John Moore

The printing of color photographs has come a long way since the 1970s when I first began taking images that I wanted printed, both in terms of color fidelity and archival quality. The history of color photography is an interesting read itself, but the digital revolution of the past 30 years has ushered in an era when a color print from either a color film transparency or a digital file for most photographers can be considered an acceptable representation of what the photographer saw in their eye when taking the image. Prior to that, color prints of good quality were made by photo-chemical wizards in dark rooms. Eliot Porter, the father of color landscape photography was one. Starting in the 1960s Eliot Porter, Ernst Hass, William Eggleston, William Christenberry, Joel Meyerowitz and Stephen Shore significantly furthered the case of color photography as an art form. 

In my case, I have been selling prints of images for over 40 years, but with a few exceptions for the first 15 to 20 years, I was selling prints that did not look like my transparencies, but

they were the best I could offer. My photographer companions and I searched high and low for color printing wizards. 

Starting with digital drum scans of transparencies in the late 1980s and 1990s, the idea of getting a print that looked like your transparency became a reality. Since then the process has become easier, more democratic (nearly every person who picks up a camera or a phone can now make nice prints), and the world is flooded with printed color images. 

So, why buy a print of one of my images? My hope is that you will see an image that is not often seen by people in their everyday lives, or even by other photographers and painters who are looking, whether it be an abstract from some unacknowledged surface, a landscape lit in a certain way, or something viewed off-kilter. Or perhaps the image brings back a memory of a good time or place. There should be a connection. And hopefully you will have a connection with some of the images on the website.

All of the images on the website are available as a print. Depending on whether it is a 35mm or 4x5 transparency or digital image will determine what sizes and what surfaces in which the image is available. Prints are not matted. As a general rule, single image prints are not limited to an edition number. 

For small prints and large, archival ink jet prints on archival smooth surface Epson matte paper (Epson Hot Press Bright…..100% cotton rag paper, with a bright finish, accepts an extremely wide range of color and has a deep black density). From making books of prints, I have grown to like the look and feel of prints on smooth matte paper. They are non-reflective, and have deep rich colors and blacks. Small prints are produced by our in-house printer, Pluto Express Books, up to 16x20, larger prints are made by a commercial printer that I have used successfully for more than 20 years, along with many professional photographers. Prints on this paper allow you to mat and frame the images as you wish.  

For large prints only, an archival print produced by dye-sublimation on aluminum sheet metal that produces high gloss prints. This process consists of making a preliminary print on paper with dyes, and then with heat and pressure essentially baking the image on a special coated aluminum sheet. These prints need no framing as they come printed edge to edge, with a thin black metal edge giving the sheet some depth and rigidity. These are eye-popping prints, their high gloss renders colors and detail beautifully. Abstract images are especially nice on metal, but actually all my images are well suited for this type of print. The prints are made by a commercial printer who invented this process, and widely used by professional photographers.

Small prints of 35mm transparency images
35mm images have a certain aspect ratio (1.5 to 1) which, if not cropped, dictate the aspect ratio of prints. Also, enlarging 35mm images to sizes larger than 12x18 can be problematic in that they are not acceptably sharp to my eye, and so they are only available in two sizes, 6x9 inches and 12x18 inches. Exceptions can be made for certain images; please inquire.  

Small prints of 4x5 transparency and digital images
These images are are also offered as prints in smaller sizes by Pluto Express Books, and because of their original aspect ratio are available in 8x10 or 16x20 inch sizes.

These prints of 4x5 transparency and digital images are made by two state of the art commercial labs that I have been doing business with for years. They are available in two processes: archival ink jet on archival paper (again Epson hot press bright), and archival high gloss dye-sublimation prints on aluminum

sheet. These two processes produce two very different looking prints. For an ink on paper look that you can mat and frame however you wish, choose the ink jet print on smooth matte paper. For a high gloss look on aluminum sheet, which does not need matting or framing, the metal prints are the way to go.

Small prints

ink jet prints on paper, all formats

Large prints

from 4x5 or digital images

from 35mm images:

6 x 9… $150

12 x 18… $250

from 4x5 or digital images:

8 x 10… $175

16 x 20… $300

ink jet prints on paper:

24 x 30… $600

32 x 40… $800

prints on metal:*

24 x 30… $800

32 x 40… $1,600 (abstracts)
… $1,200 (all other)

Sets of note cards, limited edition portfolios, and limited edition and one-off hand made books in an accordion fold fashion, made in-house by Pluto Express Books will soon be available. Please stay tuned.