Printing Techniques

Processing of all the pictures from "Beyond: Visions of the Interplanetary Probes" took place at Kinetikon Pictures on one of two machines: an Apple Power Mac G4 with a 733 MHz processor and 768 MB of ram, and a PowerBook G4 with a 1.5 GHz processor and 512 MB of ram. Prints are made from digital TIFF files on a Durst Lambda printer at one of the leading photographic labs in north-eastern Italy, XL Service near Pordenone. This printing method, in which three lasers transfer the image to traditional analogue photo paper before processing, allows for the most accurate rendition of source files currently possible. In essence, everything that is in the digital file ends up on the paper, without any of the distortions or infidelities associated with analog printing from negatives. Each print in the edition is truly identical with the others in that edition; all print decisions are codified in the image print file. Combined with the richness and depth of traditional photographic paper, these techniques permit unprecedented sharpness and detail. Such high quality prints of the photographic work of the deep space probes has never been available before.

Because of the varying sizes of the source files, the dimensions of the individual prints were governed by the limitations of the original source files for these pictures; extensive testing was conducted to determine the optimum size that each picture could be printed while still retaining its immediacy and impact. The price variation for these prints reflects their varying sizes.

Edition and Prices