Dacor Imaging, more than just a ‘copy cat’
Dave Courtney’s business is so diverse that it can be hard tograsp.
“My main business is fine art printing for professional andamateur artists,” he said, but then can spend an hour describingall the other services he offers at Dacor Imaging.
Courtney opened his business in Napa late last year, but hespent 25 years previously in the photography and imaging business,most of the time in Pleasanton.
It’s no surprise to anyone that photography has changeddramatically over that time.
Courtney is a professional photographer who once ran aphotographic studio and a big photo processing operation with up to10 employees, but the advent of digital photography doomed thelatter business.
He sold it in 2002, then moved to Napa to be with his new wife,Terri, a realtor who also makes custom boots. “I retired for a fewyears,” he said. “Things were changing so fast in digitalphotography that it was hard to keep up. You’d get the latestequipment, and then something new came out.”
Now, he feels things have stabilized. “I like where thetechnology is. They’ve worked the bugs out and the technology isproven.”
Courtney’s small studio at California Boulevard and LincolnStreet is filled with sophisticated computers and imagingequipment, and he has more at home, but he says it’s not just theequipment that’s important, but how to use it: “My biggestchallenge is educating people,” he said. “They need to learn how touse — and when not to use — technology.”
He says that many people unintentionally harm their photos withattempts to improve shots with software.
Everybody knows that you can now take a photo with your cameraor even cell phone and get it printed at almost any size or levelof quality you’re willing to pay for, but Courtney points out thatthere’s a big difference between regular photographic prints andreproductions of art works.
In the past, if an artist wanted to make copies of his or heroil or watercolor paintings, they used lithographic printing. Thistypically required a large minimum order and expensive set up.
This lithography has largely been replaced by what are calledgiclée prints, a fancy word in English for fine art reproductionson canvas or art paper. (In French, it just means “spit” and refersto the ink jet printing used.)
Making a quality giclée isn’t just a matter of slapping the arton a scanner and printing it, however. Aside from the obviousproblem that most art is too big for common scanners, you lose alot of impact scanning a painting that way.
Courtney uses a special setup in his home with a4-inch-by-5-inch camera, the type once used for the highest qualityphotography, and a special scanning back. this allows him to adjustthe lighting to best reproduce the art and provides the highestquality.
He has to adjust the images with Photoshop, which he’s beenusing since it was introduced. Aside from cleaning up the image, hecan extend the edges of the painting for wrapping around theincreasingly popular frameless “museum” and “gallery” mounting, oradding subtle frames to a print to make it look like it’s beenmatted.
He then prints the image on special art materials usingspecialized art printers that utilize up to eight colors, and afterdrying, sprays the prints two or three times with a clear coatingto protect and stabilize the colors.
He even makes his own stretchers for canvas and stretches thecanvas.
Compare an art print like this to a simple photograph, and it’sobvious where the differences lie: the art print shows highlightsand colors far better, and those on canvas even can have thethree-dimensional look of original art.
The work required is reflected in the price. a flatbed scan upto 12 by 17 inches costs $10, while a “Betterlight” scan up to 24by 30 inches is $45.
All digital scans require some file preparation, too.
As for printing, a giclée quality 9-by-12-inch print onwatercolor paper or canvas costs $12 for one, with substantialdiscount for quantities. one 24-by-36-inch is $75, and he can printup to 40 by 60 inches.
An 11-by-14-inch print on mounted canvas can be $45 to $70,depending on the thickness of the stretcher frame.
Even if an artist doesn’t expect to sell copies of his art,Courtney encourages him to at least have it scanned and a printmade for records.
If the work proves popular, he can then make copies, but oncethe original is sold, it may not be possible to obtain itagain.
Many of his old customers from Pleasanton are still working withCourtney, but he is naturally hoping to connect with Napa Valley’smany artists. He even offers to do one sample to demonstrate hiswork.
Commercial imaging services
For those who aren’t artists, Courtney offers a wide range ofimaging services, from inexpensive studio portraits to advertisingphotography, architectural shots including using a camera that canbe elevated 25 feet for better perspective, large format prints andmounting up to 40 by 60 inches, and sophisticated retouching andenhancements.
He can make your portraits look like you want them to even iftime has done its work on your face.
As an experienced photographer, he also enjoys photoassignments, too.
He also offers quality photographic printing though he’s nottrying to compete with Costco. He does everything himself; nothingis sent out.
Customers can deliver shots on memory cards, USB drive or CDROM,or upload them to his website.
