ARTI’VIEW by ARCHES® – Pro Image Service
Could you introduce your company?
Our expertise lies primarily in art printing. We’re first and foremost a high-quality photo laboratory that still offers film processing and silver gelatin prints.
We also provide fine art printing and framing services. Together, these complementary areas of expertise allow us to support every stage of a photographic project, from film to exhibition.
Pro Image Service was founded in the early 2000s and has grown organically ever since, shaped by the evolving needs and requests of our customers.
Today, Pro Image Service has a team of around 10 people, and we also work closely with Cadr’Image Services, our company dedicated to framing and finishes. All in all, our group is made up of around 20 employees.
Two years ago, after the founder retired, the company transitioned to employee ownership, with around 10 of us becoming partners. We’re now continuing to build on this journey together.
Can you introduce the team?
We’re a team made up of passionate individuals. Most of us have backgrounds in photography or closely related disciplines.
Some of us also have experience in chemistry, the press or graphic arts, but we’re all united by the same unwavering commitment to detail, quality and the final result.
Whether we’re photographers, lab technicians or framing specialists, we all share the same passion for images. This common bond is what gives our team its cohesion and identity.
Hégémon “Hedge” Chaignon, Vincent Bourgeois, Jeanne Favre, Kathleen Bui-Congost
What printing processes do you use?
We work primarily with fine art printing, particularly for large-format prints, as silver gelatin printing is limited by our equipment to formats of up to 30 × 45 cm. Fine art printing, on the other hand, offers many more possibilities in terms of dimensions and creativity.
We use Epson inkjet printers for fine art printing and for producing formats from 20 × 30 cm up to 150 cm wide, from individual sheets to large-format prints. We also use other techniques suited to different substrates, such as direct-to-substrate and UV printing. The latter involves applying an ink that is cured with ultraviolet light, remaining on the surface of the substrate rather than penetrating it. This allows us, for instance, to print directly onto Dibond, whereas the traditional method requires producing a paper print and then mounting it onto the panel.
We’ve also installed a Piezography machine to meet strong demand for black-and-white prints. After starting out with small equipment, we gradually moved upmarket to offer high-quality carbon prints, using inks made from encapsulated carbon to produce a look very close to that of traditional silver gelatin enlargements.
Who are your customers?
We have a very broad customer base. We work with art photographers, galleries and museums, as well as photojournalists and authors whose pieces may not be intended for exhibition. We also support amateurs and experienced enthusiasts, who often seek us out because of our exacting standards and our reputation.
Furthermore, we partner with businesses, interior designers and design professionals, particularly on projects for corporate headquarters, hotels and other professional spaces.
Our customers come to us for personalised support. We take time to discuss their needs, advise them, check their images and, in some cases, even assist them before their photographs are taken, helping to adjust the colour settings or anticipate certain technical constraints.
Our approach is built on close collaboration, while our capabilities allow us to handle high-volume projects when required.
Which ARCHES® paper do you use and what are your selection criteria?
We primarily use two ARCHES® papers: ARCHES® 88 and ARCHES® Aquarelle Rag.
ARCHES® 88 is a very smooth and untextured pure-white paper. It’s actually our whitest paper. It’s particularly popular with photographers looking for a sleek, neutral surface with excellent colour rendering. It also offers a very wide colour gamut and is easy to handle for such a lightweight paper.
ARCHES® Aquarelle Rag, on the other hand, boasts a superb texture. It’s very white and very contrasted, and its highly textured finish gives images a more pictorial dimension. It’s especially valued for fine art reproduction, but is also very well suited to interior design and certain types of photographic prints.
We like being able to offer these two very different papers, each suited to a particular purpose and artistic vision. One is very smooth, soft and neutral; the other is more textured, expressive and visually striking.
We also sometimes order a specific paper when requested by a photographer.
Fine art colour print on ARCHES® AQUARELLE RAG paper using an Epson 20000 large-format printer
Piezography print on ARCHES® 88 paper with 30% warm tones
Do you have any particular memories of a project on ARCHES® paper?
Yes – one project we completed two years ago for Paris Photo stands out in particular.
It featured works by Korean artist Seaon Kang Walker, with 1.10 × 1.80 m formats. The series was based primarily on chromatic duos, with lots of black and white alongside a few colour combinations. The prints were produced on ARCHES® 88 paper and we were particularly impressed by the result.
This was a truly memorable experience, not only because of the scale of the project, but also due to the quality of the results achieved on this paper. The pieces were then sent to be exhibited in both Korea and Japan.
Do you have any ongoing projects?
Yes – things are very busy right now, with the festival season under way.
Several photographers are already preparing for their upcoming exhibitions, while many museums are also getting ready to renew their displays. Photography is now an integral part of our everyday lives; images circulate quickly, are easily consumed, and are often replaced with new ones. This creates a sustained pace of work, with lots of projects in the pipeline.
