A precautionary tale for purchasers of prints
I recently read a commercial law Q & A article in a business magazine where a company asked must they pay an increased premium on an agreed priced for a limited edition print. The major publisher had contacted the company asking for more money because the print had nearly sold out!
Well this ploy is unfortunately a common trait of unscrupulous publishers who trade on the perceived notion that if a print is in demand it has more value. However, back in the real World unless the artist cut a cow in half, got media frenzy for not making her bed or better still got a commission from the Queen, what provenance have they gained to warrant such a price hike?
Were not even talking the sale of the original work here, which incidentally they could have purchased from us for the price they paid for the ‘Limited Edition’ print. Which brings me on to myother point, which is the practice of limiting edition sizes of digital prints that is merely a marketing gimmick, as there are no physical or financial constraints on creating digital (giclée) prints as with traditional printmaking. Limited edition prints, also known as LE’s, have been standard in printmaking from the nineteenth century onwards. A limit to the print run was crucial, as many traditional printmaking techniques could only produce a limited number of good quality impressions, after so many the quality of the print was not so good.
In the modern age with use of digital print technology there is actually no limiting factor to producing quality impressions, in fact the 1st print of an edition will be the same quality of the last. Which brings me back to questioning – Why pay more for the last few prints of a limited edition?
