WetCanvas: Online Living for Artists

This is to address a message I got from BothHands regarding the differences between fine art multiples vs. Giclee prints. He is quoting something I said in this thread:

Artyzcar ===

[U][B]IF[/B][/U] you don’t mind, I would very much appreciate any elaboration on the four topics I’ve highlighted and enumerated. It sounds like you’re implementing successfully what has been for me a “vague notion” – so whatever clarifying information you could add would really help.

[INDENT] [I]“You don’t have to post your prices if you don’t want to, but maybe you can on affordable things so you can get a stream of pocket income, like the prints or [B][COLOR=Red](1)[/COLOR] any type of [U]multiples[/U] you can do[/B]. I do a lot of [B][B][COLOR=Red](2) [/COLOR][/B][U]ORIGINAL limited editions[/U], not mass produced,[/B] and this helps because [B][COLOR=Red](3) [/COLOR][/B][B]I can charge a lot more than a print[/B], but less than a one-off original. I don’t really do prints like Giclees. [B][COLOR=Red](4) [/COLOR][/B][B]I do more like [U]fine art prints[/U][/B] and it helps (for me anyway) in how I am marketing myself because my price points for my originals are high.”

[/I][/INDENT]1. Define “multiples.”

2. Define “original limited editions”

3. A lot more than [U]what kind of[/U] print? Poster, Giclee, Fine art? And would you be willing to give me some idea of the price for the type of print you mean as compared to your original limited edition piece.

4. Define “fine art print”. Is it produced one-off, or do you print a limited edition all at once…or something else?

THANKS!

-BothHands

First of all, thank you for writing to me. I’d be happy to help if I can.

1. What I mean by multiples is simply editions, and that can be anything from prints to Artists’ books, to toys, to anything that is made in a limited number by the artist as a special edition. It can be sculptures as well. Bronzes, for instance, are usually made in editions.

2. “Original limited editions” are more of the same, but why I was saying that, I was specifically talking about something that is hand made, like an etching that is “pulled” by hand, or ceramics, or something that I made a couple years ago, which were soft sculptures that all have the same design, but are limited to 12, yet they were all hand sewn. Something like that.

3. I meant I could charge a lot more for a limited edition print than a giclee or a poster because they are handmade. For instance, while some artists charge up to $100 USD for a Giclee (sometimes not even that much), I could charge three times that if it were a small edition of the same size etching, perhaps more, depending on the size and how small the edition is.

Artists’ books for instance – sometimes they are filled with digital prints and those artists will sell them for a couple hundred dollars or so, even though they might be hand bound. But put a book together with handmade elements and some etchings and/or some other fine art prints and you can charge $1000.

4. I don’t consider Giclees “fine art” prints. I consider etchings, monoprints, dry points, silk screens, and these type of hands-on, handmade prints fine art prints. A Giclee is a digital print and a reproduction of an original painting. The only time a Giclee is a fine art print is when the painting is in itself a digital painting and the digital print is part of the medium and not a reproduction of another painting, if that makes sense.

Years ago I made a couple of repro Giclees. I made two editions of 40. I did not sell them very well. I have another two I made later that I have that are not numbered because I changed my mind about them being “editions.” I don’t think they should be editions because you can print the same exact ones forever, so I sell them as open ended. They are just signed, not numbered. I think an edition would have slight variations and have a limit to how many a buyer could have and that’s why you would charge a higher price for them. Giclees aren’t like that because they’re all the same. They’re essentially nice posters – depending where you get them done.

Hope I’m making sense, and again, this is all just my viewpoint. Other people might see all this very differently. This is just the way I operate and it works for me.

Thanks for giving me the platform.

What is a Giclee?

Giclee is the first and only fine art print to be made with an ink jet printer. Pronounced, zhee’clay, the word comes from the French, meaning to spray, which is exactly what an ink jet printer does.

It was a major break through in the fine art community when giclee reproductions were introduced to the market in the late 1980s . The quality of a giclee print is far superior to all other forms of printing. It fact, when done correctly, it’s the closest an artist can get to matching their original 2-D artwork. For art lovers who wanted to collect fine art but couldn’t afford an original, giclee reproductions quickly became a popular alternative to purchase.

Before I go any further in my explanation, I must clarify what I mean when I use the words print and reproduction because I would never want to offend any printmakers and the amazing art they create with their pulled prints.