slowly yet faithfully recording the film’s details line by line. A medium format negative may take up to 2 hours of scanning time.
When will my print be ready?
Direct to Print orders, Art Capture, and Drum Scanning projects have a 7-10 day turnaround.
Turnarounds are extended during the holiday months of November and December.
Give us a call for the most current turnaround estimates! 1 510-227-8337
What can you do if my Direct to Print order does not turn out how I expected?
There are many reasons a Direct Order may not turn out how a client expects, including contrast, exposure, color depth or paper finish. If you have any concerns about your paper choice or your file prior to ordering, please reach out!
Once an order has been submitted through our portal, we cannot complete free reprints. This is why we always recommend completing small test prints or contacting us for advice or custom editing. We are always here to help you reach your printing goals!