Photo of a young man with a cup of coffee engaged in art print production with a red-billed gull, New Brighton pier sunrise composite illustration on the computer monitor of his iMac alonside a matching large format framed poster of the same print sitting on his desk. The headline is on the dark navy blue background of the wall and reads: “Let's celebrate our passion for New Zealand… on your wall. Surface Active wildlife art prints. Canvas & specialty papers available.”

Surface Active High Quality Limited Edition, Signed Art Prints

ctive design pARTners Chrissie Terpstra and Shaun Waugh welcome orders to reproduce fine art prints from our collection of wildlife artworks linked here. We provide archival/fine art quality reproduction prints of our works—perfect for your walls or as a gift. your walls or as a gift.

Our offering of limited edition wildlife art prints celebrating New Zealand nature is founded on two strong foundations:

First, from a technical standpoint the strength of our knowledge of colour managed digital graphic design and high fidelity colour reproduction for over thirty five years. Shaun has been involved in digital pre-press, digital proofing and wide-format inkjet printing since its inception in Christchurch in 1996. With this industry experience we understand the requirements and expectations that customers have of fine art reproduction.

Second, from our origins as visual artists. When we were at primary school in the 60s and 70s—Chrissie, in Christchurch, and Shaun in Porirua—we were both introduced to using traditional printmaking methods of linocut and serigraph. As part of his graphic design training at the Auckland Technical Institute’s School of Printing in the early 80s Shaun learned hands-on about woodcuts, etchings, letterpress and lithography. From 1985–2002 Surface Active printed all the wildlife art designs for their label by hand in their own screenprinting workshop.

So most recently, in 1996, the advent of digital fine art printmaking emerged as a method to create both original prints and reproductions in Christchurch. The new inkjet printing technology has not changed the way in which prints allow the visual artist to reach a wider market with a product that is both more accessible and more affordable. Traditional printmaking has often been created by a collaboration between the artist and a master printmaker. The advent of the digital printing process where high quality art prints are produced using inkjet technology has not changed this.

With its extended colour gamut that goes well beyond that of traditional offset printing, in fact Giclée is the only printing technique that can capture the essence of our wildlife art screen prints.

Along with Shaun’s history in the contract digital proofing space we bring considerable experience along with our in-house computer systems and use the most advanced technology and equipment available.

Photo of a young man with a cup of coffee engaged in Surface Active art print production with a sperm whale’s flukes against a Kaikoura coast background on the computer monitor of his iMac and a matching large format framed art print sitting on his desk. The headline against the light grey background of the wall reads “Finest Quality pigment prints on Fine Art Papers. Surface Active Wildlife Art Prints. A wide range of media available including watercolour paper, canvas & ultra-smooth premium photo paper.”

The Colour-Managed Workflow:

The role of Surface Active’s digital print service is to coordinate the workflow tools to ensure accurate colour. The art prints are printed from very high quality digital files which we have created from our original Surface Active wildlife art screen printing artwork. The digital file is processed through our Macintosh computer system and exported to our print service provider. There it is transferred via specialised RIP software to state of the art Epson and Roland 8 colour printers.

Our print service provider, Image Vault’s in-house colour profiling of the media, along with specialist computer equipment, all ensure the output is vivid and accurate. Pigment based inks are used for our wildlife art and photographic prints. As mentioned the printed output quality is far superior to that produced on the legacy offset-litho printing press system, the colours are more saturated and bright and have a higher colour-fast rating of 80-100 years in archive conditions.

Digital Fine Art Printmaking

Niche design studios like Surface Active only create quality digital fine art prints for our discerning customers. Our print service provider, Image Vault, is set apart because they strive to offer the highest quality and service in this specialised field. This is done by meticulously calibrating equipment and using a state-of-the-art colour profiling workflow. This is a highly skilled process.

Like its forerunners, digital fine art printmaking is a true craft, it takes particular knowledge and skills, you have to know and really care about what you’re doing. The pre-print work that goes into preparing the image for digital printing is just as labour intensive as the traditional methods. Numbers of proofs are printed and skilled technicians are involved in the adjusting of colour and tone. Surface Active works very closely with Image Vault to make sure that every detail is perfect. Our focus is not only on faithfully reproducing the artwork, but also on creating an art print that will stand on its own as a work of well crafted artistic skill.

There is a broad selection of print media available including heavyweight watercolour paper, canvas and ultra-smooth photographic paper. Surface Active’s print bureau, the Image Vault, carries a wide variety of media with many textures, finishes and weights to suit the particular style of each of our Wildlife art prints.

For the sake of clarity the pricelist below is for two of the options of high quality substrates available; ultra-smooth professional photo-paper and canvas. Prices for other substrates such as heavyweight watercolour paper will be provided in an on-demand basis.

Large format Paua of the Pacific art print, 84 cm x 59 cm (approx.), box-framed in black, leaning up against a concrete wall.

Protecting the Printed Image:

Our photographic paper prints are laminated so the inks to give the print increased strength and durability, because the print surface is well shielded they can be carefully dusted and wiped clean with a soft cloth. Any slight marring of the box frame paint finish can be carefully cleaned with a soft cloth dipped in isopropyl alcohol. All our canvas prints are protected with a highly effective transparent finishing spray that shields the ink and surface from damage.

Framing Options

Box frame

Detailed view of surface active art print box framing of red-billed-gull art print, with image laminated, no glass or matt,
An example of a high quality photopaper print, laminated and finished with a white box-frame.
  • Special solid wood frame with a depth of 35 mm
  • The look: delicate width, impressive depth viewed from the side
  • 2 frame colours, black, white and natural blonde wood to choose from

Contemporary / Glass

Detailed view of surface active art print contemporary aluminium framing of Paua of the Pacific art print, with image behind glass, no matt.
A high quality photopaper print behind glass in a contemporary frame, no matt.
  • Modern frame mouldings suit our wildlife art prints
  • A selection of colours and frame widths
  • Choose from regular glass or non-reflective

Contemporary / Glass / Matt

A high-quality photopaper print behind glass and a matt, finished with a contemporary aluminium frame.
  • The classic look: directs focus to your art print
  • A selection of colours for matting
  • Choose from numerous frames in various colours

Direct Canvas Print on Stretcher Frame

Surface Active direct print to matt canvas on stretcher frame.
Corner detail of a direct canvas print on a stretcher frame.
  • Matte surface, protected with finishing spray
  • Canvas texture has a warm, natural look
  • Great for wildlife portraits and stylised or abstract images

Surface Active Wildlife Art Print Price List

This price list is for two substrates, high quality photopaper and canvas, and for three framing options. Prices for other substrates such as heavyweight watercolour paper will be provided in an on-demand basis. Likewise prices for other framing options such as Contemporary / glass will be provided on an on-demand basis.

All prices GST 15% inclusive. Orders must be pre-paid. We accept eft-pos, cash, cheque or credit card. For international requests, credit card payment is required.

Digital prints on high quality photo paper, laminated, box-framed 

A4 size (approx 21 x 30cm) — $125.00
A3 size (approx 30 x 42cm) — $175.00
A2 size (approx 40 x 62cm) — $310.00
A1 size (approx 59 x 84cm) — $500.00

Detailed view of surface active art print box framing of red-billed-gull art print, with image laminated, no glass or matt,

Art prints on canvas finished on canvas stretcher frame (canvas print only)

A4 size (approx 21 x 30cm) — $131.00 ($128.00 canvas print only)
A3 size (approx 30 x 42cm) — $230.00 ($188.00 canvas print only)
A2 size (approx 40 x 62cm) — $341.00 ($280.00 canvas print only)
A1 size (approx 59 x 84cm) — $508.00 ($410.00 canvas print only)
A0 size (approx 84 x 119cm) — $846.00 ($700.00 canvas print only)

Surface Active direct print to matt canvas on stretcher frame.

Contemporary glass and matt (ultra-smooth photo paper print only)

A4 size (approx 21 x 30cm) — $200.00 ($120.00 print only)
A3 size (approx 30 x 42cm) — $260.00 ($180.00 print only)
A2 size (approx 40 x 62cm) — $460.00 ($276.00 print only)
A1 size (approx 59 x 84cm) — $720.00 ($380.00 print only)
A0 size (approx 84 x 119cm) — $1,150.00 ($650.00 print only)

Please Note: Please allow 7–10 working days for production of framed product and Surface Active does not offer sale or return terms on framed goods. All orders are carried out to your specifications and are therefore on a final sale basis. Should you receive a faulty or damaged item, please contact us as soon as possible. Surface Active accepts full responsibility for any faulty product and, providing stock is available, will undertake to replace goods immediately. Please report faulty or damaged goods within 3 days of delivery.

Guarantee:

We proudly guarantee all of our wildlife art prints. Your satisfaction is key to us so we encourage you to ask any questions when ordering that will ensure that we meet or exceed you expectations.