OPEN EDITION | LIMITED EDITION | NUMBERED PRINTS
Prints are often seen as mass-produced copies of famous artworks that are not valuable. Nothing can be further from the truth. Prints can be just as valuable as any other artwork.
Prints are means to acquire pieces by accomplished artists at affordable prices, Since they cost a fraction of a painting or a photograph, they allow new art collectors to get in the game.
THE PRINT MATTERS
Original Art vs. Reproduction
Many art pieces are only made as prints. They are called Original Prints, while prints that represent copies art pieces are called Reproductions. Just like paintings or sculptures, original art prints are an original works that adds to their value and their price.
Open vs. Limited Edition Prints
Prints are produced in series called editions. Unlike unlimited edition prints (also known as open editions), that can be reproduced an infinite number of times, limited editions are (as their name suggests) made in limited amounts.
Limited Edition Prints: Are They Worth Anything?
Limited editions arose out of necessity but became a tradition in the art business. NOW some dealers and artists think it makes their art or “more marketable” or “more collectible.” REALLY? For every limited edition that makes it to the secondary market and sells for greater prices, are thousands of limited editions that never sell out. Why bother?
Artists can still sequentially number open editions
Some prints in an open edition, but numbered, still find the lower numbers collectible.
Things are different now, and they are not going back
Not long ago many thought giclées and digital prints were the worst things that happened to the art business. It turns out print-on-demand was one of the best things in the past 100 years. Time to move, so marketing of this incredible technology catches up with its undeniable benefits.
