Fine Art Printing For Artists

Fine Art Printing

The fine art print market has been increasing over the past five years. Artists can easily promote and sell their original artwork and reproductions on multiple platforms, and art collectors benefit because they can now discover new art from artists worldwide. The internet has changed the way sellers conduct business and the way people shop.

Even though any artist or photographer can sell prints online, they still need to understand how to promote their work, price prints, what print sizes to offer, and where they will get their fine art prints.

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Where To Print Fine Art Prints

There are a few different options when it comes to having prints made from your original artwork.

Before you can get fine art prints made, you will have to create a digital image of the painting or drawing. To create a digital image, you can either take a photograph of your artwork with a digital camera or scan your drawings.

The resolution of a digital image will affect the print quality.

Resolution refers to the amount of visual detail contained in an image. The resolution of output devices (printers) is measured in dots per inch (dpi), and in the case of halftones, lines per inch (lpi). (Source: Corel Discovery Center)

A digital image saved with 300dpi will produce the best prints.

To save a digital image at 300dpi, open the image in Photoshop, click image size.

Type 300 in Resolution Pixels/inch. Click ok when done. Save the image as a jpeg to your computer.

Once you have a digital image, you can bring a USB with the digital image to your local printer. Upload the image to a print-on-demand site or print them at home.

Make Artwork Prints At Home

As mentioned above, you can have prints made at a local printing store, online, or print them at home.

If you are printing them, how you want to invest in a high-quality printer that uses archival ink and use acid-free fine art papers for the prints.

Technology has come a long way, and the cost of high-quality inkjet printers is very affordable.

For example, take a look at the prices of these inkjet printers:

To learn more about these printers and other printers that print high-quality art prints, visit 6 Best Printers For Printing Fine Art Prints.

The best paper to use for your fine art giclee prints is an acid-free cotton rag, matte, or canvas. These different paper types have different textures and colors and produce museum-quality prints as long as they are printed with archival ink and fine art printers like Epson.

If an acidic product comes into contact with the paper, photos, textiles, or other similar items, the acid can migrate, causing permanent damage and decay. This is why it is so essential to use good quality acid-free and archival materials (Source: The Memories & Nostalgia Collection)

Selling Your Art

Artists can benefit from selling giclee prints online and offline. Mant artists who print at home sell at local art and craft fairs, open studio events, or artist websites.

Whether you are selling you at local fairs or on your website, you will want to know:

How to package the prints to protect the art paper
What print sizes you will be offering

To learn more about print sizes visit, What Size Art Prints Sells Best.

Shipping costs if you are selling a reproduction online
How To Store Art Prints

To learn more about storing prints visit, How To Store Prints.

How To Package Art Prints

Home fine art printing is more affordable now than in the past. However, there are additional costs associated with giclee printing from home besides the ink and art paper.

Factoring in the costs of packaging supplies into the selling price will keep profits high.

Besides the quality of the printing and the quality of the fine art papers used, the way the prints are packaged will affect the value of an artist’s brand and their work.

Supplies needed for packaging prints:

Packing prints for shipping and local craft fairs are similar. Cut a piece of chipboard to the size of the print. Place The print and chipboard in clear plastic envelopes. Make sure the plastic envelop is not too large so the print will not move around.

Matting the print will add extra value to the print and protect it during shipping and handling.

Use acid-free artist tape to mat the reproduction. Place the chipboard with the matted picture inside the clear plastic envelope for added protection.

Shipping prints:

Packaging prints for shipping is similar to packing them for local fairs. The only difference is that you will want to sandwich the plastic envelop with a chipboard to prevent any bending during shipping.

For more information about shipping prints, visit, How To Ship Art Prints.

Online Giclee Printing

Another option for having reproductions made is by using a print-on-demand service or an online giclee printing service.

There are pros and cons to using a print-on-demand service for reproducing your original artwork.

How To Sell Art Prints On Etsy With Printful

A print-on-demand company will print, fulfill and ship the prints directly to the buyer at no upfront costs to the artist. The artist will receive royalties for each print that is sold.

Pros For POD Services:

No upfront costs
Different prints available, including canvas prints, photo paper, matte finish prints, gloss prints, fine art paper prints in various sizes, and merchandise including mugs, tote bags, and apparel.
No inventory
No shipping
High-quality prints

Cons For Pod Services:

The profit margin is low
No customer contact information for future sales
Little flexibility for pricing
Costs of materials are high
No control of shipping costs

To learn more about ordering prints online, visit:

Giclee Print vs. Poster Print

The quality of the reproductions an artist offers is a direct reflection of their brand.

For example, Giclee prints are produced with a high-quality digital image on acid-free fine art paper or canvas with archival inks.

Posters are printed on a large format paper with dye inks. The paper and inks used will not withstand the negative effect of UV light, making the color fade, and the acid paper will turn yellow over time.

Posters are less expensive to produce, but the price an artist can charge is less than a limited edition giclee print.

For more information on giclee prints, visit:

How Much Can You Make With Print-On-Demand

Some print-0n-demand services allow artists and photographers to choose how much royalties they will receive for each sale. For example, if a premium 8 x 10 canvas print costs 42.00 for production and the artist wants to receive $10 per sale, the canvas’s cost will be $52.00 + tax and shipping.

Other POD services only give a percentage of each sale and do not allow the artists to alter the product’s price.

Research some of the top POD sites to see what is the best for your art business goals.

Popular Print-On-Demand Sites:

The quality and production are similar for each company listed above, and creating products is as easy as uploading a photo of your artwork.

The difference will be how much royalties you will receive per sale and if the companies offer a free or premium gallery to showcase your artwork.

Order Prints Of Your Art

When you are outsourcing a printing job to a printing company, you trust that they will use quality paper and ink for your reproductions. Searching for companies that offer giclee printing is the first step. The second step is to purchase a copy to see if the quality of the paper, colors are to your liking.

Purchase a larger copy to see the quality. If a larger copy looks good, the smaller copies will also look good.

Final Thoughts On Fina Art Prints

There are many ways an artist can earn passive income, thanks to the internet. Selling reproductions of original paintings and drawings is just one way an artist can easily generate more income. Besides selling reproductions on fine art papers, an artist can sell canvas prints and other merchandise like tote bags, mugs, and apparel with their art on them.

Customers are searching online and ready to buy art like yours on merchandise, and museum-quality limited edition textured prints. Offering a variety of products is an excellent way to increase your revenue.

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Fine Art Printing For Artists