For Wonderwall Studio in Austin, Texas, the presentation is as much of an art process as the creation of the artwork itself. The company prints and finishes a variety of images from photographers and artists around the world, and a key focus is choosing the right media to print to. The master printers at Wonderwall print to paper, canvas, wood, metals, mirrors and acrylic frames and boxes, to name a few.

Company co-founder and 20-year artwork printing pro Joseph Garcia says he mass-produced artwork in the past, but today his team focuses primarily on high-end art. To stay true to the artist’s or photographer’s work and deliver it in a variety of applications, working with quality substrates is paramount.

For black-and-white image printing, Garcia says he relies on Hahnemuhle FineArt Baryta 325g and Hahnemuhle Photo Rag 308g, both currently available at reduced pricing from LexJet. This image of Grand Central Station, at left, was printed on the Baryta paper.

“We use the Baryta to print primarily black-and-white photos,” Garcia says. “Our more exclusive photographers can be a pretty picky group, and the Baryta produces the highest quality output that we’ve worked with.”

To finish black-and-white images, Wonderwall tops them with a gloss or satin coating to stave off bronzing. “Sometimes we’ll even mix coatings together to come up with a different sheen,” Garcia says.

Last April, Garcia purchased an Epson Stylus Pro 9900 with UltraChrom HDR Ink. “We only work with Epson printers [for black-and-white],” he says. “We use specific ink sets that utilize seven shades of black and gray, and produce tens of thousands of individual gray tonal separations. It’s impossible to get a color cast using these ink sets.”

Garcia says he’s been using Baryta papers for some time, and the quality is improving. “Baryta has been around for a while, and it’s getting better and better,” he says. “We’ve used Fredrix canvas and Sunset photo paper, and we’re really excited about the Baryta papers.”