LIMITED EDITION PRINTS INFORMATION
Colin Bailey
ARTIST & PRINTMAKER
ARTIST & PRINTMAKER
LINKS TO MAIN RYEPRESS SITE: Ryepress Prints by Colin Bailey What is Etching? What is a giclee print?
What is a Limited edition print?
The terms Limited Edition Print, Original Print and Reproduction Print are often confusing. Printing has always been associated with the mass production of the written word or image and so the phrase original print seems a contradiction in terms. Limiting something which can be mass produced also attracts a certain amount of suspicion. So, why do artists produce limited edition prints?
In the early day of printing artists gratefully adopted various printing techniques to produce multiple images of their work, publicise their efforts and increase their income. These techniques developed separately from the technology of mass production printing. Engraving, etching, woodcuts, lithography and screen printing were originally cutting-edge technology but are now almost solely the preserve of artists who have become known as printmakers.. Durer and Rembrandt probably would not have recognised the distinction between printer and printmaker. They produced multiple images the best way they could - using the best technology of the day.
These early techniques by their very nature limited the quantity of images which it was possible to print. The physical constraints of the media used, the patience of the individuals involved and the amount of time required to print each image were all reflected in the price. Technology however moved on - and with the development of photography came the ability to reproduce images accurately and with relatively little need for the intervention of the artist's hand. At the same time the industrial revolution, the blossoming of Capitalism and the appetite for mass produced goods left the individual artist and antiquated technology behind. Within the lifetime of the Impressionists (mid 1800s) the art world had changed dramatically.
Printmaking as a means of expression for the artist became distinctly separate from commercial printing . The term limited edition print became synonymous with hand crafted, labour intensive artworks of consequently of greater value.
LIMITED EDITION PRINTS - THE MAIN TYPES:
Etching is a form of printing that along with engraving comes under the category of Intaglio. Images produced by this process are the result of ink being forced out of the incised lines in a zinc or copper plate using a heavy press. This results in slightly raised ink on the paper and a characteristic plate mark showing the edges of the plate. What is an etching?
Relief: The image is printed from the raised areas with non printed areas cut away - woodcut, linocut, woodblock, letterpress
Planographic: The image is printed from the same surface as the non printed areas - Lithography, offset litho
Stencil: The image is printed by ink passing through areas cut away from a stencil - Serigraphy, better known as screen-printing or silkscreen
Ink jet: (Giclee) The most recent development, ink is sprayed onto the printing surface. The most basic example being the standard home printer and the commercial application being the high end giclee printer. What is a giclee print?
Reproduction Prints
The artist also had the option of foregoing the tiresome process of producing their own prints and could have an original piece of artwork photographed and reproduced by a printer. The economies of scale meant a high minimum number of prints was needed to recoup the set up costs. In most cases the only further artistic input needed by the artist was to artificially limit the number of prints and then sign them.
Original Prints
Mainly for this reason the term original print came to mean work created directly on the plate, stone, block, or screen by the hand of artist/printmaker. The print is the original; The image created by the printmaker is just part of the process or means by which the resulting prints are produced. A complication to this is that having produced the plate, or master image the artist could of course hand the printing over to an experienced printmaker; the terms DEL
(delineat - drawn by) and IMP
(impressit - printed by) were often used on old engravings to indicate this.
Giclee Printing
The recent arrival of digital technology has confused the issue even further. With a relatively inexpensive giclee printer, scanner and computer the artist is now able for the first time to produce accurate "reproduction prints" without any outside intervention, limiting the edition at his or her discretion.
The term 'printmaker' is accepted as referring to an artist producing prints by traditional "hand pulled" methods and for many traditional printmakers the term limited edition giclee print is seen as a direct assault on their profession and, for the general public (who it must be said, are only just starting to accept photography as Art) it is all extremely confusing. Most people own a PC, an inkjet printer and a digital camera - so what is a giclee print?
Numbering of prints and Artists Proofs
Limited edition prints are traditionally signed and numbered in pencil with the edition number on the bottom left, the title in the middle and signature on the right. It is generally accepted that the printmaker can mark A/P (Artists Proof) on up to ten per cent of the edition - so an edition of 100 would have numbers 1/100 - 100/100 and an extra ten marked A/P.
Etchings (original prints)
Limited edition fine art prints: Signed and numbered by the artist. Etchings available in editions of between 25 and 100. Printed by hand on 225 GSM Rives paper off hand-drawn copper plates etched in Dutch Mordant Some editions are hand coloured by the artist using professional quality Schmincke watercolour paints. See What is an Etching?. Prices: from
? 75 - ?125
Colin Bailey is an artist and printmaker living and working in Hastings, East Sussex. With over 25 years of printmaking experience Colin has tried his hand at most forms of printmaking including the most recent; giclee printing. His website Ryepress has recently expanded to include a small print studio and art gallery. This informational website is a response to some of visitors most common questions. Please visit Ryepress to see examples of Colin's work and explore in detail some of the more technical aspects of limited edition prints and etching in particular.
LINKS TO MAIN RYEPRESS SITE: Ryepress Prints by Colin Bailey What is Etching? What is a giclee print?
RECOMENDED FURTHER
READING
THE ART OF ETCHING
E.S LUMSDEN
Dover Publications
ISBN-13: 978-0486200491
T N Lawrence & Son Ltd.
208 Portland Road, Hove, BN3 5QT, United Kingdom
Phone: 0845 644 3232 (+44 1273 260260)
208 Portland Road, Hove, BN3 5QT, United Kingdom
Phone: 0845 644 3232 (+44 1273 260260)
9 Playhouse Court,
62 Southwark Bridge Road,
London, SE1 0AT
Tel: 020 7928 2633
62 Southwark Bridge Road,
London, SE1 0AT
Tel: 020 7928 2633
Sticks and Stones:
Plate before biting
Plate before biting
Sticks and Stones:
First print off plate
First print off plate
Sticks and Stones:
Final state
Final state
Limited edition giclee prints (Reproduction prints)
Limited edition prints: Signed and numbered by the artist. Giclee prints available in editions of 250. Original artwork scanned at 1200 dpi and printed on 310 GSM Hahnem?hle "German etching" Archival quality paper at 360 dpi using waterproof and light fast inks. See What is a Giclee print?. Prices:
from ? 30 - ?50