The Beauty Of Print

First of all, why would anyone still want a printed version of their images in today’s digital world? Surely this is just a waste of money when there are so many websites that display your photographs in a modern, stylish and adequate fashion! We couldn’t disagree more. Printing is an age-old technique that started more than 2000 years ago in China but really started to take off in the 15th Century and played a key role in the development of the Renaissance, the Reformation, the Age of Enlightenment and the Scientific Revolution. In fact, the Printing Revolution is widely regarded as the single most important event of the modern period, allowing modern knowledge, thoughts and ideas to be spread widely amongst people for the very first time.

With this impressive legacy at our hands, we believe that printing is a timeless craft that still very much has its place in the 21st Century - and beyond. In fact, we think that in an increasingly virtual world from which tangible, physical and haptic experiences are gradually disappearing, printing might be of more importance than ever before. In an age where we spend most of our waking hours glued to a computer screen - with our tangible experience reduced to our connection to the keyboard - the joy of being able to physically touch our most cherished memories is simply balm to the soul. The ability to look at those images not on an electronic device but on a mantelpiece next to that black-and-white photograph of our favourite great-aunt and on our bedside table in that last moment before we fall asleep certainly takes on a whole new significance. There is something beautiful, revealing and perhaps even revolutionary, in seeing your digital images as prints and it’s amazing how many people find the sensation of opening their letterbox and finally holding those favourite memories in their hands quite overwhelming. It’s a reminder of a not-so distant time when this was the only way you could show off your holiday snapshots and your friends would all gather around the living room and patiently pass them around to admire them, piece by piece.

Flash forward to 2014, and we have all become haunted by continual electronic correspondence and leaving the house without our mobile phone has become the rarest of treats for most of us. Yet even, and in fact particularly in this new world, having your images transformed into beautiful prints is a luxury that is still available to each and every one of you. Just as there will always be people who love and cherish real books for the rough feel of their pages, their smell and the soft feeling of a leather cover, there will always be people who want to have their memories made tangible. Finding a space in the house where they will be able to surround and inspire you every time you pass them; lifting your spirits and bringing a smile of recognition on your visiting friends’ faces is a pleasure that simply cannot be replicated in the virtual world. This is why we believe printing is so deeply rooted in our society and will never really go out of fashion. In case you have forgotten about it, we invite you to rediscover this craft that will enable your images to touch and move you in a unique and timeless way. It’s at your fingertips.