Fine Art Reproduction, Managing LImited Editions

Printing Digital Art: Fine Artists Explore the Promise of New Markets

Excerpted, condensed, and reprinted with permission, by David Saffir May 09

Summary: New technology in fine art printmaking creates non-traditional opportunities and opens markets for artists. Managing quality, distribution of, and maintaining value of these editions requires planning and good implementation. The authors review options and recommend solutions, including edition tracking, certificates of authenticity, and more.

NEW MARKETS FOR FINE ART EDITIONS AND REPRODUCTION

Printing and marketing models for fine art are constantly morphing. However, three basic types of markets are developing along the lines of (a) storefront or kiosk, (b) web based print-on-demand and framing centers, and (c) the traditional master-printer format.

Storefront or Kiosk: With the kiosk or storefront model a person goes to a digital terminal located in a gallery, frame shop, museum bookstore, and the like. There they are able to view a selection of artwork on-screen.

After choosing an image the customer can select the size of the print and the media upon which the image will appear, along with framing and matting options. The print is made at that location and the customer walks out with the finished object.

Following the sale, the artist receives agreed-upon fees. Kiosks such as this are already in operation at prestigious museums and galleries, such as the MOMA in New York and the National Gallery in London.

Web-based, Print-on-demand and Framing Centers:

The print-on-demand aspects of the kiosk marketing model can be extended to a larger web-based operation.

In this model an artist usually subscribes for a fee to a web based gallery operation that places their work on customized viewing pages. Potential buyers go on-line to select the work and, as with the kiosk model, have the opportunity to select size, substrate, frame and mat. The print is created, framed and shipped to the client.

Again, the artist gets their asking price plus a share of the framing charges. As with the kiosk model the artist provides only a set of digital files and is more-or-less "hands off" the process after that.

One of the disadvantages that the kiosk and all web-based operations have in common is that the client's satisfaction is often determined by how well and accurately the view screen upon which they select their purchase is set-up. Remember, the screen image is not the artwork itself.

Traditional Master Printer Model:

What we are calling the "master printer" model is the method of making and marketing digital prints closest to the traditional means of producing fine art prints. This is the model that was first adopted as it became clear that high quality digital prints could be sold confidently by professional artists.

In this model the artist delivers a high-resolution digital file to an experienced printmaker who supplies proofs of the image on a selection of substrates. From these proofs a "bon-a-tirer" (French for "good to print" or “good to pull”, aka “BAT”) is produced. It is a finished print that is kept in archival storage that becomes the standard for all subsequent prints of artwork.

Using the data file developed to create the bon-a-tirer, the master printer provides prints to the artist, who markets them as they see fit. (editor’s note: usually within the limits of the published size of the edition, if applicable).

The advantages of the "master printer" model are that it allows the artist hands-on control and approval of the quality of the prints. It also provides the artist the opportunity to sign, number and authenticate the prints in keeping with established practices.

Many digital artists consider a high quality, large format printer a part of the required equipment of their electronic studios. In this case they become the printmaker with added control, opportunity to experiment with the digital printmaking, and the ability to make work that is informed and enhanced by the creative feedback and surprises that are often revealed only in the print. (editor’s note: master printmakers like Jack Duganne use this technique extensively).

Having work where the public expects to see it and a large web gallery could be more effective in terms of market access than a singular artist's own website or other marketing schemes.

Implications and Recommendations

There are important issues a digital artist must consider if they desire to attract serious collectors of their work. Mel, Helen, I and many others are aware of the confusion still reigning over the difference between a digital fine art reproduction or giclee and an original digital art print.

The implication for art marketed via the web-based models is that the work can potentially be perceived to be mass market reproduction, or even poster art. (editor’s note: it is easy to degrade the monetary value of a limited edition in this way).

The kiosk or web-based gallery/framing models do not currently provide a way for the artist to delineate an actual signature or edition number on the print.

Certificate of Authenticity

Helen points out that she currently attaches a certificate of authenticity which describes her rationale for issuing her prints with the notation of "Variant Edition." She writes:

"As an artist-printmaker in the digital age, I want to be open to new developments in software, hardware and media. To remain adaptable I use the 'Variant Edition' (V.E.) system in which the artist commits to making a pre-determined and limited number of prints. (emphasis added)

The image will be fundamentally the same throughout the edition even though it may vary in size, could be on a different substrate and could be realized using a different technology; print prices will also vary accordingly. By not printing the entire edition at the same time I can, in real time, utilize an innovation such as a new media, an improved inkset or some yet undreamed of invention as it emerges."

Artists interested in having their digital artwork considered must tread a narrow line between technological innovation and traditional modes of authentication.

Helen's certificate of authenticity (which includes an embossed seal) goes a long way toward meeting this goal. There are considerations:

-Will the print provider follow management procedures?

-Can print edition numbering be controlled effectively?

-How would the artist sign or otherwise authenticate the print?
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Mel pointed out that within the tradition of Fine Art that a master printer will often sign the print, accompanied by some other form of written documentation.

The production of fine art digital prints, which do not pass through the original artist's hands, should adopt a procedure which documents and acknowledges the way in which the print is made and satisfies the requirements of control and documentation set forth by the tradition of printmaking. (editor: the Certificate of Authenticity addresses some of these concerns).

Managing Limited Editions

It is feasible that an artist (working in conjunction with an Internet-based digital fine art marketer and print provider sensitive to the demands of Fine Art authentication) could achieve these ends by his or her attention to these four considerations.

Let's enumerate them:

(1) The artist would provide his or her signature electronically as a visible part of the finished artwork.

(2) The web marketer/print provider would mark the print in the margin of the front surface using the nomenclature "V.E. 2/20 E.S. 6/9/2008" thus indicating that this is a variant edition (V.E.), the second print within an edition limited to just 20 prints (2/20) signed electronically by the artist (E.S.), and printed on a specific date (6/9/2008).

(3) A certificate noting the title of the art work, the type of paper, ink and printer used and the location and name of the print provider would then be attached to the back of each print. (Editor: some printmakers/framers provide a pouch on the back of the framed print, attached to the dust cover on the frame).

(4)If a web-based print provider and marketing service has several printing centers in different locations, each center should be equipped with identical printing systems.

Variations Between Prints

The variations between prints that are acceptable using traditional production techniques of hand-pulled prints are not necessarily as well accepted when seen in digitally-sourced prints.

Until printer manufacturers adopt standardized color gamuts and inks or can otherwise work out some form of universal color matching and control, the need to offer digital print editions produced from identical equipment, inks and papers remains an important consideration for Fine Art.

Compliance with these four considerations would adequately cover what a collector or curator wants to know about the art they purchase or display and simultaneously provide consistency, authentication and provenance for the work.

Experience has shown us that despite all the remarkable innovations of digital technology curators, gallery owners and collectors of Fine Art still feel that authentication, provenance and strict quality control are key to success.

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Helen Golden www.helengolden.com, creates her tra-digital/mixed-media fine art work by integrating computer art-making tools and traditional ones such as etching and photography. She is a pioneer in the digital art realm, exhibits in solo, curated and invited exhibitions and is cited in newspapers, magazines, books, television and on the internet. Her work is in private and corporate collections and has been accessed by the National Museum of American Art at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC. and she is a Laureate of the Computerworld Smithsonian Information Technology Innovation Distinction. Golden serves as an independent research consultant to graphic technology companies, was a co-founder of a digital collective and has worked as a curator, an artist-in-residence, gallery director and as a lecturer/educator. Her studio is in Palo Alto, California.

JD Jarvis, www.dunkingbirdproductions.com, holds an MFA degree in Video and Mixed Media ('75) and maintains a career in television production. He switched his artistic output from acrylic painting and drawing to digital printmaking in 1994 when he also began writing on topics related to digital art. In 2000 he was awarded an international prize for his digital artwork from Toray Industries in Tokyo and in 2005 co-authored "Going Digital: The Practice and Vision of Digital Artists" published by Thomson Course Technology as part of their "digital process and print" series. His articles and essays can be found at numerous websites and in "EFX, Art and Design," "Digital Output," "Great Output," and "New Mexico Collector's Guide" magazines. He became a member of the Creative's Advisory Council for Hewlett-Packard's large format printing program in 2006.

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