Our Editions and About Giclee Fine Art Prints

Type of reproductions that we use:
Giclée  - Lithograph – Photograph – Digital - Poster
Please note Many of Acrey’s reproductions are Giclée prints.
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For prints By Acrey Art - Linda Acrey:
Giclée printsare printed on acid free, conservation and/or archival watercolor paper, canvas and photo papers.

Photographsprints are photos on photo papers.

Ready to Frame Fine Art Prints are printed on acid free papers.

Lithographsare printed at a printing company with 4 color press and may or may not be printed on archival papers. (See each description for details.)

Posters are non-archival prints generally printed on 100lb text paper.
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by Linda Acrey
There are actually two definitions for Artist Proofs.
First definition:
While preparing to reproduce an edition, the artist/printer may run several "proofs" to see if the colors are correct, paper or canvas backing looks right,etc. . These prints are generally smaller that the final output and are just for adjusting the inks/colors/papers, canvas or computer calibration settings. Most artists/printers destroy these "prints" as they are often NOT what the artist wants for the final output. However, some artists save them and and later sell them as "proofs". Once the printing settings are correct then the edition is printed.

For the Second definition: (This is the method I use for most of my prints/proofs)
Using the latest technology of Giclée printing has rapidly become the standard for the method of reproducing art. All the prints produced are alike unless perhaps, one edition is run on several printers. The artist pulls up to 20% of all the prints run in one edition. These can be the "best of the bunch" or just the first 20% off the press. - What ever the artist decides. Many artists just choose up to the first 20% printed as "artist Proofs" and the rest are prints. With the "print-on-demand " editions, the proofs & prints are prints AS ORDERED/sold. In this case, pre-setting the total Edition size with a set number of Prints and Proofs is very important to the integrity of the edition.

I'll give you some history and more details...
Years ago, a main method of reproducing art was by the old-fashioned printing press... a Lithograph. The results of printing using this method vary from print to print due to many causes such as the dyes used, with colors running out before the end of a run, heavier inks when freshly loaded and faded results as the inks ran out, printing press pressure, etc.  All the prints had to be produced in one run of the press. The artist would have to proof the product as it came off the press and literally hand sort the finished products (hence the name “Artist Proof”).
The artist would sort them into three categories – the best, the regular and the misprint/rejects. The rejects/misprints were destroyed. The remaining prints were counted.
The items in the “best” category were titled the “Artist Proofs” as they were superior to the other prints, which were labeled “Prints”.
The total of the best were the total number of “Artist Proofs”.
The total of the regular prints were the “Prints”
The TOTAL count overall was the “Edition SIZE”. 

Lithographs were expensive to produce. The artist would have to front the money for the set up fees and the entire edition in hopes of selling the prints right away in order to cover the costs. That is why many artists used publishing companies to reproduce their art and market their works rather than to try it themselves. The down side of that was (and still is) the publishing company made the bulk of the profit for their extensive services... with some artist only receiving literally a few pennies for each item sold! (No wonder they got labeled STARVING ARTISTS!)

With today’s computer technology and high-end printers using archival and pigmented inks, a new and widely accepted method of printing is the Giclée fine art print. HURRAY! Artist are taking charge of their own careers! This method is rapidly becoming the norm for fine art reproduction as it results in a reproduction closest to the original art in appearance as presently possible. With this method, the prints are consistent in appearance no matter how many are printed.

The artist does not have to print the entire edition at once. Artists no longer have to depend on being picked up by a publishing company in order to market their art. Each artist can publish their own works at a fraction of the cost of an entire edition printing. By being self-published, they can make the profits for themselves instead of for the publishing companies.

Generally, a few smaller proofs are created to calibrate the colors of the printer inks with the colors in the original artwork.  Then the artist has the prints produced as the orders come in... This is a “Print on Demand” edition or “POD”. 
The main issue with this method is record keeping. 
The artist must set the Edition Total prior to the initial printing and stick to it. Practicing careful and accurate accounting methods assures the integrity of the edition. Since all the prints are consistent in printing, the artist may set the number of Artist Proofs and Prints as they desire, being careful to follow the general 20/80% rule.
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EDITION SIZES/TYPES

NUMBERING THE PRINTS

Understanding the numbering system can be challenging. Not all artists follow this rule, but we are explaining how Acrey numbers her artwork.
The best way for us to explain this is by an example.
Example: Let us say there were 100 prints TOTAL in an edition. 

The chart represents 100 Prints TOTAL

up to 20% (20 prints) may be designated as Artist Proofs & numbered 1-20 1/20AP 2/20AP 3/20AP etc. All the rest are Prints. (in this case 80%- or 80 prints) They are numbered 1/80 2/80 3/80 etc.

 

 

 

 

 

Total Edition Size is 100. (equals ALL the Artist Proofs AND the Prints combined)

The maximum number of Artist Proofs should not exceed 20 and they would be numbered 1-20 over the twenty with the letters “AP” after to indicate that it is an Artist Proof.
Example:  1/20AP<

The remaining 80 would be “Prints” and would be numbered 1-80 with or without the letter “P” after it. Examples:   1/80 or 1/80p.

Acrey's Signed Open End (SOE) are as follows:
Example: #1/OE

A Special Note: Each one of Linda Acrey's editions have 2 Artist Reserve Prints labeled "AR" They are reserved for personal and family use and are not for sale. She does not include them in the total edition #size of many of her edition released, but includes the information in a disclosure with every Certificate of Authenticity in order to maintain the integrity of the edition.
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If a “Certificate of Authenticity” is included with the artwork. It states information about the artwork such as:

• If it is an original artwork or a reproduction.
• The title, artist name, size, medium.
• If it is a reproduction, it defines the type, Edition size, Artist Proof or Print, and size of the reproduction.
• It states ALL sizes/and other edition(s) that are being or have been reproduced of the same image/artwork. 
• It may contain information about the artist.
• The artist usually signs it. 
• The certificate should be kept with the artwork at all times to ensure the integrity of the artwork/reproduction edition.
• Having the certificate along with the artwork adds to the overall value of the item

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*These Guidelines for Editions are used by the artist Linda Acrey for her own artwork editions. Other artists works advertised on this site may not follow these guidelines.

For more information on any of our products or services contact:
CLICK To contact the Artist
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