LFP - Large-Format-Printing
Authenticate fine art prints with new technology developed by Prooftag and HP
Friday 12. March 2010 - Developed by Prooftag and HP and endorsed by Wilhelm Imaging Research, ARTtrust is a state-of-the- art ID tag that artists can affix to their photos and reproductions created on HP Professional Photo Printers.
Challenge
Galerie Vu needed to provide artists with an easy, trusted way to certify the value of their work- proving not only that it is unique and authentic, but that the print quality will last.
Solution
Developed by Prooftag and HP and endorsed by Wilhelm Imaging Research, ARTtrust is a state-of-the- art ID tag that artists can affix to their photos and reproductions created on HP Professional Photo Printers.
Results
Galerie Vu-and the artists it represents-can now easily provide art collectors with traceability, proof of authenticity and certified information about print longevity.
Buyers can purchase prints with confidence, knowing that the work is authentic and the quality won’t fade.
Prints can retain their value longer, because ARTtrust retains information about authenticity and print longevity through every transaction.
At a time when counterfeiters can easily mass-reproduce a photographer’s work, the ability to certify that a print is original and authentic-and will last a lifetime-is critical. But until recently, this was a time-consuming process for the artist, buyer and gallery owner, and the result wasn’t always reliable.
To help give artists a better way to certify their fine art prints, Paris-based Galerie Vu turned to ARTtrust, a new self-certification system that puts inventory control back into the hands of artists. Developed jointly by Prooftag and HP and endorsed by Wilhelm Imaging Research, ARTtrust is a system of unique, non-removable physical tags that are verifiable online.
By using ARTtrust tags on prints produced on HP Professional Photo Printers, Galerie Vu can easily provide art collectors with traceability and proof of authenticity, as well as certified information about print longevity.
“ARTtrust is easy and fast,” says Xavier Soule, owner of Galerie Vu. “When you sell a product to a collector, you need to prove that it is what you say it is. An ARTtrust tag on an HP print is one of the easiest ways to do that.”
Enhancing the value of a print
The result is increased buyer confidence: Collectors can quickly get certified information about the identity and value of their prints. The ARTtrust system works with any pigment print produced on an HP Designjet printer with HP Vivera Pigment inks on compatible media.
“With ARTtrust, you give the buyer total assurance, and not only for the first transaction,” says Pierre- Olivier Deschamps, a photographer represented by Galerie Vu. “It enables you to keep a real value to the art you are selling later on.”
ARTtrust ensures a print’s unique value with tags made of a translucent polymer, which contain a pattern of randomly self-generated air bubbles impossible to reproduce-even by the manufacturer. Says Philippe Serenon, ARTtrust’s project director, “It is a million times more reliable in terms of uniqueness than a fingerprint.”
Reassurance for artists and buyers
Artists typically limit prints of their work to a small, set number to maintain each piece’s value and uniqueness. Before ARTtrust, to prove that a print belonged to the original series, an artist needed to maintain several certificates in elaborate filing systems-time-consuming for the artist, buyer and gallery alike.
ARTtrust tags simplify that process. The artist affixes a tag to the back of a print produced on an HP Professional Photo Printer, including HP Designjet Z2100, Z3100 or Z3200 series photo printers, or HP Designjet Z6100 series printers. He or she also places a corresponding tag on a certificate and retains a special one for his or her records. Then the artist registers the ID online, enabling buyers to quickly verify details about how the print was produced.
Laurence LeBlanc, a photographer who displays her work at Galerie Vu, says that the easy-to-use ARTtrust tags give her reassurance. “My mind is relieved, and all of my work is secured. It’s an advantage for me and also for the people who buy my work,” she says.
Vibrant prints that last a lifetime
In addition to providing authenticity, an ARTtrust ID tag on a print created with an HP Designjet printer on compatible media is proof to art collectors that the quality of the print won’t fade.
“You can’t resell a product that has degraded, so ensuring the longevity of the print is essential,” says Jean-François Camp, CEO of Dupon, a high-end digital photo lab with locations in Paris and Bordeaux.
When Dupon produces an ARTtrust-tagged print on its HP Designjet Z6100 Printer, buyers can look up the print online and use ratings by Wilhelm Imaging Research to verify that it will last more than 60 years or more than 200 years, depending on the type of compatible media used.
Setting a new standard for the art world
Looking forward, Serenon sees a bright future for ARTtrust. “Talking with photographers from around the world has shown us that there is an amazing amount of enthusiasm around this solution. We see the potential for ARTtrust to become a standard in the reproduction world.”
Henry Wilhelm, director of research at Wilhelm Imaging Research, is pleased with the bar ARTtrust has set for ensuring quality, longevity and authenticity: “It is the first fine art certification program that requires the use of permanence-tested, high-stability pigment inks and media, and identifies and registers each individual print in a secure and easily traceable way.”
He adds: “ARTtrust sets a new standard for print quality, permanence and integrity.”