Photo printing that preserves the quality of the image over time is known as "archival printing." Let's take a look at four key factors that affect the quality of the archival print.
Ruston Art Encounter
We are excited to announce the Ruston Art Encounter!
The Ruston Art Encounter is not your typical art crawl. It is an interactive, experiential art event that is coming to downtown Ruston beginning this July 30th. This new grassroots collaboration, initiated by Ruston Artisans owner Judi Null, is collectively supported and managed by Ruston’s art-related businesses, Ruston's downtown community and the Friends of Ruston MainStreet. It has long been the vision of Ruston Artisans and many other businesses to recognize Ruston as the art destination it is.
A unique art-related event will be conducted in the fabulous downtown area of Ruston on the last Saturday of every other month from 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. We encourage people to visit our Farmer’s Market before engaging in each art encounter. Afterward, head over to our walking art trail that features over one hundred artists and over 20 art-related merchants, businesses and organizations within a one-mile area. After the Ruston Art Encounter, we invite you to shop, dine and perhaps stay overnight in one of our many hotels.
The following events have been scheduled:
July 30, 2022 - Sidewalk Chalkwalk – Visit our chalk walk of beautiful art displayed throughout downtown Ruston. Our artists include Jessica Ann (Creative Exchange); Ron Mckinney (Dixie Center for the Arts); Chlese Jiles (The Frame Up); Katelyn Vaughan, (The Fabric Shop); Keldrick Dunn (Cotton Top); Ruston Mirror by Creative Exchange (Railroad Park); Ashley Greer (Heard Freighthouse Food Park); Jean DeFreese Moore (The Depot Coffee House); Meredith Anderson (The Children’s Shoppe); Adam Williams (Limitless Grooming); Daniel Myers (Fine Line Supply Co); Emily Ezell (No. 9 Books & Studio 301); and Noah Blessing (Ruston Artisans). Your kids can join the artists at the Origin Depot Bank on Alabama and Monroe to create their own works of art. There will also be pop ups and fun activities along the path to and at the bank. You will also have an opportunity to vote on your favorite chalk artist. The winning artist will receive $500. Her show at the Dixie may be over, but keep an eye out as we heard that Mary Poppins is a big fan of chalk art!
September 24, 2022 – Murals and Street Art – Showcased in this walking tour are our fabulous murals and an opportunity to help in in creating portable street art mini-murals, as well as small works of art along the path. Our art-related business will be open to showcase their artworks, and classes on how to create street art will be held. Many artworks on display will also feature street art.
November 26, 2022 – Christmas Stroll – In addition to lighting the downtown Christmas tree, you will encounter strolling musicians, culinary art, performance artists and of course all those perfectly unique artistic gifts. You can celebrate all day and get your shopping done. A one-of-a-kind Christmas experience!
January 28, 2023 – Performance Encounter – Warm up the winter month with our art merchants as visual, culinary, performance and other artists showcase their talents. You will have an opportunity to practice with an artist. We promise hot coffee and chocolate somewhere on your journey!
March 25, 2023 – Edible Art – Enjoy the flavors of Ruston’s culinary artists, in addition to encountering unique textiles dyed from food and plants and visual arts featuring a food theme. We can taste it already!
May 27, 2023 – A Day of Plein Air – Encounter artists lining our streets with easels and paint brushes as they create art before your eyes.
Our planning committee this year includes Dylan Sanders and Ryan Botts, Creative Exchange; Judy Copeland, Dixie Center for the Arts; Henry McCoy, Fine Line Supply Co.; Judi Null, Ruston Artisans; and, Amy Stegall, Ruston Main Street Director/Community Coordinator.
The talent in Ruston and the local area is exceptional and many local businesses, corporations, non-profit groups are supporting that talent through their sponsorship and donations. A list of our sponsors and donors will be listed on our advertising in recognition of their contributions. We would also like to thank the Ruston Community Men’s Shed for creating our chalkboards. If you would like to donate to the Ruston Art Encounter, contact Judi Null at 318-254-3322 or Amy Stegall at 318-251-8647. All donations go toward paying our artists and expenses. No monies donated go toward any of the businesses.
Maps and information regarding each unique encounter may be picked up at Experience Ruston Convention & Visitors Bureau and at each business listed above. Shop, eat, play and stay. Ruston is your art destination!
Off the Clock - Art Opening
Tips to Create a Gallery Wall
When you think of creating a gallery wall, you may be daunted by the potential expense and skill necessary to do it successfully. Read on to see some helpful tips that can help you create an amazing gallery wall.
Plan it Out
You need to start with a plan if you want to get the best outcome. Think about the theme that you want and the color to base your fine art printing on as well. These will guide you in the next steps and make it possible to come up with a cohesive collection. Once you have everything figured out, arrange it on the floor. You could go a step further and take a picture of the setup from directly above. This will enable you to have a good look at the arrangement and help you decide if you like it or if you want to change things up. It will be easier to make changes at this point as nothing will be permanent yet.
Start with the Largest Piece
While coming up with the layout, start with the largest piece of art you have. Use this as your anchor point for the rest of the art pieces. Just remember not to place the second and third largest pieces right next to the largest one. This may make it harder to arrange other pieces and it will affect the final layout of your gallery wall in a negative way. Space them out creatively so that larger pieces are surrounded by smaller ones and it will look like a creative puzzle on the wall that fits together just right.
Measure the Spaces Uniformly
The spacing is an important aspect of your gallery wall as it will determine the wall's uniformity. With this in mind, use a tape measure or find another way to ensure that the spacing between each piece of art is exact. This will also make it possible to tell how much space you need to make your fine art printing well worth the time and effort you spend on it.
According to Statista, in 2021, the global art market recorded approximately 36.7 million transactions. This goes to show that many people are making use of fine art printing. If you're ready to get started on a fine art print of your own, give Fine Line Supply Co. a call today!
Tips for Buying Decorative Canvas Prints for Your Home
Finding affordable decorative artwork for your home can be a challenge. According to Statista, the art market had a valuation of about $65.1 billion in 2021, so finding the perfect artwork for your home can be like finding a needle in a haystack. Luckily, there are ways to save money while getting exactly what you're looking for. Canvas printing can be a great solution, for example. Follow these tips to find the perfect canvas prints for your home without breaking the bank.
Use Any Photo Your Love
Canvas printing is a great option for anyone who wants to create decorative artwork. Any photo you have can be printed on canvas to create a one-of-a-kind art piece that is perfect for your home. Pick a theme for the room you're currently improving, then get to work finding photos that will fit the theme. There are some ideas below that you can use to create amazing art for your home for a very affordable price.
Let It Be a Family Affair
Those candid shots of family members stored on your phone will likely look stunning in black and white. Canvas printing options can be scaled to any size from small to extra large. A great option is to choose a single photo that includes the entire family as a statement piece and surround it with smaller photos of each individual family member.
Keep It Natural
Take photos around your neighborhood or go through photos you have already taken to find nature pictures for canvas printing. Play around with the photos a bit in a photo editor to come up with some unique looks. It is amazing what a single leaf can look like with a little editing. Beach photos, mountain photos, and photos of your favorite flowers are just a few ideas that you can use to create beautiful art for your home.
Create an Urban Look
If you lean more toward an urban vibe in your home, there are plenty of options to create great artwork for your walls. If you do not have access to the city streets right outside your door, there are stock photos online that you can use for canvas printing to bring that urban vibe into your home.
Finding great decorative wall art for your home is as easy as looking for photos that you love and having them printed onto canvas. It is a great way to save money without sacrificing style. When you're ready to get custom canvas prints for your home, order prints from our experts at Fine Line Supply Co.
Should You Professionally Print Your Photos?
The reality is that looking at a photo on your computer or phone is not quite the same as looking at a printed image. You will notice the difference when you're taking in the glare of a reflective screen. Printing photos is the only way that you can physically display them to others. Printed photos are also "backups" of digital images, as digital photos can be corrupted or accidentally deleted. It's no wonder that, according to Life Storage, about 94% of all women still own printed photos. That said, technically speaking you could potentially have your images printed a home. You don't necessarily need to look into professional photo printing. Let's look into some of the benefits of choosing professional photo printing over printing photos at home.
1. It's Convenient
If you need to have a large number of photos printed, the process can be rather inconvenient. All too often, people spend hours having photos professionally printed in their homes. Not only does this take up time in which you must wait at your computer and printer, selecting photos to have printed, fiddling with the technology when it slows down; it also can be expensive. You could easily run out of ink, in which case you'd have to buy more to finish. It's often more convenient to pay for a professional photo printing session which includes the price of labor and materials.
2. You Can Order Digital Enhancements
Not everyone looks their absolute best on the day a photo is taken. You may be suffering from acne, or perhaps dealing with skin discoloration. Issues like these can be easily corrected by professionals, while at the same time maintaining your natural appearance. Some people choose to pay for more extreme enhancements as well, in which case photos are digitally edited or manipulated with special effects.
3. The Prints Are Higher Quality
Many of us don't know where to begin when creating high-quality photographic prints. Often, special types of paper need to be ordered for higher-quality prints. While they can be difficult for you to find on your own, these are much more easily on hand at professional photo printing studios.
These are just a few reasons why you should have photos professionally printed. We recommend beginning researching printing services near you as soon as possible so that you can print the photos you love. A printed, framed photo on the wall nearly always looks better than one online.
3 Benefits of Online Photo Printing
Photography has changed quite a bit over the years. It wasn't so long ago that it was uncommon for the typical family to own a camera. Rather, people that wished to have their photos taken and developed turned to professional photographers or studios, where they would have their photos taken before waiting days or even weeks for them to be developed. This changed with the advent of the Polaroid camera, and eventually, cameras were on sale for personal use. Because these required film, however, people would still need to take them to developers, sometimes dropping them off at grocery stores to do so.
This is no longer necessary, thanks to digital cameras. Digital cameras allow you to upload your photos to your computer, or even online databases, easily. You can also take advantage of online photo printing. The industry has boomed over the years, with different types of prints on a variety of substrates. With all this in mind, let's look into some of the benefits of online photo printing.
1. You Should Have Hard Copies for Safekeeping
Even if you're not sure that you want to display hard copies of your digital photos, you'll want to keep them around. Digital photos are beautiful, but they cannot be fully relied upon in the long term. Anything could potentially happen that would corrupt your digital photos and make them permanently inaccessible or lost. If you have hard copies, even in storage, you can keep them locked away for the long term, and your precious memories will be kept safe.
2. Your Computer or Phone Isn't Enough
While you could potentially look at your photos on your computer or phone, they won't look their best through a screen. You lose a lot of dimension to images due to the reflectiveness of a phone or computer screen. For some, part of the experience of viewing old photographs is seeing the worn paper, the yellowing tint, the black and white, and the ragged corners. Conversely, when people view old photos on their phone, that sentimentality and nostalgia are missing, sometimes replaced with resentment or cringe because of the poor camera quality from the time it was taken.
3. You Don't Own Files
Technically, you can't own digital files. You don't own the platform on which they are stored, whether that's Dropbox or Google Drive which means you don't fully own your photos until they are printed. There is always a risk of losing access to photos or personal documents when they're stored behind a password screen. New devices, clearing cookies, and changing passwords can all leave you susceptible to losing your photo memories.
Online photo printing is quite simple and inexpensive in this day and age. In 2022, the global market is expected to increase 1.1%, according to IBIS World. Why not print your photos and put them on display for everyone to see? Contact us today for more information.
A Brief Closure
We will be closed June 6th through the 10th for a bit of restructuring. The art supplies will be moving over to Creative Exchange and we’ll also be reconfiguring the store. We have a great deal to accomplish in a short amount of time, and to be realistic, we probably won’t finish. The plan is to complete enough to reopen on June 13th.
We are going to try to keep printing online orders in a timely manner, but part of this restructuring involves moving all of the computers and printers. So as a preemptive “thank you for your patience” during the next week or so, enjoy 25% off all prints ordered through the online Print Lab. Enter code SAWDUST during checkout between now and June 10th.
Promo code cannot be combined with any other offers or promotions and does not apply to gift certificates, print samples, orders already placed, or rush orders. To claim this offer, enter the promo code SAWDUST during checkout at finelinesupply.com. This offer is for 25% off the retail price. This promo expires June 10th at 11:59 PM CST.
