Know your Print
What is a Limited Edition Print?
Limited Edition means the artist/studio has committed to only producing a limited number of prints. The artist determines the size of the edition, and all prints are individually numbered and signed or sealed. 15/100 means this is the 15th number of print out of 100.
What is an Open Edition?
Open Edition means there is no limit to the number of prints, the publisher can produce and the same can also be reprinted on demand. Open Edition prints are not usually numbered, but may be signed by the artist.
What is a Fine Art Print?
Fine Art Print would denote a higher category product, usually on heavier archival type paper, typically of a limited edition and usually produced with a better printing process like serigraphy, etching, or stonelithography.
What is the difference between a print and a poster?
Most reproduced images can be considered prints. Prints can be further broken down by Limited Edition prints and Open Edition prints. Posters are generally Open Edition prints, which are normally printed in thousands. The word Poster has nothing to do with the quality of the image and paper.
What kind of paper is it on?
Most publishers do not specify the quality of paper. Generally speaking, items like Movie Posters and Promotional Posters are printed on a lighter weight paper, whereas Limited Editions are printed on a heavier acid free paper. Fine Art Prints are done on heavy archival paper, which has a longer life and less discoloration.
Will the value of a limited edition increase like other collector’s items?
By their nature of being limited in number, demand for certain limited edition prints can be greater than the large number of reproductions produced for the edition. Once an edition is sold out from the publisher, which means that the print is no longer available from the publisher but may still be available from the Secondary Market. This means that the print can be bought and sold by any gallery or individual, often above issue price, depending on supply and demand.
Why are limited edition prints so much more expensive than other prints?
The premium price of limited editions is a function of the limited supply of each print, and the exceptionally high quality of these prints. Typically, the more manually intensive the process is, the more each limited edition print will cost. The less number of editions and reputation of the artist are also an important factor for higher pricing.
What is an artist’s proof, or what does A/P mean?
Some of the first prints pulled from a limited edition of prints are marked as an ‘AP’ and used by the artist for experimenting colours. As a general rule, there are 10 to 20% more A/Ps than numbered edition which are shared by the artists and the studio. Artist’s proofs generally draw a higher price than other impressions because of its restricted number.
