How do I purchase a print?
We ask that you call us at 508.693.4429 or email info@alisonshaw.com to purchase a print (We’ll be available by phone, In-season: Mon-Sat 10-5, Sun 1-5; Off-season: Mon-Fri 9:30-4). We’ll help you choose the image, size, and frame color (or matted only), and discuss shipping options with you. There are lots of variables, and all of our prints are custom-produced for each order. By talking with you, or emailing back and forth, we can ensure that you will get exactly what you want.

If you’re looking on this site during off hours, all of the images under the Portfolio section are available as fine art prints. To find sizes and prices, just click on an image. Underneath the title, you’ll see “Click here for print specifications.” Click that, and a chart will pop up, with the size and 1st-tier price information for that image. Limited edition info is in the caption, showing the current framed price for each size.

We have a number of prints in stock, but most print purchases are custom orders that take from 1-6 weeks, depending on the type of print and whether it’ll be framed. Framed pigment prints take 1 to 3 weeks. The larger sizes (R4, S4, P2, P3, shadowbox, and dye sublimation on aluminum) can take up to 6 weeks. We use UPS for shipping, which we’ll charge separately to your credit card.

Color Prints
Alison’s color work is printed as Pigment Prints, using archival pigmented inks on high-quality heavy watercolor paper. This process is considered to produce the most stable color prints. All color prints are signed and titled by Alison, then mounted and matted with bright white 8-ply archival matboard. Our studio manager, Claire, does the printing, overseen by Alison, in the studio above the gallery. Prints can be purchased just as a signed print; matted only; matted and framed; in a shadowbox frame; dye sublimation on aluminum, or print on canvas.

Black and White Prints
All of our black & white prints are still done as archival, selenium-toned, fiber-based Silver Gelatin Prints, which are done in the darkroom by master printer Paul Sneyd, at Panoptican Imaging in Rockland, Massachusetts. We love the beautiful richness and finish of these museum-quality prints.

Dye Sublimation on Aluminum
Many of the images can be printed using this technique, by Blazing Editions in Warwick, Rhode Island. They describe the process as “infusing dyes into a sheet of pre-treated aluminum via heat transfer. Sublimation is the process of going from a solid to a gas, back to a solid – skipping the liquid state. Once the dyes submerge underneath the surface, the process is complete and permanent.” We also offer a floater frame if desired. They’re relatively light, easy to hang, and non-reflective, so this process is ideal for larger prints. We’ve chosen to not make dye sublimation prints limited editions, so that we can customize them for each customer (they’re priced by the square inch).

Prints on canvas
Our favorite technique for printing custom large prints is on canvas, and stretched on sturdy wooden stretcher bars. We do a “gallery wrap,” where the image wraps around the edge of the stretchers (see image in right column). These can be produced with or without a wooden floater frame. The largest custom print we’ve done on canvas measures 13 feet wide by 4 feet high, and the smallest measures 10” square.

Standard Mat and Frame Styles
Our mats are all cut from archival bright white board – for small black and white images we use a 4-ply board, and for all other images we use an 8-ply board. For all of our color prints, as well as the larger black and white prints, we offer a simple, square-edge wood frame painted black or white. For our 5×7” and 11×14” framed black and white prints we use a square-edge simple matte black Neilson metal frame. We use regular picture-framing glass, but can do plexiglass, UV glass, or museum glass for an additional fee.

FINE ART FAQs
What is a pigment print?
A pigment print is a digital archival print. They are printed using pigment-based inks as opposed to the dye-based inks found in most inkjet printers. The main reason for using pigment inks is their longevity and color stability. According to testing done by Wilhelm Imaging Research, pigment prints generally last 50-100 years under normal display conditions, and can last up to 200 years under museum storage conditions.

What is a limited edition print?
Nearly all of Alison’s color prints are done as limited editions. These editions run in size from 20 to 150 prints. As an image goes higher in edition number and therefore closer to running out, there is a corresponding increase in price. When an image has gone up in price in a particular size, this will be noted under the caption for the image, with the higher price noted as well.

What kind of printer, ink, and paper do you use?
Our prints are done on an Epson P9000, which uses Epson UltraChrome pigment-based inks. We use two varieties of paper, depending on the nature of the image. Epson Hot Press Bright is a smooth white matte-finish paper. Hahnemuhle German Etching 310 is a textured, bright white watercolor paper.

When is it preferable to buy a print matted-only?
If our frames do not work well with the particular image, or with your decor, you may want to purchase the print matted-only and have it framed at a frame shop where you will have many more choices. Or, if you are interested in a large print which will need to be shipped to you, we prefer that you purchase the print matted only – this will reduce your shipping costs significantly and will also eliminate the possibility of any breakage of glass.