By Thomas Dworetzky

Businessman Rick Klotz blends his passion for photography, magazine publishing and clothing line with BowHaus printing software to make his statement personal.

LOS ANGELES, CA (July 11, 2004) Part businessman, part passionate photographer, Propagandist Magazine publisher and fashion house Freshjive President Rick Klotz believes in the accidental image. But that's the only part of the creative process he wants to be out of control, which is why he trusts BowHaus software and scanning services to let him produce photographs that look the way he wants them to.

Klotz is one of a growing number of artists/photographers who rely on BowHaus's IJC/OPM printer control software to print their own work. In the past, these creators were more at the mercy of others to interpret their vision. BowHaus service, and IJC/OPM, says Klotz, let his team produce large prints for his latest photography show in house, his way, and to the exacting standards he requires of anything representing his Freshjive brand and Propagandist magazine. "We probably saved some money doing it ourselves, but the real difference was that we could have total control of the look of the image. Plus BowHaus' high-res scans, which I've used for 15 years, were the best, as always."

The show, "3 WEEKS IN MEXICO OR HAVE YOU MET MY GIRLFRIEND HOLGA?" photographed by Klotz, Trace Marshall, Neil Friedman and Dave Mason, took place in June at THE LAB101 Gallery in Culver City. The collection of over-sized black and white images are now touring Canadian galleries. They'll also be featured in the 2005 Annual Propagandist magazine, due out later this summer.

The inspiration for the magazine's photography feature and the exhibition of large format black and white prints grew out of the planning for a surf trip with friends. What was originally to be a sun-fun vacation turned into a documentary road trip thanks to Rick's fascination with the unpredictable images produced by the $24, all-plastic Holga camera. Armed with these, Rick and friends went on a surfing-photography-adventure hunt in Mexico.

The Holgas, says Klotz, "look like toys but shoot like medium format." But they're primitive and unpredictable. For example, they have no automatically calibrated film advance, just a knob that you have to turn one and one-half times. This haphazard arrangement can create bizarrely overlayed images. The resulting surreal shots were high-resolution scanned at BowHaus and IJC/OPM software was used to produce the prints for the exhibition.

Klotz plans to feature the photos again, at the Freshjive Propagandist 2005 Annual launch party, later this summer. The party for the magazine's debut in 2003 was held at MOCA in LA and Klotz says he plans something similar this time, too. "We distribute the magazine more like a book, so we like to have a "book" party for each issue." It's an approach he calls, "highbrow but low quantity."

About BowHaus's InkJet Control™ and Open PrintMaker™ (IJC/OPM) Printmaking Software

Since its first release in March of 2003, BowHaus's InkJet Control™ and Open PrintMaker™ (IJC/OPM) printmaking software has gained underground support as a stand-alone application that frees the B&W printmaker from "canned" profiles or RGB workflows. The software was developed for quality-conscious digital B&W Fine Art Printmakers who demand full control over their printer and media. Users of IJC/OPM can combine multiple inksets from different manufacturers to create custom profiles for popular Epson printers.

IJC/OPM ships with an existing set of profiles and retails for $249.95. For more information, contact BowHaus at 323-937-8400 (Mon-Fri 9am- 6pm PST) or email software@BowHaus.com.