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Giclee Printing and Pricing

For Artist Limited Editions

Giclee prints, also known as inkjet or digital prints, offer artists boatloads of new ways to make and sell art at reasonable prices, but seeing as digital printmaking hasn't been around all that long, the evolution of the medium is still in progress, and the market for giclee limited edition prints and other forms of digital art is still relatively disorganized. In addition, digital prints are not all that well understood by your average everyday art buyer, so in the interest of clarity, perhaps a few guidelines and ground rules are in order.

Even though the terms giclee, digital print, and inkjet print all mean the same thing and can be used interchangeably (and will be in this article), artists, publishers and galleries currently represent digital art in so many different ways that unless you know your terminology, printing processes, and what questions to ask, figuring out what you're looking at can be confusing. (Note: the same basic tenets hold true for digital images produced by photographic methods like C-prints or chromogenic prints). When potential buyers get confused or don't understand what they're looking at, especially if it's priced more expensively than less, they tend not to buy. Or when they do buy and what they get turns out to be something other than what they thought it was, or worse yet, what it was represented as-- that can be problematic as well. So if you decide to make and sell digital prints of your art, being clear and direct about what you're selling and how it's priced is an important part of making the whole process work.

Types of Digital Prints

Digital, inkjet or giclee prints can be divided into five basic categories:

(1) Images conceived and created entirely on a computer that exist only as digital files until they're printed out. These are generally referred to as original digital works of art.

(2) Photographs taken with a camera and printed out directly from the original digital files or original negatives. These are generally referred to as original digital photographs.

(3) Images of existing works of art such as paintings, photographs, watercolors, screen prints, etc. that are created from photographs or scans of the art, and then printed out to look exactly the same as the originals. These are generally referred to as digital reproductions or copies of original works of art.

(4) Digital photographs or images that are uploaded or scanned into a computer and then edited, manipulated, enhanced, reworked or otherwise altered by digital processes (using programs like Photoshop, for example) BEFORE they're printed out. These can sometimes be more like reproductions and sometimes more like original digital works of art, depending on the extent, degree, and types of manipulation.

(5) Giclee or digital images of any kind that are manually enhanced, reworked, or altered AFTER they're printed out-- like hand-embellished with paint, watercolor, collage or some other medium. These can sometimes be more like reproductions and sometimes more like original mixed-media works of art, depending on the extent to which they're manually enhanced or altered.

Advantages of Publishing and Selling Digital Prints

Digital art of all types is rapidly increasing in popularity, regardless of whether the finished products are reproductions, originals, or some combination of the two. Whatever you want to make is fine because as with all art, there are no rules governing what artists can or cannot make. However, artists, galleries and others who offer digital works of art do have a responsibility to accurately describe and represent what they're selling... and that's when things can sometimes get a little sticky.

Most giclee prints are reproductions or copies of pre-existing works of art in other mediums (like paintings, watercolors or drawings) that are either photographed or scanned into computers and then printed out to look exactly the same as the originals. If you decide to produce digital copies of your art, remember that no matter what you call them, they are NOT original works of art. They are digital COPIES or REPRODUCTIONS of original works of art and should always be represented as such.

Even hand-signing, numbering or limiting them does not change this fact. Signing an inkjet reproduction is no different than signing an invitation to one of your openings-- it's your signature on a copy of something that was printed by mechanical means; you had nothing to do with creating that copy other than printing it out from a digital file (or having a company print it out for you).

Having said that, producing giclee limited edition reproduction prints is a great way for artists to make images of their art more widely available at lower prices, and increase their collector bases by offering affordable alternatives to more expensive originals. If someone loves a particular work of your art, for example, and the only way they can own it is by buying it in the form of a signed limited edition inkject print, that's absolutely OK. You can also sell your images as unsigned unlimited editions at even lower prices if you want to make them more affordable yet.

Options and Guidelines for Publishing Limited Editions

Digital editions can be limited and published in various ways to sell at different price points. Prints can be signed, numbered, dated, printed on different papers or other substrates like canvas or metal, be hand-embellished, and even have small original drawings (remarques) in the margins. Hand-embellishing them with paint or watercolor, drawings, collaged elements, or metallic leaf, makes them more attractive to buyers as well as allows you to price them higher than unembellished versions. The options you offer and how much you decide to charge for each is entirely up to you.

Now for some guidelines. If you're publishing limited editions, set edition sizes in advance, make them public, and NEVER change them. This is because people who buy limited edition prints often buy, at least in part, based on the size and exclusivity of the edition. In other words, if you state up front that a print is being published in an edition of ten, keep it that way no matter how much people love it, how fast it sells out or how many people beg you to make one for them.

If you sell out a limited edition print and then decide to print more because it sold so well, you can be pretty sure the people who bought the first printing will never buy from you again (nor will their friends). Why? Because they believed they were buying an image with a fixed edition size and that they were among the few who were lucky enough to own one. If you change the rules after the fact and publish more of those prints, you violate their trust. It's that simple and no more complicated.

Always be true to your collector base; don't ever say one thing and then do another, no matter how profitable it may be for you in the short term, because you'll only be hurting yourself and your reputation in the long term. Never fudge around when somebody asks you about an edition size just so you can leave all your options open. It's either limited or it's not, and if it's limited, it's limited to a certain number.

As the great infomercial star Ron Popiel once said, "Set it and forget it." You don't have to print the entire run at once; one of the great advantages of giclee printing is that you only have to print as many prints as people order, thereby saving ink, paper (or canvas or other substrates) and storage costs. But once you come to the end of an edition, that's it. No more.

FYI, selling out an edition is always good for your career and reputation as an artist. To begin with, it shows people your work is in demand. It's also an incentive for people to buy faster the next time you release a print rather than wait too long and have it sell out. The best part about sold-out editions is that they can sometimes increase in value and sell for more than the original issue prices on secondary or resale markets, especially if the artist becomes increasingly well-known and sought after by collectors. Sold out editions and increasing prices on resale markets are two great reasons for raising prices on new editions.

How to Document Limited Edition Digital Prints

With signed limited editions, provide documentation with every print you sell. This is an excellent way to make buyers feel confident about what they're buying. Include a detailed original invoice or a certificate of authenticity (COA) or both with every print you sell. Among other details, include the print's title, physical size, paper type (or canvas or metal or other substrate type), printer type, ink type, date printed, edition size, and other particulars. Then personally hand-sign and date it.

Provide only original documents, no photocopies. Not only do buyers appreciate extras like this, but good documentation also tends to increase a work of art's value over time (even a digital reproduction or giclee print of a work of art). Given the choice between two identical works of art priced exactly the same, one with documentation and one without, knowledgeable buyers will choose the one with documentation over the one without approximately 100% of the time.

If you publish an edition that is some combination of digital and original work (like hand-embellished with paint, for example), briefly describe the medium and/or production process. The ratio of digital to original content in your art is up to you; everything is OK as long as you're up front about it. The important thing is that you can either state or document that ratio with some degree of accuracy so that anyone interested in buying, showing or representing your work has an accurate idea of what they're getting. For example, if you add ten brush strokes to a digital reproduction of one of your paintings, you're basically offering a reproduction; the more brush strokes you add, the more the giclee begins to approximate an original work of art. Again, make sure prospective buyers understand exactly what they're getting.

Dating digital images, either on the images themselves or on the documentation you provide is something you should think about doing. Since a digital file prints out exactly the same way every time you print it, no matter when you print it, the quickest and simplest way to differentiate one image from the next is by the date it was printed. Even though a print may be one of a larger edition, a date individualizes it, and makes it just a little bit more unique. Buyers like that. In fact, buyers generally like dated art, especially when their dates precede other buyers' dates.

Many artists don't pay enough attention to dating their work, digital or otherwise, but the more art you make and the longer you make it for, the more important dates become-- especially on your early work, especially if you have a long and productive career. Dates come in mighty handy when retrospective time rolls around too. Once again, given the choice between two identical works of art priced exactly the same, one that's dated and one that's not, knowledgeable buyers will choose the dated one over the undated one approximately 100% of the time. Keep in mind that you don't necessarily have to date the art on the front if you don't want to, but date it somewhere, either on the art itself or on the documentation you provide with it.

Those of you who create 100% original digital compositions entirely on a computer and then print them out in editions should follow the same basic procedures as artists printing reproductions of works in other mediums. Set edition sizes in advance and never change them once they're set. Include that information along with any other relevant details or specifics in your documentation.

Your Obligation to Fairly Represent Your Prints

No matter what kind of art you make, if it has digital components, never try to obscure or misrepresent that fact (as some galleries and artists are occasionally tempted to do). For example, if you add paint to a digital print, call it "giclee and acrylic," "hand-enhanced giclee print," "hand-embellished inkjet print," "digital print with hand highlighting," "hand painted digital image," "inkjet and acrylic," etc. Don't simply call it "mixed-media."

Not only does the term mixed-media confuse buyers, but it's also disingenuous because mixed-media traditionally refers to a work of art that is 100% original, is comprised of multiple media, and is created entirely by hand. Digital art is either in whole or in part created with computers, printers, scanners and/or cameras; no handwork is involved in certain stages of the process. You don't want someone to buy your "mixed media" art believing that it was made entirely by hand, only to find out later that it wasn't.

Artists sometimes think about keeping all of their originals and selling only signed limited digital reproductions. Maybe this is OK if you're really well-known or even famous, have a large paying fan base, and are capable of selling hundreds or thousands of prints of every limited edition you create. But if you're early in your career or just starting out or you make significantly more originals than you sell, be generous. Give buyers opportunities to own the real thing. Don't hoard all the originals and sell only copies.

Preventing buyers from owning originals is not a good habit to get into. If originals are what they want, sell them. Happy buyers buy more art. The more original works of art you sell, the more successes you have, and the more popular you get with collectors, the greater the chances that demand for your art will increase, including digital reproductions of your art. As your collector base expands, prices for originals rise, and you get better known, limited edition giclees or digital prints will get easier to publish and sell.

For Artists Who Want to Produce Large Numbers of Prints

For those of you who plan on producing lots of inkjet prints, think seriously about buying your own equipment rather than hiring fine art printers to do the job for you, or perhaps buy equipment together with several other artists. Printer prices have plummeted in recent years to the point where they can pay for themselves in relatively short periods of time if your editions sell well. As equipment becomes more affordable, hiring publishers or fine art printers to print your prints is becoming les and less cost-effective, and is gradually becoming a thing of the past (except for specialized high-end fine art printers or companies known for producing images of exceptional quality). Keep in mind though that if you do decide to you buy your own equipment, you have to learn to use it-- and that's not always as easy as you might think.

As for using third-party websites to print, sell and ship prints for you, that's fine too, but keep in mind that since you can't sign or embellish them, they have to be sold at lower price points. You also make less money per print. And if you don't have a large fan base or market for your art, offering substantially lower priced unsigned unlimited prints could actually reduce your sales of originals or signed limited editions. However those of you with large followings and highly recognizable images may be able to sell large numbers of unsigned prints without hurting the market for your originals and signed limited editions. Either way, evaluate the demand and sales potential of limited vs unlimited editions before signing on with third-party print sellers.

Basic Pointers on Pricing

For artists who are just starting out, are relatively early in their careers, or who do not regularly sell their originals, a reasonable introductory price range for basic signed and numbered limited edition prints with no handwork is two to four times cost. In general, price as affordably as you think you can. Your goal is to make sales, to get your art into people's homes and offices. If demand and sales continue to increase, you can raise your prices. Starting low and increasing prices based on demand is far better than starting high and having to reduce your proces because of lack of demand.

As for relative prices, smaller edition sizes can be priced somewhat higher than larger edition sizes. Basically, the fewer prints in the edition, the more exclusive ownership becomes. For hand-embellished prints, prices would increase based on the extent and detail of the handwork. In other words, a print with significant overpainting would be priced higher than one that is only accented with a few brush strokes. Likewise, original digital prints (see categories above) would typically be priced higher than digital reproductions of pre-existing works of art. As for unsigned unlimited digital prints, they should be priced more like posters or other mass-edition images.

Additional Tips for Publishing Limited Edition Digital Prints

* Shop around and compare prices between printing companies before contracting work out. Get references from other artists who use the same publishers to be sure you get good value, good service and quality images for your money. Also see firsthand or have them send you examples of their work.

* Make sure your image files are large enough to produce superior quality prints in larger sizes (16 by 20 inches or so, and up). Larger prints can hold their own in larger rooms. No matter what sizes you offer, make sure your printer can print in high resolution. You don't want pixelating or dot matrix patterns to be visible on your images (unless you purposely intend it). Color fields should be crisp and clean with no overlap or fuzzy edges, even when you get up close.

* If you want, you can offer an image in several sizes. Two sizes, a larger one and a medium or smaller one usually is the best way to go. For example, a total edition of 25 might consist of 5 large images, and 20 medium or smaller ones.

* Offering too many different options to buyers is not generally a good way to go. This would include offering too many size options, too many substrate options, too many frame types, etc. The more options you offer, the longer buyers generally take to make up their minds, assuming they don't get confused or overwhelmed and just plain give up. Keep it simple; the fewer options you offer, the quicker buyers can make up their minds.

* Use pigmented inks only and get information about how long they last. Check what's referred to as their "fade characteristics." Certain inks fade faster over time than others.

* Know the specifications of your inks. Under what conditions will they fade? Are they water-resistant? Should they be protected with finishes? Should they be displayed only in low light? If you want your art to last, it's important to use the best inks and protective coatings available.

* Experiment with different papers or canvas types, surface textures, and finishes. While you're at it, you might also explore other substrates like brushed aluminum or mylar to see which make your images look best. Discussing options with an experienced fine art printer comes in pretty handy here.

* Make sure you know what printers are being used to print your images, as well as what inks, papers or other substrates, and dpi (resolution) are being used. See samples of exactly what you're contracting for before you sign any dotted lines, and be sure the quality of those samples meets with your approval. This is especially true if you use online printing and selling services.

* Think about offering a little extra to your regulars or early buyers of newly released editions-- maybe first pick of images with lower edition numbers, a personal note on their receipts or certificates of authenticity, or other bonuses. Showing consideration like this encourages them to buy earlier rather than wait, and might encourage other buyers to get in line quicker next time as well.

* In closing, never be afraid to experiment. The nature of digital art is such that you can print the same file over and over again. You can also make each image unique with relatively minor alterations or changes. You might experiment with different options like this when printing your editions. Who knows? You may one day end up pioneering variations and techniques that digital artists will follow for years to come.

(art by Charles Arnoldi)