Resolution
A size goes on sale when the file holds at least 150 pixels per inch across the print. 200 or more reads as excellent: you can stand close to it.
Checked at Every Size We Sell
You only ever see the sizes a file can hold. Every other size stays off the page, and each piece says which sizes it skipped and why.
The receipt, from today’s catalogue
- Pieces checked
- 3,351
- Pieces on sale
- 2,572
- Shown, not sold
- 779
- Sizes offered
- 9,512
- At 200 dpi or more
- 4,843
- At 150 to 199 dpi
- 2,336
- Enlarged, new work only
- 2,333
- Printed edge to edge
- 100%
- Sizes withheld
- 33,750
- Largest size on sale
- 40 x 60 in
What Decides a Size
Enlargement
Our studios’ own paintings may be enlarged up to 3x, to no more than 9,000 px on the long edge. Restored historical scans are never enlarged: invented detail would not be the original’s.
Crop
When the frame’s shape costs 10% of the picture or less, the print fills the frame edge to edge. Past that, the size is withheld: we never print a picture inside a white border to make a shape fit, so a 2:3 poster is sold at 2:3 sizes and nowhere else.
Tone, colour and detail
Clipped highlights over 3%, a tonal range under 35 L*, vivid colour on 5% of the picture, a colour cast over 4, soft detail and baked-in margins are noted on the piece’s page. They inform; they never block.
Why Sizes Were Withheld
| Reason | Sizes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| The shape does not fit the frame without a heavy crop | 21,455 | 64% |
| A historical scan under 150 dpi at that size, and scans are never enlarged | 7,650 | 23% |
| New work whose enlarged print file is not made yet | 3,115 | 9% |
| New work that would need more than 3x enlargement | 1,402 | 4% |
Sizes, Piece by Piece
Short edge by long edge, in inches. A landscape piece hangs the long edge across.
| Size | On sale | Withheld |
|---|---|---|
| 8 x 10 in | 619 | 2,400 |
| 8 x 12 in | 1,929 | 1,090 |
| 11 x 14 in | 583 | 2,436 |
| 12 x 16 in | 630 | 2,389 |
| 16 x 16 in | 174 | 158 |
| 12 x 18 in | 1,756 | 1,263 |
| 16 x 20 in | 413 | 2,606 |
| 16 x 24 in | 1,039 | 1,980 |
| 18 x 24 in | 419 | 2,600 |
| 20 x 20 in | 150 | 182 |
| 20 x 30 in | 849 | 2,170 |
| 24 x 30 in | 190 | 2,829 |
| 24 x 36 in | 353 | 2,666 |
| 30 x 30 in | 5 | 327 |
| 30 x 40 in | 113 | 2,906 |
| 36 x 48 in | 76 | 2,943 |
| 40 x 60 in | 214 | 2,805 |
Noted, Never Blocked
| Note | Pieces |
|---|---|
| Neutrals lean warm, cool or toward a hue | 1,657 |
| Vivid colour: canvas or luster paper shows it best | 241 |
| Narrow tonal range | 241 |
| A plain margin inside the file | 160 |
| Soft fine detail at full resolution | 123 |
| Shadows at solid black | 112 |
| Colour profile converted to sRGB | 109 |
| Highlights or paper at pure white | 101 |
| Transparency flattened onto white | 37 |
Studio by Studio
What the Check Cannot See
A file can pass every line above and still print a little duller than a screen shows it: deep reds and saturated blues sit outside what paper and ink reach. No printer profile is part of this check yet, so the first proofs of each paper and canvas decide that, and this page will say so when they do.