Print on Demand for Antique Paper: Giclee printing brings rare Hawaii maps to a wider audience
- by Susan Halas
Buck Mickelsen (L) and Bryant Neal (R) display a giclee reproduction of an 1876 Hawaiian map.
Two Maui entrepreneurs, both with a background in antique maps, are excited about the use of giclee printing for reproducing rare and fragile maps of Hawaii. Bryant Neal and Richard "Buck” Mickelsen are working on a traveling interactive exhibit that interprets the history of the islands through its maps and map makers.
For many years both men worked with Alan Walker of Lahaina Printsellers, another Maui firm that pioneered the giclee process. Recently they joined forces and went out on their own as Tradewind Production Group. They hope to realize their longstanding ambition to use maps to tell the story of Hawaii’s history. What they have in mind is a traveling show where viewers can closely examine documents that they might never otherwise know about or see, because as Neal put it, “in their original state these documents are rare, expensive and fragile.”
Giclee is a form of ink jet printing introduced about a decade ago that has been improved and refined considerably in recent years. Artists were the first to use the process to make high quality limited edition prints. Some in the antiquarian field like Walker, Neal and Mikelsen were also quick to see its potential. It is a print-on-demand format that can make small high quality editions in a variety of sizes (including extremely large) for a relatively modest cost.
Neal estimated copies cost between 8 to 12 cents an inch depending on whether they’re printed on paper or canvas. With software like Photoshop in combination with their 42” wide Cannon printer they can not only reproduce an image, but also digitally manipulate it, add coloring or other graphic elements, move parts around and print out the results rapidly. “There’s no need to carry an inventory,” he said, “because the work can be printed as needed, as few as one or two at a time”.
High Bids Win Rare Books, Catalogs, Magazines and Machine Manuals December 24 to January 9
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: Ellis Smith Prints unsigned. 20” by 16”.
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: United typothetae of America presidents. Pictures of 37 UTA presidents 46th annual convention United typothetae of America Cincinnati 1932.
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec signed Paper Impressionism Art Prints. MayMilton 9 1/2” by 13” Reine de Joie 9 1/2” by 13”.
High Bids Win Rare Books, Catalogs, Magazines and Machine Manuals December 24 to January 9
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: Aberle’ Ballet editions. 108th triumph, American season spring and summer 1944.
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: Puss ‘n Boots. 1994 Charles Perrult All four are signed by Andreas Deja
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: Specimen book of type faces. Job composition department, Philadelphia gazette publishing company .
High Bids Win Rare Books, Catalogs, Magazines and Machine Manuals December 24 to January 9
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: An exhibit of printed books, Bridwell library.
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur Court By Mark Twain 1889.
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: 1963 Philadelphia Eagles official program.
High Bids Win Rare Books, Catalogs, Magazines and Machine Manuals December 24 to January 9
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: 8 - Esquire the magazine for men 1954.
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: The American printer, July 1910.
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: Leaves of grass 1855 by Walt Whitman.
Sotheby's Fine Books, Manuscripts & More Available for Immediate Purchase
Sotheby’s: William Shakespeare. The Poems and Sonnets of William Shakespeare, 1960. 7,210 USD
Sotheby’s: Charles Dickens. A Christmas Carol, First Edition, 1843. 17,500 USD
Sotheby’s: William Golding. Lord of the Flies, First Edition, 1954. 5,400 USD
Sotheby's Fine Books, Manuscripts & More Available for Immediate Purchase
Sotheby’s: Lewis Carroll. Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There, Inscribed First Edition, 1872. 25,000 USD
Sotheby’s: J.R.R. Tolkien. The Hobbit, First Edition, 1937. 12,000 USD
Sotheby’s: John Milton. Paradise Lost, 1759. 5,400 USD
