Frequently Asked Questions

What is Cone Editions Press?

Cone Editions Press is a printmaking studio founded by Jon and Cathy Cone. It is also first, oldest, and longest-lasting digital print studio in the world. We specialize in high-end monochromatic (B&W) prints for artists globally. But, we also have the world's darkest matte black ink for printing exceptional color prints. Additionally, we operate a platinum darkroom and a photogravure studio.


What kind of services are offered by CEP?

Cone Editions Press offers custom printing for artists around the world. We offer unique grayscale carbon Piezography printing, color pigment printing, drum scanning, and online (Print On Demand) printing, Platinum printing, direct to plate photogravure, and much more.


What is Piezography?

Piezography is a type of black and white inkjet ink invented at Cone Editions Press. You take out the color ink from an Epson professional printer and put in multiple different shades of grayscale ink. This new ink triples the resolution and tonal fidelity of the final print way beyond what can be synthesized by mixing color and grayscale ink in a normal printer. The result is a print that looks much more natural. The matte prints have more tonal transitions that Platinum and gloss prints have uniform gloss with darker blacks than Silver.


What are the advantages of printing with you?

Cone Editions Press is the longest running digital print-lab on earth: it’s where commercial fine art inkjet printing started. CEP is owned and operated by Jon and Cathy Cone and when you work with us you are guaranteed personal, collaborative, long-term, and future-proof support with your artistic production. Cone Editions Press is very experimental too! We started (before digital) as a silk-screen and photogravure studio for painters and sculptors during the 1980s. That means we have deep experimental mark-making in our roots and won’t shy away from non-traditional ways of making prints!


Does Piezography print both glossy & matte?

Yes! Piezography excels at both. With Piezography on Matte we offer the darkest matte black ink in the world (a dMax of 1.84 for all those print-nerds out there looking for numbers). With Piezography for Gloss we perfectly optimize the print all the way through the white border so the inked image has the exact same gloss as the paper and the image becomes visually “embedded” within the paper just like a silver print.


What file format should I use?
Use the TIF (tagged image format) file format! This file format also supports Photoshop layers. If you are sending master files for us to custom print (not Print-On-Demand), we suggest leaving the layers un-flattened because then we can diagnose any editing issues that may be present and hopefully correct them without too much trouble.


What should my color space be set to?
For color printing we suggest Adobe RGB 1998 as the preferred color space. This color space matches the visual and print gamut available with fine-art inkjet. Using larger color spaces (aka, buckets of color) like ProPhoto can make prints look wonky if they are not translated properly into the smaller print-space for inkjet.


How to I soft proof?
Where are the ICC profiles?Color and Piezography ICC profiles and instructions can be found right here.


What resolution should I use for my files?
We recommend between 300ppi and 720ppi. See our File Preperation page.


What kind of paper should I use?
You can see all about our different papers in our papers section.


How do I add white margins?
In Photoshop, flatten your image. Go to Image>Image-Size and set the long-dimension to a desired size. Then go to >Image>Canvas Size and set your canvas size to the sheet-size you want. Make sure the background is set to white. When we receive images that have been sized in this way (with specific white borders around the image) we will honor the sheet size and cut the final print to those exact dimensions.


What film types and sizes can you scan?
We scan film all the way from smaller than 35mm to 16×20 in size. See our Drum Scanning page for details!


How large are your drum scans?
Between 500MB and 1500MB based on the original film size. We always scan at the highest resolution possible and depending upon the quality of the lens and camera that made the negative, our drum scans can print within the 40×60 to 60×80 size!


How do you deliver files?
We deliver files by a secure Google Drive download link. You do not need a Google account to download the files, and we delete the files 1 week after delivery. We also keep files on archive for the customer for free.


What are the shipping costs for my order?
Shipping costs are inherently variable based on the distance between CEP and the customer, the speed of the required delivery, and if the prints need to be roll-packed or flat-packed. Please email us to request final ship-charge quotes and please tell us if you need the prints flat or roll packed and how quick you need the delivery time to be. We’ll get back to you with your options.

How to I get my invoice and when do I pay?
Invoices are sent online and payable online. You will receive an invoice before we begin your project. Printed jobs do not ship out from Cone Editions Press before a final payment is made. This is something to consider when calculating required turnaround time.


None of these FAQs help me, what do I do now?
Call us! We can answer any questions you might have. Our phone # is (802) 439-5751 and we are available Monday through Thursday 9am to 4pm.