I would definately be interested in prints from artwork. Presumably we take pictures ourselves and supply digital images?

I've been considering Limited Edition Prints for some time but this is very much dependent on personal integrity and is easily open to abuse.

Sounds good count me in.

John

With the rise of very good quality prints at relatively cheap prices more people nowadays are buying prints than original artwork. Apart from the collectors of art, the vast majority of buyers want a cheap print which they can dispose of months later and replace it with another. To rely on exhibitions to sell work makes income irregular and can be a gamble. Selling prints every day of the week could provide a steady income. Don't forget that the Chinese are reproducing western artwork at a phenomenal rate and we have to stay afloat. Peter French.

Sorry but I am not a goer on this. Having to compete against the print market is enough, but joining it, not for me. It's a personal thing and I am not degrading anyone who does offer prints, but I will remain an 'originals' only and my customers like it that way.

Hi all .
I agree with Rosie, it's the wrong path to take, it will only devalue
your work, plus make it harder to sell, keep it rare , keep it's value.
Otherwise you are shooting yourself in the foot. If you want the price you
ask for avoid putting it in print, who wants to pay out for a painting when they can have a print on canvas, with the same texture as the original by adding an acrylic based texture coating that will look the same, for a fraction of the price?
If you were the buyer you would not want to see the piece of art that you have paid hard cash for, in every other persons home or office and having to say I bought the original! What a mug you would look.
You only make it harder to sell your work by putting it in print and line the printers pockets not your own. So it's hard to sell art work, don't add fuel to the fire; If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. Burn Baby Burn.

Well, here's the thing. I put some of my work onto Easyart and ordered a print for a client (Matt Lucas from little britain). I chose the canvas and frame, it looked wonderful on the computer, so I had it delivered to me
so that I could gaze at it proudly before sending it off to him. Weeks later when it arrived, I excitedly opened the package and found to my horror the print was awful, really bright and cheap looking! (the only thing good was the framing) I'd paid an arm and a leg for subscribing to the site, then a shovel load of dosh in getting it. I wrote and complained. They asked me if the original was correct, I said yes and asked what they might do about it. They said they'd look into it but that was a couple of weeks ago and 'm still waiting to hear from them. Honestly, if I'd taken it up to the printers and got a quick photocopy I would have expected the same results!
In my opinion, unless you know these companies make a good job of it - save yourself the expense and bother!
Diana

It's very interesting to hear all your feedback, thanks very much!

Diana, I'm a bit concerned about what you are saying about Easy Art's service. So far we have been very confident that they are offering a very high quality of print service and how they handle all returns. Certainly the sample prints they gave us were of excellent quality, and they said that the limitation of quality is basically down to the images supplied.

Have you tried contacting them by phone? we'd be very interested to see how they resolve your issue.

Yes I would be interested in the outcome too.It would be interesting to know the percentage of returns to them.

Dear Richard F Barber, you say that resulting prints devalue the original artwork. I can promise you that the value of the original increases exponentially.

Regards, Peter French.

I agree Peter.It does not devalue your originals,most Artists do this as it also promotes their work to a bigger audience.

I think it's completely up to each artist to decide whether it's right for them to offer prints but was quite surprised by this comment - I would have thought if an image was popular enough for people to want to buy prints, the buyer of the original would actually feel pleased to have something so much in demand, not feel they'd been ripped off. Offering prints certainly doesn't devalue the originals of the very famous artists, just look at Jolomo or Vettriano. I'm sure at the less exalted end of the market things work differently I guess!

PS just noticed the posts by Wendy and Peter which came up while I was composing this!!!

Anyway, I still would like the facility to offer prints on selected images although I would think twice about offering prints if the original hadn't sold, not so sure about that one.

Yes I find it most odd I have sold 10 copies of one of my works but the original has not sold.I am a bit confused over this as the prints are not that much cheaper.

Dear Richard F Barber, would you prefer to have Turner's original 'Fighting Temeraire' hanging on your wall or a cheap print of it? I know which one is for me.

Kind Regards, Peter French. http://www.ptfrench.co.uk

Agree with this but we are not famous artists or dead ones for that matter. My 'collectors' as they like to be known as, appreciate the fact that the artwork they buy is real, the brushstrokes are real and they know that I have painted it, not just been a distributor of a print. If they want a print, they go to Ikea, if they want a painting they go to an artist.

That's what I believe I am - an artist - not out to make a fortune, or be a distribitor, or a person in business, just an artist who believes that success is not always measured by money, but how they feel when they can create.

As I said before, I do not degrade anyone for going into the print side of things, good for them, it makes the world go around, but purely on a personal level, putting my work into print is not for me. I think that the process would be so much out of my control I would not be able to handle it anyway

Hi All,
In reply to all of you as regards art prints is this. Are you a printer
or a painter?
Before leaving the U.K. I looked into buying my own printer,which could easily be linked up to my computer and would print
museum quality prints with a life span estimation of 70 years using 6
different colour inks and made by Epson. At that time it would have cost
me 4500 G.B.Pounds. It would print on both paper or canvas; It was not because of the price that deterred me, it was the fact that I would be selling more prints than paintings.
When I came to China to live I met many artists and this clarified my decision as being right , when I went to their galleries or homes they had most of their painting stacked high and mountains of quality prints, on asking why all of the prints they said because I can sell them, but not the paintings, the paintings get given to big State galleries or friends for favors, so in my eye's the painting became worthless.
I can understand a person wanting to own a print of an artist that is dead or an old Master, but you are neither dead or an old Master, you also have the added bonus of computer technology so you are better equipped than the Old Master. So my answer to you about hanging a painting of Turner or any artist is YES, YES, YES, i have no need in my home for prints, I'm much happier to see them for real or in a book where I can read about the artist and his techniques . My Question to Mr Peter Finch is this? How do you rate your art work compared with Chinese factory art which is mainly airbrushand the atists are both Korean and Chinese?