Art Print Appreciation

The term “Art print” covers a lot of ground. At the low end are laser photocopies & standard inkjet prints passed off by artists & other entrepreneurs as Art Prints. Next are lithographic prints of original art made in large quantities that may resemble posters in the way they are printed as well as paper quality.

Limited Edition Art Prints are generally made on heavier paper which is acid-free and archival. These prints are made in small numbers by offset lithography; they are signed and numbered by the artist, or in the case of the artist being deceased, are numbered and titled by the printer who owns the rights to the image. Archival Inkjet Prints made by artists & photographers using higher quality inks & papers also fall into this category.

Giclee Art Prints are printed by a different process - pigmented inks are sprayed onto heavy paper, generally archival cotton paper or specially treated canvas. These are often printed as the need arises, but in some cases they editions are not limited. A signed & numbered print has more value than a non-numbered print.

Monoprints, serigraphs, lithos etc made by the artist are considered Artists’ Prints. Each is either an original or printed individually. The mediums & papers vary greatly and are generally valued as original artworks.

Although it’s common to roll artwork, any print - regardless of the printing process - can be damaged by rolling it, even the canvas prints. Hope this information is helpful.