Selling and Marketing Your Giclee Prints

Are you considering taking the plunge with reproducing and marketing your artwork? Perhaps you have been encouraged by stories of other self publishing artists who have achieved great success in the print market. You may never quite reach the same level as the small number of full time working professionals who sell enough work to make a living, but don't be too discouraged as technology has increased the opportunities for income earning from your original artwork.

The two most important technological changes that have helped make it easier for artists and photographers to reproduce and market their work are digital fine art printing and the internet. Giclee fine art printing offers the highest degree of accuracy and richness of colour available in any of the reproduction techniques. It allows for affordable, high quality prints to be produced on demand. The internet allows anyone to easily market their work world wide with the help of email, a website to showcase your portfolio and viral marketing with blogs, Facebook and Twitter.

Choosing the Artwork

How do you choose which paintings or artwork to reproduce as a limited edition giclee print run? There is a cost involved in scanning any original artwork, which means you may have to be selective about which of your artwork to choose. After all the hard work you have put in to your work, it is not easy to be subjective about the choice. One way is to ask the opinion of the people who view your work at galleries and exhibitions, which artwork did they like the best?

Now how do you work out what to charge for each giclee print? This can easily be determined by the cost of production - work out what the set up charge will be, this normally includes the scanning and proofing and then add the cost of each print in the edition and the cost of delivery to your customer. The minimum you might want to charge is double the base cost, some artists choose to set a price based on three times or even four times the base cost. Factors to consider are the number of prints in the run, set a higher price for a smaller edition and generally what you think the market will bear.

Open or Limited Edition Printing?

Once the scan or digital file from the original artwork has been proofed on the chosen media, the self-publishing artist or photographer can choose between open or limited edition print reproduction. An open edition print can be produced in any quantity and the image may also be printed on other media and used in other ways, such as a greeting card. Open editions tend to cost less than limited editions and are much less likely to increase in value.

Limited Edition Prints are produced in limited numbers, which makes the image more exclusive and therefore more valuable. The market price can even rise over time, if demand outstrips supply. Limited edition sizes vary, but can be any number from as few as 10 up to 500 and are usually signed and numbered in pencil by the artist with a commitment that no other reproduction of the image will be made. The Fine Art Trade Guild print standard sets a maximum edition size of 850 and when prints are registered with the Fine Art Trade Guild the publisher signs a legally binding declaration stating the extent of the limited edition print run, and confirms that the image will not be seen in any other form (e.g. open edition, greeting card etc).

Remember that a limited edition Giclee print run does not have to be printed all in one go; you are not committed to the high quantities or costs of traditional printing methods like offset litho. You can cut down your costs by only printing what you sell and you benefit from not having unsold prints that have cost you money to produce and may never sell at all.

Once the scan or digital file is made, you can print on demand - order as many copies or as few as you wish. You are not committed to the high quantities or costs of offset litho printing and therefore cut down your costs by only printing what you sell. You don't have unsold prints to store, and you also have the option to print your work on different paper types and at different sizes.

 

Marketing Your Giclee Prints

What's the best way to market my Giclee prints? Many artists use traditional means like art shows, art exhibitions, local art galleries, markets and street stalls. The key to success with art shows and exhibitions is choosing the right venues and being in the right location to be seen. Self-publishing artists and photographers generally do well selling smaller, low cost prints at venues that attract the general public who are looking for affordable art. The Artist's Guide to Selling Work - this is a guide to important points that any artist should know when trying to sell work, like selecting the right gallery, approaching galleries, pricing, terms and conditions, other options, artists' agents, working with publishers and public art commissioners.

The Artists Yearbook, now in its fourth edition, has firmly established itself as the best comprehensive, annual reference guide to getting ahead in todays art world. Offering advice, inspiration and information in one fact-packed volume, it features carefully vetted information on and contact details for more than 3,000 visual-arts businesses and organizations. New to The Artists' Yearbook 2010 - 2011 edition are a full update on Arts Council England funding and programmes plus new advice from Elinor Olisa of Degree Art.com on how artists can promote themselves and work with galleries.

 

Website

Increasingly artists are turning to the web to sell their work, these days setting up a website is not that expensive but does require some skill to make it visible on Google. Don't under estimate the effort required to build and market your own on line web site to showcase your work. Make sure your web site is professionally designed if you want to inspire confidence in potential buyers, as nothing looks worse than a tacky art site, poorly put together.

Would you like to be able to create a website for your business, for free? The Getting British Business Online initiative is a collaboration between Enterprise UK, Google, BT, and e-skills UK, with the support of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

This joint initiative is to help small businesses like yours to create their first website and help them understand the opportunities offered by the Internet. They have set a target of helping 100,000 UK organisations get their first website easily and for free by the end of 2011.

There is now a profusion of online web galleries to help artists increase their exposure and sell more work, most of these web galleries charge an upfront fee to appear on their pages or they make a commission on any sales made. If you look around you can still find some web galleries who make no charge, like Redcliffe's E-Gallery pages.

 

Greeting Cards

Fine Art Greeting Cards are a cost effective way to show your work with the added benefit of including information about yourself with your telephone, email and website information printed on the back. After seeing your artwork at a gallery, exhibition or art fair, prospective buyers of your work need to be able to take something away with them so that they can get in touch with you later or browse your website.

Fine Art Postcards are a very valuable way of marketing your images or artwork. You can use postcards to keep in touch with your previous customers and let them know, with a personalised message, about new work or upcoming exhibitions of your work, don't forget to include your web address and contact details.

 

Your Local Art Gallery

Local art galleries are very effective venues for selling your work, despite their commission charges. Of course, not every art gallery will consider your work and you need to be prepared for some disappointments. The first step is to gather a portfolio of your best work; it needs to be an extensive body of work to convince any gallery owner that you are a committed and credible artist. Your local picture framers will sometimes showcase local artists; it never hurts to ask if they will also consider your work, particularly if you are one of their customers.

So you have chosen one of your original paintings to reproduce as a limited edition Giclee print, perhaps it's a piece you have just sold and you want to continue making some income from it. First decide how large to make the edition, remember that you can charge a higher price for a smaller edition. Now establish some way of keeping a record of all the sales made from this edition, it doesn't have to be complicated, just a simple notebook will do. Then as your stock of the edition runs low you can order a few more prints, this is the real benefit of Giclee printing - keeping your costs down by only printing what you sell.

 

For more information or advice on these products call Adrian or Tim on (0117) 952 0105 or use the contact form to tell us your requirements, we can suggest the most appropriate solution for your display needs.