The objective of any business is to generate an income.
Successful artists know the importance of having different revenue streams lined up for when original artwork sales are flat.
Offering giclee reproduction prints over their original artwork is a popular way for artists to generate more money from original art that has sold.
To read more about selling prints, visit How To Sell Art Prints Online.
Why are more artists offering fine art prints and giclee prints of their artwork?
Artists have realized that it is difficult to only rely on original art sales.
Once the original piece has been sold, that is it, no more money can be generated from that piece.
But with prints, you can continue to earn money from an original piece that has been sold.
Even if the original has not been sold, you can earn extra money selling prints by reaching an audience that loves your artistic style but can not afford to purchase an original.
With an increase in online art sales every year, you might want to consider including prints in your art marketing plan.
Popular Types Of Prints Artists Sell
Screenprints, lithographs, and giclee prints are the most popular types of prints most artists sell online and at local craft fairs.
Screenprints and lithographs are traditional printmaking techniques by skilled people which will make the costs of the prints more expensive to reproduce.
Giclee prints can also be used to reproduce art and are becoming more popular for artists because they are a more cost-efficient way for artists to reproduce their original artwork.
What Is Giclee Printing
Giclée is a neologism coined in 1991 by printmaker Jack Duganne for fine art digital prints made on inkjet printers. The name originally applied to fine art prints created on a modified Iris printer in a process invented in the late 1980s. (Source: Wikipedia)
Giclee (pronounced “zhee-clays”) prints art prints made from a 12 color inkjet printer with pigment-based archival inks and acid-free paper.
The 12 color inkjet printer can perfectly match the color of the original artwork, which will produce a high-quality print.
The acid-free paper and pigment-based archival inks are used so the prints will not fade or yellow over time.
Giclee prints are printed from digital files, which makes it possible for any artist to offer high-quality fine-art prints.
How Does Giclee Printing Work
It is important to understand what is involved in this process before looking into the advantages and disadvantages of printing this way.
Color pictures are often combined with inks, which can then be combined with a variety of printers to produce different designs.
Once this combination is used, the print will be made using an offset or spot printer that has a wider color gamut than conventional presses.
When using the Giclee printing, the images are created in layers on the same sheet of paper as the conventional printers use.
The process starts with the artist working in a color drawing or photograph to get the desired result.
The image is placed on the paper with the paper placed into the press where the printable surface is shaped.
The printable surface may be a single, double, or triple pattern.
A color swatch is then drawn onto the design which is actually made up of a number of layers of inks that are combined together.
Each color of ink corresponds to one part of the picture, with darker inks creating areas that are outlined in grey or black, and lighter inks producing brighter areas that are outlined in white.
Giclee printing can also be used to print through a screen.
This type of printing is done by simply putting the design into the printing head through a plate.
The designs printed on a screen is only half the process though because the image needs to be then transferred onto a thin sheet of the paper with a machine called a UV jet gun. A sheet of paper is folded and held down until it is heated to the point where it creates a printable surface.
The ink is then transferred onto the paper by a UV inkjet printing machine. The graphic is then split apart with another UV inkjet gun, and the parts are combined together in order to form the final design.
Who Sells Giclee Prints
Giclee printing is most commonly used by artists and commercial studios that want to create huge posters.
The artwork can be large and complex.
Although this is a large investment, the images can still be made affordable if they are printed on larger canvases.
The image can then be hung on a wall.
When high-end businesses and artists want to produce commercial prints, they may want to consider this printing method.
Why Giclee Printing
There are a number of advantages to Giclee printing.
For instance, it is one of the few printing methods that can be used to print a lot of images without needing large printing machines that are extremely costly.
Since the images are directly pressed onto paper, they need to be strong enough to resist water.
The giclee printing process also allows for very accurate and detailed prints.
The printable surfaces can be shaped, much like a physical painting can be, and this allows the images to have a greater degree of detail.
This is not possible with other types of printing, because different types of paper have different levels of resilience.
For large prints, prints can be taken to different sizes without using any more paper.
This reduces wastage and cuts costs as the large prints will not require making more copies.
The traditional method of making a large print was by taking the same sized image, slicing it into smaller pieces, and then printing them on separate sheets of paper.
The lack of the need for traditional techniques means that larger prints can be produced more economically and easily.
The use of multiple colors is also a plus as it is not required for all images.
As well as helping to save money, the other main advantages of Giclee printing include being environmentally friendly and a great form of advertising that you can afford.
Preparing Your Artwork For Giclee Prints
Digital cameras and scanners will create digital files that can be used for giclee prints.
When you are creating your digital file it is important that the image is at the required size for printing.
For the best results, your image needs to be 300 dpi.
To see if your image is at 300 dpi open your image in Photoshop.
Click on image then click image size.
The resolution will show you the dpi for the image.
Keep in mind that your prints will only be as good as the quality of the digital image.
For more information about digital cameras and scanners visit:
4 Best Digital Cameras For Photographing Artwork
Best Scanner For Graphite Artists
For more information about photographing art visit:
7 Tips For Photographing Artwork
Best Places To Purchase Giclee Prints
There are three options you have when it comes to selling giclee prints of your original artwork.
- Purchase Giclee Prints from a professional printing service
- Selling giclee prints from POD (print on demand services)
- Purchase a giclee printer.
I will talk about the three different options so you can make a better decision for your art business.
Professional Printing Service
You probably have professional local fine art giclee printing services in your area.
There are pros and cons to purchasing giclee prints from local art printing services.
The pro is that you will be able to work with someone in person. You will have the opportunity to view the prints to make sure they represent your original artwork accurately before you have multiple prints made.
The con is that you will probably be spending more per print than most online giclee printing services.
Do a Google search for local printing service in your area.
Popular Fine Art Printing Services In Western Mass.
Print On Demand
There are more print on demand services than ever before because art sale continues to climb every year.
Print on demand services allows you to sell prints of your original artwork without any upfront costs.
You simply upload a digital file of your artwork to the site, when a customer purchases a giclee print, the POD service will collect the money, print the giclee prints or canvas prints and ship the product to the buyer. You will receive royalties for each transaction.
For more information about POD services visit:
Poular Print On Demand Services
Purchasing A Giclee Printer
The last option you have is to purchase a giclee printer and print fine art prints at home.
Purchasing a high-quality giclee printer is a large investment. You will have to decide if it is a profitable investment for your art business.
ProImagingSupplies.com has a large variety of giclee printers and will be a great place to see what each model has to offer.
I recommend for you to know exactly how many prints you will have to sell to pay off the giclee printer. You will also want to know how much each print will cost and how long it will take to generate the required amount before you turn over a profit.
Selling Giclee Prints
Having an innovative way of advertising is essential, especially when the product is one that is expensive to produce.
That is why you need to ensure that you choose Giclee printing if you are considering printing large designs for your business or company.
Giclee printing is the most popular form of printing and is one of the highest tech methods of printing.
This kind of printing is done on a machine and not by hand, but there are other things that differentiate it from other types of printing.
Professional artists use different selling strategies for selling giclee reproductions of their original art, including limited edition prints, unlimited edition prints, and giclee prints on canvas.
Limited edition is the number of giclee prints or fine art prints that are available for a specific reproduction of an original drawing or painting.
The artist determines the number of prints, and the print number is usually written on the bottom left of the print.
An artist can charge more for limited edition prints because they will ever never be reproduced again.
Professional artists use different selling strategies for selling giclee reproductions of their original art, including limited edition prints, unlimited edition prints, and giclee prints on canvas.
Open edition giclee prints allow an artist to reproduce as many prints as desired.
Artists usually charge less for unlimited prints but can earn revenue for years from the original artwork.
Giclee prints on canvas have become more popular thanks to all of the print on demand sites that have opened.
Many people can not afford to invest in an original painting but would love to display the artwork on their walls.
Giclee prints on canvas allow people to display beautiful artwork in their homes for a fraction of the cost of the original.
To read more about selling prints visit, How To Sell Art Prints Online.
Pricing Giclee Prints
Pricing your artwork will be determined by several different factors, including the quality of the artwork, if the artwork is in demand, market value, career level, and how well-known the artist is.
For more information about pricing your prints visit, How To Price Art Prints.
Conclusion:
Offering reproductions of your original artwork is a great way to increase your income.
Decide what the best solution for your art business goals is.
Visit Best Printers For Art Prints if you are interested in printing high-quality prints at how but can not afford a giclee printer at this time.
Selling Art Prints
Here are some articles about selling art prints online.
- How To Price Art Prints
- How To Sell Your Art Prints Online
- How To Sell Art Prints On Etsy With Printful
- How To Sell Art Prints Online And Make Money
Popular Art Marketing And Sales Tutorials
Below are some of the most famous art marketing courses that will grow your online art business:
Most Popular – How to Make a Living Selling What You Make by Megan Auman
Most Popular – Build a Successful Creative Blog by April Bowles-Olin
How to Build a Business While Learning Your Craft by Megan Auman
Pinterest Marketing for Makers & Designers by Megan Auman
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