Friday, January 23, 2015

Buying Of Giclee Prints For Sale

By Karyn Shields


Technology has progressed so rapidly over the last century and today a printing process exists that has revolutionized the way art is sold. When one sees giclee prints for sale, they have been printed in a manner whereby all the hues and tones of the original work are reproduced without any dot screen pattern being visible. This type of printing is called by a French term meaning nozzle due to the way the ink is sprayed onto the substrate.

This printing process involves the ink being sprayed onto the substrate and although most people are familiar with the desktop inkjet printer, the ones used for this process are much bigger. A scanner is used to make a digital copy of the artwork. This can then be made larger or smaller and printed out onto an appropriate substrate.

Special inks are used in this process that are pigment based and not as subject to fading. The print quality is excellent and the colors retain their quality for years. Watercolors are reproduced particularly well on watercolor paper as the ink sinks into the paper easily. Canvas is also often chosen as a substrate due to its durability and the fact that it does not crease when rolled up.

Digital art of all kinds is growing in popularity, whether it consists of reproduction of originals, images conceived on computer and printed or both combined. This has introduced a whole new element into the art world and buyers can become confused with all the various options on offer. What they need to understand is that copies of originals must be labelled as copies.

A digital copy should never be classified as an original. Artists often choose to print a limited number of copies and to label them accordingly. These copies can be sold more cheaply, making them available to a wider audience.

The artists often have ways in which to make these copies of their work more valuable such as signing them, numbering them or highlighting with brush strokes. The more personalized the copy, the more expensive it becomes. However, the more personalized, the more attractive it is to serious collectors.

Buyers need to be aware of how many copies of a work exist and such information should be clearly stated by the seller. Sellers that try to mislead buyers do so at the risk of their reputations. Buyers who pay for a limited edition print and then find that many more are available will feel that they have been deceived and will not buy from the work of the artist again.

A copy will never be an original but many of the best ones come really close. Thanks to this printing process and the close creative control that it allows the artist over the end product, the vivid colors are pleasing to look at and will not fade. Limited edition copies, particularly those that are personalized, add value to any collection. Copies of artworks are finding their way into the hands of people who would not have been able to afford them in any other way.




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