Art Print Issues by Barney Davey

Selling Art Prints - Exploring Open Edition Print Opportunities

Ideas to Sell More Art Prints

(Ed. note. This post is republished with permission from the October issue of Art World News magazine.

In the September issue of Art World News, I began this series with a brief review of art print market history recognizing the success of artists and publishers in both open and limited edition prints. This month we will look at how using open editions in today’s market can benefit artists.

Don't Jump Off a Winner

To be clear, I do not advocate abandoning limited editions for artists and publishers who have success with the model. As the country saying goes, “Dance with the one that brung ya.” Surely, limited editions will remain as a valid marketing model in the print market.

POD Changed Everything

The emergence of print-on-demand (POD) technology forever changed the art print market, just as it has the music, film, and book publishing businesses. Other coinciding developments, including affordable small business e-commerce solutions, the influence of social media, the quick acceptance by consumers to buying online, the rise of Big Box retailing, and the flood of imports, combined to drive change to breakneck speeds.

Change Is Not Going to Come, It's Here. Learn to Deal with It!

Inevitably, change creates pitfalls and opportunities. How your art business fares depends on your ability to recognize and respond to the changes. Keeping what works, leaving behind what is broken, and leveraging new opportunities are your keys to succeeding in chaotic times.

Change Creates Chaos & Opportunity

Today, artists have affordable technology to create a delivery system to market to buyers predisposed to buy direct from the artist. Because of uncertainty in traditional markets’ ability to endure, I urge developing these direct marketing channels for independent artists. The tools and knowledge are there for artists who want to manage their careers and dictate how their work gets to market. For many independent artists, selling direct is the future.

Nevertheless, some successful galleries and publishers continue to enforce exclusivity on the artists they represent. If artists are comfortable with such conditions, they should try to make the traditional system work for them because there are examples of artists who continue to enjoy success in traditional markets. Still, it’s a smart idea to keep weighing opportunities.

Sheer Numbers of Visual Artists Versus Galleries & Publishers Demands Direct Marketing

The reality is the large number of visual artists versus the declining number of publishers and galleries dictates most artists need to build profitable direct distribution channels to succeed. Fortunately, independent artists have access to affordable, powerful tools and a wealth of knowledge to help them build a successful career.

It is reasonable for artists want to earn a decent living from the result of their labor. A way for some is to avoid artificially capping their income by exclusively marketing their digital fine art prints as limited editions. Open editions provide the means to broadening their collector base in the mass market, and the opportunity for beloved images to sell well for decades.

Open Edition Prints Have a Rich History with Major Artists

In my new e-book, How to Price Digital Fine Art Prints, the prolific and profound art business author, Daniel Grant, says this about pricing limited editions and open editions:

“Pricing, again, is based on demand. One would presume that works from a limited edition should be more expensive than those from an open edition. Still, Ansel Adams' most famous photograph, "Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico, 1041," was an open edition, and he printed new versions over a period of decades. Prices for these works have stayed high, because of the attraction to this image and the connection to the artist”

Does Your Art Marketing Cater to the New Breed of Art Buyers?

It appears a new breed of art buyer is developing. One who prefers choice, convenience and high quality, as opposed to being forced to buy a fine art print with no say in size or substrate. With a growing image library of 3,000 images, the success of the ArtThatFits.com site, which is owned by picture framing giant Larson-Juhl, caters to such buyer tastes.

The bottom line is if the art is powerful and reproduced in the highest level then it can be marketed to those who might be called art buyers, as opposed to art collectors. While in both limited and open editions, the primary desire is to own the image, the secondary buying choice for “art buyers” is based on quality, convenience and variety.

Today's Art Buyers Are Being Underserved from POD's Potential

Until POD evolved, buyers with these needs could not be served and, as such, were never identified or developed.  Steve Jobs' magic at Apple was creating hot products, not by asking what consumers wanted, but rather by developing accessible technology to fill previous unmet needs. Once buyers realized how cool iPods, iPhones and iPads were, they were hooked. I think today’s art print market greatly underutilizes the full marketing capacity of POD in printmaking.

Granted, art buyers who want quality and convenience are different from collectors who will only buy limited edition prints. Instead of annoying these collectors with established preferences for limited editions by attempting to convert them, the suggestion is to market to buyers who will pay premium prices for high quality work, but prefer the options offered in open editions prints.

Knowing the Distinction Between Buyer Types Is Crucial

Consumers have great access to information, and most have near photo quality digital desktop printers. As such, they know giclées, produced by top digital print ateliers, can be faithfully reproduced as high-end digital prints with no limits. Given the circumstances it seems obvious that consumer behavior is moving towards high quality open editions, especially if they are buying online. Removing the burden of limited edition provenance and the risk of being duped has to simplify the decision and increase sales.

Fine Art Photographers Are Finding Open Editions Profitable

Jeffrey Stoner is a leading fine art photographer who has read my books and blog for many years. He was influenced by my thoughts and decided to work in open editions. He recently contacted me to with results from that decision. The following comments from him were originally posted on my ArtPrintIssues.com blog:

"Your writings about limited versus open edition prints were one of the deciding factors in my choice to go to open prints in 2007.  It was the right decision for me.

I began a series of Angora Goat images in 2008.  There are now five in the series. The goats are part of a 10-year experiment to control the growth of Canadian blackberry bushes on the open balds.

The balds are treeless mountain tops and are found at 5800’ along the Appalachian Trail on the Tennessee / North Carolina border.  The goats are brought up to the mountain top on the first day of summer and back down the last day of summer.

The series, which I made in 2008, took off with the first goat image (Arlo shown here.) He became my best selling image of all time in just 9 months after being published. If I had limited the sales of this, and succeeding, goat images, I would have lost a lot of income. And, Arlo is still a big hit. One gallery owner jokes that sales of Arlo prints will pay for my retirement.”

Do You Recognize the Hidden Costs in Publishing Limited Editions?

Other things to note about limited editions are the hidden costs involved. The artist or publisher has to establish a system for tracking every limited edition. For a prolific artist, this can become an arduous task. There are laws in 14 states regarding limited editions. New York and California are considered the most stringent. Artists legally need to comply even if they are selling via the Internet from another state. The burden of time-consuming, costly, extra bookkeeping is eliminated with open editions.

Arthur Secunda Proved You Can Have It All!

The renowned artist, Arthur Secunda, has been shown in leading galleries and museums worldwide. He also had a successful poster printing run with Haddad’s Fine Arts. He was known to express his poster sales helped pay for his studio in France and grow awareness for his work. It didn’t ruin the career of Pablo Picasso when he had a successful open edition print series sold in Sears’s stores in the 1950s.

Terry Redlin is one of the most revered Americana genre artists of any generation. He has huge museum that is a major tourist attraction in his home state of South Dakota. During his career,  he has sold both open and limited editions of the images. Some of his images were dissected and sold as smaller images. None of this has dissuaded his collector base. Although he officially retired a few years ago, collectors still flock to the museum and continue to buy editions of existing images.

Creating An Ethical Means to Sell Both Limited & Open Editions Is Possible

Last month, I suggested artists could produce a numbered limited edition of 100 in one size and one substrate hand-embellished by the artist. At the same time, lower grade open edition prints of the same image could be marketed. The key to success here is to be fully transparent by operating one’s business with integrity and honesty. If buyers know the facts, they won’t feel duped about what they are buying. And, those with a collector mentality can still get a precious limited. And, smaller editions are easier to manage on the back end and more likely to succeed on the fickle secondary market.

In the End, It's What You Make of It. You Determine Your Success

Like the art market in general, the art print business is personal, subject to change and difficult to grasp at times. What works for some artists is suicidal for others. While not every artist has the heartstrings appeal of Terry Redlin’s work, all can take lessons from what worked so well for him.

What it comes down to for artists is the need to research, to be introspective, so you know what works best for you. You have to be willing to try new things and equally willing to give up on them if they don’t work out. Ultimately, the decisions about open versus limited editions can only be made by the artist. It is your life. You have to decide what is best for you and your career.  When you are comfortable with those decisions, you can plan a course of action to achieve your goals with dignity, integrity and great results.

Exploring Open Edition Art Print Market Opportunities

Art World News Reports on the Fine Art Print Market

The article here is reprinted with permission from the September issue of Art World News. The publication is must reading for visual artists, fine art photographers, art publishers and galleries. This is the first of two articles I wrote on the subject of how artists can benefit from working with open edition prints.

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Exploring Open Edition Art Print Market Opportunities

Reviewing the history the art print market reveals its growth has been fueled by both limited edition and open edition prints. In recent decades, the market divided into camps of limited edition and open edition print publishing models.

Whole cottage industries of art print publishers matured around one model or the other. When managed properly, both models have proven to be successful. This is due to mainstream art buyers rarely favoring one model to the exclusion of the other. Such openness fueled opportunities for both limited and open edition print business models.

Limited editions were borne from necessity.

When the first prints were made, printing techniques forced small print runs. For instance, because etching plates degrade with each press pass, only a small number of high quality prints are possible. The practice of numbering prints was a natural evolution. Art sellers instinctively realized numbered limited editions created a powerful marketing tool, one still used in modern fine art print marketing.

Although there are no limitations to producing very high quality digital prints, many artists and publishers, who have grown their business with limited edition prints, continue to use them to market gicleés. It is easy to understand why these marketers reject upsetting a profitable working model to move into open edition prints. Nevertheless, there are untapped prospects for them in the open edition market.

Massive Change Creates Chaos and Opportunity

Changes in the art print market over the past decade mirror other industries. Major factors include worsening economic conditions, changes in both wholesale distribution and consumer buying habits. Big box retailing, foreign imports, and the growth of e-commerce with its comparative shopping power and purchasing ease compounded the deviations. The speed of changes and widespread acceptance to them completes a picture of chaotic market disruption.

Changes such as these have closed the doors on old business practices while creating new ones. The swift shuttering of 135-year old Decor magazine and its once dominant Decor Expo Atlanta tradeshow is a prime example of how quickly a business can become irrelevant and obsolete. On the upside, artists and publishers are finding new ways to use the significant advantages of print-on-demand (POD) technology, social media, online galleries, personal websites, blogs and more to create new marketing opportunities.  

Print-on-demand Technology Forever Altered the Music, Book Publishing, Film and Art Industries

Smart art marketers use POD technology to meet consumer demands as never before. Although adopting the idea of offering open editions that come in multiple sizes has not come easily to some limited edition art publishers and galleries, it’s time they take note. The future is calling.

The success of Artaissance.com, a publishing company owned by picture framing manufacturing and distribution giant, Larson-Juhl, demonstrates how to take full advantage of POD technology. It encourages buyers to choose canvas or paper. Artaissance understands the importance to buyers of being able to order their art in the size they need to fit their unique spaces. This is a consumer benefit and sales and marketing opportunity rolled together. It’s no surprise the company uses www.ArtThatFits.com to promote its offerings.

Many of Our Most Revered Artists Have Leveraged the Art Print Market

There is a rich history of artists whose works made the case for the open edition print market long before the advent of digital printing. Imagine how the estates of such print market giants as Maxfield Parrish and Ansel Adams would have suffered, as would have millions of their art buying fans, had either chosen to sell strictly limited editions of their images.

The huge success of Art.com verifies art can effectively be sold via e-commerce. Since its business model is nearly all open editions, it also proves strong buyer demand for them. Interestingly, if you research top selling prints on Art.com, you find a mix of classic works by artists such as Van Gogh, Picasso and Monet along with contemporary pieces. This illustrates the interest in quality, both old and new and eclectic buyer tastes.

It's About the Art - Open and Limited Editions Both Sell Well

These observations confirm that quality compelling work, whether old or new, and whether an open or a limited edition, can always find a market. And, they further demonstrate consumers are less concerned about open versus limited editions than wanting to own and live with an image special to them. Limited edition digital prints are not driven by consumer demand. While limiteds offer sales support in a closing room, it is the art itself, whether original, limited or open edition that brings buyers and sellers together.

The achievements of Jen Bekman’s 20x200.com limited edition print online gallery attests to efficacy of the limited edition model.  An April 12, 2010 article on the FastCompany.com website reports, “Since its launch, 20x200 has sold more than 65,000 prints by both emerging and established artists, and in 2009, 20x200 received $885,000 in funding in a Series A round led by True Ventures.”

Marketing Decisions Are Personal Business Decisions Only the Artist Can Make

These are impressive results, especially given recalcitrant market conditions. Such success aside, the question remains whether the site’s accomplishments come at the expense of profits left on the table for those artists whose work would sell well for years to come in open editions.

Given there is ample evidence of potential success with both limited and open edition models, artists frequently ask if they can use the same image both ways. There is no consensus about this question. It’s an ongoing debate leading to a personal decision only the artist can make.

Why Should Visual Artists Be Saddled with a Business Model That Limits Their Income?

I believe visual artists should not be forced to accept artificial caps on the potential income from their works. There is no model in any of the other arts where artists’ works are limited. You don’t find it in films, books, music or theatre. Nor is there any “sold out” backlash when a book, film, or record sells millions of copies. Visual artists should not have artificially imposed limitations on their income when more profitable options are available.

Given digital printing dominates the print market, and has no constraints on endlessly producing pristine reproductions, the idea of using only limited edition digital prints seems arcane and not the best model for the print market in the 21^st Century. I believe artists can succeed with the same image in both limited and open edition prints, if done with honesty, integrity and transparency.

A Workable Model to Sell Both Open and Limited Edition Fine Art Prints

A limited edition of 100 prints in one size on one substrate, hand-embellished by the artist is suggested. This would serve gallery or collector demand for limited editions with full disclosure about open editions. Such an exclusive edition would create a collectible print edition and potential secondary market for the image.

Open editions of the same image could then be offered on a variety of substrates and sizes. They would be of stated lesser quality than the limited edition. Because there are no industry standards on how to manage such practices, artists and publishers need to be transparent with their actions, including publicly posting notices of their publishing practices. 

Reputation Management is the Key to Success Building Repeat Buyers.

How a publisher or artist manages providing full disclosure to all buyers of availability of both limited and open editions is crucial. Treating your buyers, prospective buyers, galleries and dealers with honesty, integrity, and consistency is how to succeed in the print market with open and limited editions.

Savvy consumers have easily available powerful research resources, leaving no room for shabby marketing practices. By the same token, if artists conduct their business in a way that exudes high quality and high integrity, they can build a business model that will allow them to profitably sell their images in both open and limited edition markets without losing sleep or collectors.

A second part to this series will appear next month. It will cover how open editions can affect an artist’s career and legacy. Readers will learn about the hidden costs in limited editions, and get details on artists who have had success being in both limited and open edition print markets.

How to Price Digital Fine Art Prints & Giclees

Art Print Pricing Is Used as a Tool by Successful Visual Artists  

There is powerful strategy in knowing how to price fine art prints and giclees. Visual artists who employ effective techniques in pricing their art careers create an advantage for themselves.

Having a proven plan to value your fine art reproductions is vital to profitably managing your art business. A problem for artists, up to now, is they did not have access to the best ideas and techniques for what to charge for their fine art reproductions and giclees.

A Brand New e-book Answers, "How to Price Art Prints?"

Visual artists and fine art photographers, will find the How to Price Digital Fine Art Prints e-book by Barney Davey an invaluable resource. It is a reference they will regularly use for guidance on to answer the puzzzling question, “How to price digital fine art prints and giclees?"

Small Business Owners Routinely Make Critical Decisions.

As with all entrepreneurs, you make daily decisions on numerous business-crucial questions. Properly assessing art values requires a confident decision on your part. Since it is one of your most important decisions, get your giclee fine art prints in the “sweet spot”  where they are neither “too high” nor “too low.” is essential. Dialing in the right numbers keeps you from losing sales at the high end and losing profits at the low end.

You will find this e-book loaded with insights from art marketing experts. When you tap into their knowledge, you will profitably begin to price your digital fine art prints and giclees for your greatest success.

Currently, This e-book Cannot Be Purchased. It Comes As a Bonus.

Your How to Price Digital Art Prints e-book is a free with your purchase of Barney Davey’s bestseller art print marketing book. It comes as a bonus download with purchased copies of How to Profit from the Art Print Market, 2^nd Edition.The book bundle can be purchased at www.BarneyDavey.com/bonus

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Limited Edition Prints Versus Open Edition Prints - More Perspectives

When it comes to digital fine art giclee prints, readers who follow this blog know I hold strong opinions about using open editions for marketing them.

There is no single solution on the open vs. limited edition debate.

It's not that I am against tradition. It's more that I believe the arguments for using open editions outweigh those for continuing to use them.

I also am the first to admit there is no 100% solution for all artists. How could there be when there is ample evidence there are many artists who continue to effectively market their fine art giclee prints.

There are believable points and great examples to support both sides of the debate.

In recent days, I have been reminded about how some artists are doing well in open editions while others are profiting from limiting editions. Here is a note from fine art photographer, Jeffrey Stoner. He is a long-time follower, friend and supporter.

"Your writings about limited vs. open edition prints were one of the deciding factors in my choice to go to open prints in 2007.  It was definitely the right decision.

I began a series of Angora Goat images in 2008.  There are now five in the series. The goats are part of a 10-year experiment to control the growth of Canadian blackberry bushes on the open balds.

The balds are treeless mountain tops and the one they are on is at 5800’ along the Appalachian Trail on the Tennessee / North Carolina border.  The goats are brought to the mountain top on the first day of summer and come back down the last day of summer.

 The series took off and the first goat image (Arlo) which I made in 2008 was my best selling image of all time with 9 months. If I had limited the sales of this, and succeeding, goat images I would have lost a lot of income. 

And, Arlo is still a big hit. One gallery owner jokes that Arlo will pay for my retirement. I've included shots of Arlo from 2008 and Nash from 2010.  I’m working on the 2011 edition to the herd." — Jeffrey Stoner

The other side of the coin has compelling rational to it

I had a long chat with Roger Laudy, the CEO and mastermind behind Image Wizards the other day. His company is the premier provider of fine art and fine art photography printed on aluminum. The results for the right images are nothing short of spectacular. Roger listened intently as I laid out my argument for why I believe in open editions:

• I'm an artist advocate and I don't believe artist should have to arbitrarily cap their income by limiting how many copies of their work get sold.
• I believe most collectors will buy open editions as freely as limited, or that the upside on the open will exceed the loss on the limited.
• In an age of digital printing where even lightly informed buyers understand there are no actual limitation to possible number of prints produced, it seems somewhat disingenuous to be selling limited editions.
• I have more the argument, you can read about it in this post, The Double Entendre of the Visual Artist Selling Out Redux, or get more perspective on any of the posts here.

Roger is in touch on a regular basis with some very successful fine artists and fine art photographers. He made the powerful point that his best customers, those who place the most frequent orders, nearly all sell their work in limited editions.

He gave me the example of the fabulous oceanic photographer, Marc Montocchio who has a limited edition print on metal of a live marlin in its natural habitat in the ocean.

This is a one-of-a-kind piece. He is selling a very limited edition run of the image, and stands to make a boodle doing it. You can view the YouTube video on how the image was taken here.

Ultimately, every artist will come to his or her own conclusion

So, I get it. I can look at artists like Ford Smith, Jennifer Vranes, Yuroz and countless more who are profiting in the limited edition market. It proves it is not an open and shut case. My only retort to such overwhelming evidence of success is to question how much money those artists lose by capping their income.

The heirs of Maxfield Parrish and Ansel Adams continue to get royalties from their estates. If these artists had opted for limited editions of their work. The income from those original prints would have long ago dried up.

The open edition print versus limited print debate is ongoing and likely to never be resolved

I'll leave it at that. As always, I know you will come to your own informed decision. Two competing ideas that are both wildly successful are Art That Fits, a company owned by Larson-Juhl, the world's largest supplier of picture frame moulding and supplies. It is notably owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway group. Art buyers can browse its site and order open edition prints in a variey of sizes.

The other is Jen Bekman's 20x200.com site that sells very limited editions. It has enjoyed VC investments in the millions. She is proving the argument for limited edition prints. And, the debate goes on... and on.

P.S. If you live in the U.S., you can order a free sample kit from Image Wizards. International orders pay a small shipping fee to have the samples sent to them.

The Double Entendre of the Visual Artist Selling Out Redux

Are Limited Editions Digital Art Prints Passe?

It's summertime and the living is easy. Hah! I wish. I've had a nasty summer cold all week and am still not fully recouped. So, I am taking a break from posting fresh content until next week.

What this means is it's time to pull something from the vault for another look. Here is a gem from four years past.

The Debate Goes On

Lately, I have been advising artists to get on one side or the other and make peace with their decision and then get on with robustly pursuing their marketing plans whatever they choose.

Two Sides to Every Coin with Limited Edition Giclee Prints

I use the highly successful open edition publisher ArtThatFits.com as one example and Jen Bekman's equally successful 20x200.com limited edition site as examples that both concepts of limited and open can move art prints. For most artists, I still believe open editions makes more sense, but it's an ongoing debate that is likely to never be fully resolved. What's your opinion?

Seems like visual artists carry more baggage regarding being true to their art than other genres. Sure the rockers with message music from the Sixties and early Seventies who later turned up sponsored by beer or credit card companies took some early criticism. They took the hit and laughed about it on the way to the bank.

Today, does anybody care if the likes of Bob Dylan and U2 sell travel packages to their concerts? Are film makers, actors, or other artists held accountable in the court of public opinion for being as successful as they can be? Does being a box office success mean the main players are not serious artists?

Do Open Edition Prints Equate to Less Prestige or Less Income?

Still, visual artists are left to worry about their reputation. Oh, he painted to make money, She made her work to satisfy her collectors. LIke that is a sin. I would agree that Andy Warhol did not have in mind that his "Green Car Crash" piece was created with the thought it would be so collectible it would later sell at a Warhol record auction price of $71 million plus. Nevertheless, he pandered to his collectors and the media in the most masterful of ways and his ability to do so helped create the aura that turned into the frenzy of buying for his work at the May 16, 2007 Christie's auction.

Somehow, visual artists still struggle with the notion of being true to their art. Many find themselves painting under aliases so to disguise their more commercial work. Heaven forbid it be revealed they painted pieces with the commercial market in mind. The concept lingers on in the digital fine art reproduction arena where artists continue to sell limited editions.

It Is Hard to Let Go of Tradition and a Certain Way of Doing Business

Yes, I realize galleries are addicted to limited editions as a marketing tool and I agree what is scarce is precious. But, I firmly believe that the idea that a piece of art is part of a limited edition is not the chief buying criteria for most buyers. They want to buy it because it fills some other need. Whether it's the proverbial couch piece, or more romantically because it stirs some emotions within them that compells them to want to own and live with the work.

Today, fine art digital printing has evolved to the point that we can now make the piece to the size most appropriate for the buyers needs. It can be reproduced endlessly with the reverse promise of previous technologies in that the likelihood is the later pieces will be better made due to improving techniques, substrates, inks, dyes, equipment and software. I will contend more money is lost selling limited editions than is made. Some will argue most artists rarely sell out their editions anyway, so what is the harm. Good point. I think every artist with his or her salt has at least one or two pieces that have the ability to sell well for years. Problem is, there is no way of knowing in advance which piece or pieces those will be. When the art is limited, the chance it will sell well for years is lost.

Do Limited Editions Also Limit the Potential Income for Visual Artists?

Here's an example. An artist creates an edition of 300 at $1,000 retail for a total of $300,000. If the same piece sold 1,000 pieces at $750 retail, the net is more than double at $750,000. I don't think artists have to discount 25% to sell unlimited pieces. Maybe 10%, perhaps 15% at the most. If the work has intrinsic value based on all the things people consider when they buy art, e.g., reputation, content, size, market and so forth, then it will sell at its "value" without the gimmickry of a limited edition. The mystique of the "giclee" monicker does not alter the fact that any reasonably sophistcated buyer realizes anything that comes out of a computer can be reproduced at will.

When you offer a limited edition digital print, you have to sell the veracity of the artist, the publisher and the gallery that the edition size will be honored. Why not sell on the intrinsic value of the piece? You can still sign, even number for that matter. Just don't limit. The numbering convention is yours to conceive. I suggest 1/oe, 2/oe, where oe equals open edition. The early numbers could still become collectible. Perhaps some other numbers such as the artist's birthday, the year the piece was made and so could make them collectible in later years. Who knows what aspects collectors will put on anything years from now. But if the work holds up, you can bet some of the signed open edition pieces will have greater value than others.

I have written about the limted edition giclee print debate before and promise to continue to work to engage the art print community in the dialog and discussion of the merits of unlimited digital prints. In thinking about this idea, it struck me as odd that "selling out" in the sense of following the money when creating art is a huge no-no for artists, yet having a "sold out" edition, or "selling out" an edition was something to strive for. Why she has four "sold out" editions. It becomes a comical twist of words, or an art double entendre, if you will. My advice is to seriously consider how to sell more art rather than concentrating on selling less in the form of limited editions.

All said, I do think there is a place for limiteds. If the edition is truly limited. For instance, an artist creates a small edition of hand-embellished (by the artist) pieces to sell in a low edition of 100 or less, that idea has merit. Even then, I would stipulate that an open edition of the same piece is available as an open edition piece available in the size most appropriate for the collectors needs.

Bottom line is the the bottom line, it's your money, your family and your future. If you are reading this, you very likely aren't thinking about how to get a show into MoMA. More power to you if you are, but reality for most artists who are full-time is they need to maximize their earning capacity without "selling out." I think by limiting digital print editions, artists are selling themselves out of being allowed to make as much money on reproduction as the market will bear. If that' s the case, there is something wrong with this picture (pun intended) and it ought to be fixed.

How to Sell Fine Art Giclee Prints - An Art Career Success Webinar

Art Print Market Expert Barney Davey Presents a Live Art Print Career Webinar Sponsored by Xanadu Gallery

As a visual artist, you can learn to successfully create and sell reproductions of your original artwork as fine art giclee prints on canvas, paper, and other digital art print substrates.

The plentiful benefits for visual artists who create a successful art print market career include:

• Increased awareness for you and your work.
• Getting paid multiple times from the your original artwork.
• Diversifying your price points.
• Broadening your product line.
• Gaining entry to the lucrative licensing field.
• Selling art into the home furnishing, hospitality, corporate and healthcare markets.

For Some Artists, Marketing Limited Edition Giclees Makes Dollars and Sense

In the art business, when it comes to the subject of limited edition giclée prints, there are those who feel as strongly about using them as I do about not. While I remain opposed to the practice for most artists, I fully understand the argument for using limited edition prints from those who rely on them to complete their business.

I do not wish for my opinions on not limiting giclee prints to stand in the way of anyone who is being successful, or to deter them from doing those things that help them get to market. Rather, I applaud those who make it work. Certainly, history shows there are innumerable successful visual artists who exclusively market their work using limited editions. Still, I believe there is a better way today.

A year ago, I wrote a post titled Five Opposing Thoughts on an Art Career. and used a famous quote from F. Scott Fitzgerald to illuminate it. I find the same quote apropos to today’s post. And, once again, with apologies to F. Scott Fitzgerald, I offer you this thought:

The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function. One should, for example, be able to see that things are hopeless yet be determined to make them otherwise.
~ F. Scott Fitzgerald

To be clear, while I have not softened my stance on using marketing giclees, or digital fine art reproductions, as open editions, I merely welcome other voices. To that end, I have summarized a thoughtful insightful retort regarding my posts on this subject and present it to you here.

The reply comes from one of the industry’s most well regarded giclee printers, Gary T. Kerr of Fine Art Impressions LLC in Davidson, North Carolina. Let me know if you have your own opinions to add to this lively conversation.

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Hi Barney,

I am always in alignment with you on your writings, but this one I would like to influence you on as follows:

We have a case study where one of my artists sold a giclee for $33,000. It has a 10 page contract stating how the buyer can hang the piece and that they have licensed only one hanging position and that the other 3 ways it can hang are considered derivative uses and not allowed. The artist attends the installation of these diptychs which are 10 x 16 feet. Now comes the edition issue... these prints are editions of 13. Question, do you think the buyer would write the check for $33,000 in these were "open" editions?

Galleries drive the decision to use limited edition giclees

The facts are it is galleries that have pushed us toward limited, not our artists. The galleries want "exclusivity." I agree it is a coercion of value. But in this world of marketing, they (galleries) need some sales pitch for the floor, limited editions have given them that hook (albeit a weak hook today).

Regarding later made prints being better... Not necessarily so, not in the vast majority of cases. This is due to the fact that the quality of a reproduction stems from the capture process not the quality of wide format printer technology. Files coming out of our studio can be printed on a $99 inkjet from Officemax and blow away many marketplace prints. That's because our capture process is second to none -- I've got the magazine articles and white papers to prove that (but I'm sure you already know).

The pace of progress on improvements in digital fine art printing has slowed

I also think we are seeing the end of era with pushing printer improvements. Getting more ink channels, DPI, and color gamut is not happening at the pace of 5 years ago. Although improvements will be made, it will be at a far more gradual pace and meaningless when it comes to improving quality greatly. The quality of my prints has barely changed in 10 years! And we have been through every generation of printer technology here. Why? Because the capture determines 90% of the quality, not the printer make and model.

And if you have all the latest gear and the artist doesn't like what they see, who cares how good the printer technology is! The music is in the pianist, not the piano. I have the same set of golf clubs as Tiger Woods, how come I'm not in the PGA?

Again, I always find your articles and blog amazingly accurate and informative, but my response today should provide some nuance that only the guy doing it for a living may see -- hope you can reasonably parse my view.

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My reply went like this:

Hi Gary,

Thank you for your informative reply. In my estimation, by virtue of your stellar reputation, you are one of the premier master giclée printmakers in the industry. As such, your thoughts carry great weight with me.

I am not the Pope of Prints

The one thing I am not is the Pope of Prints, which means I am far from infallible when it comes to my opinions. While I make my case for open editions, I also realize there are many who still use limited editions as a viable way of getting to market and making a living at it too.

As is the case in the art business, there is no one size fits all formula for making a booming career. In the many years I worked for Decor magazine, I marveled at how top selling artists could approach their marketing in vastly different ways and still manage to be successful.

Of course, I realize the collector who bought a $33,000 limited edition giclée would not have ponied up such a princely sum for an open edition. One can only imagine if the print sells for that price that the artist’s originals are well in six figures. These price points make the exception, not the norm. I would not expect any artist who commands such prices taking much interest or heed in my advice or opinions. It is emerging and mid-career artists who are most likely to benefit by following my advice. If an artist is already established, they most likely have their very strong opinions about open vs. limited editions.

Championing Unlimited Editions Is Foremost a Financial Decision

To my way of thinking, most artists will make more money from prints in the course of their career if they offer them in open editions. That is the rationale for my pressing the case of open edition prints. I want artists to be more successful and make more money. If they can be more profitable in the long run by selling more open than limited edition prints, then printers, reps and galleries also will benefit in the success.

There are those rare artists, such as with Terry Redlin, who are able to print open, limited, and mega-editions and make it all work. But, like your artist mentioned above, Terry Redlin is beyond the pale for most artists who might try to approximate the success he has enjoyed. He was there at a time when limited editions on paper were sold in the thousands upon thousands.

A New Era Calls for New Ways to Do Business

Terry Redlin's heyday of selling 10,000+ editions is a bygone era. Today, we are dealing with a new paradigm and new market realities. The trade publications and shows are on life support. Galleries are struggling to meet the new challenges coming at them from all sides, and artists are trying to figure out what they need to reliably get their work to market and keep their sales repetitive in the process. If there ever was a time to shake up the status quo, it would be now.

With your permission, I would like to publish your email as a guest post on my blog to make your case. I always will welcome a differing perspective on important issues and think it would be healthy if others chimed in as well.

Getting more voices in the conversation can only enrich the process and make everyone think a little harder about how to utilize this wonderful print-on-demand technology to advance the careers of visual artists. Not just at the cash register, but with respect towards how they and their legacy will be perceived by their actions and decisions to employ fine art reproductions in their business.

Related posts:

Milton Glaser Post Goes Viral - A Lesson for Not Limiting Giclees

The Case for Open Edition Digital Prints - Part Two

The Case for Open Edition Digital Prints - Part Two

This piece started out as a reply to the comments on my previous post, Milton Glaser Post Goes Viral - A Lesson for Not Limiting Editions.

When I realized it was more than a couple of thoughts or a quick reply, I decided to publish it as its own post so more readers would see it.

So here goes with more thoughts on why I am against limiting digital fine art prints.

Thanks to Alan, Maria and Daniel for commenting here. Alan, I'm glad you agree. Maria, yes, I am advocating against limited editions of digital fine art prints, aka giclees. I totally agree with your husband, Drew. Other than marketing gimmick, there is no justification for limited edition giclee prints.

It is not always easy to take an unpopular or controversial stand on an issue, especially when those pitted against you really get the knickers in a knot. However, I believe this issue is too important to ignore and will continue to champion open edition digital prints because in the long run every body involved will do better as this way of thinking gains traction. The change is underway, it is not whether, but when limited editions of giclees becomes passe.

Limited editions arose out of necessity

That necessity became a tradition in the art business. Now some dealers and artists have it in their head it makes their art "more elite" or "more marketable" or "more collectible." REALLY? Do the research. For every limited edition that makes it to the secondary market and sells for greater prices than originally offered, there are thousands of limited editions that never sell out. Why bother?

Do you know you have to comply with the laws of 14 states when you sell limited editions, including sales made over the internet? Who needs that for something you might otherwise be able to sell many more of at a slightly reduced price without the bookkeeping headaches of managing limited editions. This extra bookkeeping is annoying and is a hidden cost that puts a drag on the profitability of print marketing.

Buyers buy art they like, not limited editions

I believe most art buyers make the purchase decision on the fact they want to live with the art in their home or work place and that being limited is not a huge buying factor. I also believe there are many dealer and galleries addicted to the notion without realizing it is costing them money in the long run. Does anyone believe consumers are not fully aware that digital prints can be reproduced endlessly and perfectly? Then why in the 21st Century are we trying to pull the wool over their eyes with limited editions?

You can still sequentially number open editions

If you want to number them, fine. Just don't limit them. I believe there would be some prints that were open edition, but numbered, that would still find the lower numbers collectible. If you look at the crazy things that are in plentiful supply, but numbered somehow, and how the lower numbers are worth more, it says it all about the collector's mentality. Low number license plates in Delaware go for half a million. Does that make sense when you can get a brand new one for rack rates? No, but collectors don't care.

Give your buyers what they want

One of the greatest advantages, besides no inventory, to giclees is they can be made to order to suit the customer. This is a first for the art business and the industry has not picked up on the fact more art would be sold if you allowed people to order the size they want. We are completely missing a huge opportunity to fill the needs of buyers in ways never before possible, and it is easy.

Show me any other art form that artificially limits how many will be sold. You would laugh at recording artist who limited sales to 1,000 copies of their CD, or film makers who only let 10,000 people see a film, or a Broadway play that closed in two weeks when the demand for tickets was still high. Yet, this is exactly what artists do when they artificially limit the number of pieces of their work.

What if Maxfield Parrish only sold 1,000 copies of Daybreak?

Other than blindly sticking to hidebound tradition and being fearful of not being capable of getting good prices for open editions, is there any viable reason for dealers and artists not to favor open editions? What if Maxfield Parrish or Ansel Adams had put all their works into only limited editions? Can you even imagine what a loss to mass culture and art appreciation that would have been?

I can understand an artist creating a limited edition of a print that is also open with the difference being the piece was handworked by the artist after the printing. In such a case, the artist would probably not want to make more than a 100 or so prints that way. This would be a way to make a small limited edition that makes sense and is worthy of the effort. And, can be done without sacrificing the ability to sell open editions of the same image.

This brings up A/Ps (Artists' Proofs) for digital prints. What the heck is that about? A way to jack up the price on a more limited edition of the same print? If limiting giclee is a gimmick, then A/Ps take the notion to another level. It flies in the face of the original idea which was that the first prints off the press, which traditionally are Artist Proofs, would be the crispest with the greatest fidelity before the plates wore down, and thus more valuable. Explain how that works with digital prints.

Later made digital prints should be better than the first ones

This brings me to Daniel's excellent observation about improving and changing images to make them better. I have argued his point before as well. That is, digital printmaking is an evolving art form. It is most likely that by the time an artist makes the same print in the thousands, or for years to come that the process to make them will be better. Improved printers, substrates, dyes, inks and software help printmakers to continue to turn out better reproductions than the first in the batch. Not to mention the improved skills of the printmaker, too.

This evolving situation turns the whole notion of A/Ps upside down when later prints stand a greater chance of being better than the first. We are living in different times. Consumer tastes are changing, we need to keep up with or be in front of their desires. I don't see how limited edition digital fine art reproductions fit into the equation when the demand is for authenticity and transparency with a potential backlash against anything that doesn't meet those standards.

Limited editions limit the income of the entire pipeline

Why should artists, dealers, galleries and printers be forced to shut off their income stream when a print with viral potential gets shelved because we are beholden to an antiquated form of marketing that doesn't make sense for anyone?

I believe a well-made compelling great image can be sold as an open edition at a fair price that approximates what the price of a limited edition would be. Anyone who doesn't believe this is possible is not selling on the value of the artist and the work, but is instead selling on some perceived notion of  exclusivity and implied potential future value. Any truly good art salesperson should be able to easily transition to selling this way with no real loss of volume or income.

Things are different now and they are not going back - Time to get with it

It seems to me if those who continue to rely on these outdated tactics are going to have an increasingly difficult time in the future. It was not that long ago that many people in the industry thought giclees and digital prints were the worst thing that happened to the business. Turns out print-on-demand was one of the best things in the past 100 years for the business. It's time now to move so the marketing of this wonderful technology catches up with the benefits the technical development have brought us.

Milton Glaser Post Goes Viral - A Lesson for Not Limiting Giclees

Back in February of 2008, I wrote to ask the incomparable Milton Glaser for permission to republish his seminal speech give in 2001. It was titled 10 Things I Have Learned.

I had stumbled across it somewhere and was moved by the straightforward candid advice he gave to an AIGA gathering in London. I heard back from someone on his staff who not only gave permission, but also sent along the splendid image you see here.

It was around the time that The Secret book and videos were going viral themselves. As such, the image was very timely and clever in many ways, which is a Glaser hallmark.

Two years later the Milton Glaser post goes viral

The post received an average amount of unique visitors and pageviews for the blog at the time. Fast forward to 2010 and it was picked up by a couple of influential and well trafficked illustration blogs and went viral getting thousands of hits.

Then just as things seemed to have returned to normal, it got picked up on Stumbleupon, which is a site developed to help you discover and share interesting websites. The post has had more than 9,000 hits on it just from Stumbleupon. This on top of the thousands that have come from other bloggers.

What you potentially limit the most with limited edition giclees is your income

The point is you never know what is going to happen to the work you create. Sometimes things can get legs and be in demand that you have never seen before. Knowing this dynamic works and is real is one of the primary reasons why I believe digital prints should not be sold in limited editions.

Just as I could not fathom more than 10,000 hits on a single blog post, you cannot judge how an image you reproduce as a giclee might sell. It is entirely possible you could create a print that would have enormous demand beyond your imagination. If the piece is limited, it can cost you and your heirs a tremendous amount of lost income. 

Related Links

• Limiting Success
• The Secondary Art Market - Bev Doolittle's Beyond Negotiations Sold Out & The Lunacy of Limited Edition Giclees
• The Double Entendre of the Artist Selling Out

 

Getting Work into the Art Print Market

Editor’s note: This is a guest blog by Jan Weiss. She is both a talented artist and a successful art entrepreneur. The following are some observations and tips she has put together for artists who contemplating a move into the art print market.

As a veteran of the art business, Jan has created and self-published limited edition giclee prints, open edition prints, worked for publishers and for Internet retailer, Art.com. Jan offers her personal experience and art marketing advice here.

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With more than fifteen years in the art industry, I am often asked about my experience. Invariably, questioners want to know how I got in the print market and what do I have to share with them?

Since the mid-90s, my experience has encompassed art publishing and licensing at retail and wholesale levels. I also have developed Websites, blogged, written articles about art publishing, given workshops and created and managed my own Internet retail site for fine art prints.

The most common questions I get asked are:

• How do you get into licensing?
• Is there much money?
• Lucky you! How fun! What is it like to get to stay home and make art and get paid for it? (this one always makes me laugh)
• What are the latest trends?
• My mother’s best friend’s cousin twice removed thinks I should be published. What do you think?
• I shot these photos during my Hawaiian vacation and everyone said they would make great posters.

OK – while I am having my own fun paraphrasing, these are all questions I am frequently asked. Here is my best straightforward advice. Please don’t submit your vacation photos to an art publisher, you will just be wasting your time and theirs. And, if your mother’s best friend’s cousin twice removed says you should be published, get a second opinion. This advice may sound cynical, but I think what is often missing in our industry is honesty. The reality is not everyone is made to be an artist.

We all have our talents and need to assess them objectively. If you have the talent, then go for it! However, consider what you want. That is, do you want to be a published artist or a gallery artist? Sometimes you can do both, but pursuing one or the other is a tough enough challenge for most. Choose one and pursue it passionately.

Learn to honestly evaluate whether you truly have a unique and polished style. If you do, that is wonderful because we need more art like this in the industry. Many artists merely try to copy the hottest trends, which I suppose is understandable, but it is not a ticket to success. First and foremost, you need to ask yourself if your style is copied from another artist, or is it a reflection of your own creativity. It is one thing to show influence by the work of a successful artist and another to do work that gets labeled as a copycat.

A very important factor to consider when seeking a publisher is whether you have had instruction. It may not be fair to talented self-taught artists, but it is a significant factor because most art publishers are rarely interested in artists without art education. Publishers are seeking artists with a firm grasp of their medium, whether it is oils, acrylics, mixed media or pastels.

Listen, learn, attend tradeshows and read. A great suggestion for art inspiration and techniques is The Artist Magazine. It is one of my favorite sources as it showcases some of the most talented artists who generously give their time to share detailed instructions on techniques they have mastered. While it is not the only such source, you will find it consistently one of the best.

As a shameless plug, you can find many tips for becoming successful in the art print market through my newly published eBook – The Coexistence of Art and Money. In the book, I tell you about art licensing and publishing. It covers all aspects from tradeshows to social networking to print-on-demand and art submissions to publishers. The tone of the book is conversational with helpful tips, colorful images and a sense of humor.  You can purchase in my Etsy shop.

These days, one of the most important elements in success in the art print market, either with a publisher or self publishing, is to use the advantages of social networking. I have a Facebook Fan Page, two Twitter accounts, a Website and an Etsy site. At last count, my art is found on eight different Websites.

I don’t sell on all of these sites. In fact, I only sell on three. However, if you drop my name into a search engine, you will find it comes up all over the place. By using the advantages of online print sources provided by a gallery that will sell your art and send you royalties, you will be able to market your art and sell it all over the world from the comfort of your own home.

So make your art digital ready then decide on which online gallery you wish to use. Here are a few suggestions: Image Kind, Artist Rising and Red Bubble. There are others as well, and I’m not choosing favorites, but these are a start. One thing you will learn from the experience of using sites like these is if you have what it takes to become a published artist. By starting with online user-generated galleries, you will learn the ropes and quite possibly a publisher will see your work. I have been approached by publishers who have scanned these sites looking for artists. But no one will find you if you don’t get yourself out there.

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P.S. from Barney Davey -- I did not have time to promote the Milton Glaser "To Inform & Delight" DVD giveaway at all last week. So, I have extended the drawing to the release date of April 27. Get your entry in now. I guarantee you will be both informed and delighted to win and view this terrific documentary on the life of one of America's greatest graphic design artists!

Artfully directed by first time filmmaker Wendy Keys, the film glances into everyday moments of Milton Glaser's personal life and captures his immense warmth, humanity and the boundless depth of his intelligence and creativity.