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What's written in pencil under the image
12/40 — The twelfth impression out of an edition of forty. Not the twelfth best — the order they were signed in, and nothing more
A/P — Artist's proof. Pulled alongside the edition and kept back. The same print, not a lesser one, and usually fewer of them exist
P/P — Printer's proof, where somebody else did the printing. The same again
B.A.T. — Bon à tirer — the one everything else was matched to. There is only ever one and it rarely leaves the studio
No fraction at all — An open edition, or a monoprint that is the only one. The label should say which and if it doesn't, ask
A/P — Artist's proof. Pulled alongside the edition and kept back. The same print, not a lesser one, and usually fewer of them exist
P/P — Printer's proof, where somebody else did the printing. The same again
B.A.T. — Bon à tirer — the one everything else was matched to. There is only ever one and it rarely leaves the studio
No fraction at all — An open edition, or a monoprint that is the only one. The label should say which and if it doesn't, ask
Hand-pulled · lino, etching, screen
An original print is not a reproduction, and the difference isn't snobbery.
There is no painting these came from. The plate is the artwork, each impression is pulled by hand, and no two are quite identical. A giclée copy of somebody's painting is a fine thing to own and it is not this — anybody selling one as a "limited edition print" is blurring the two on purpose.
Photographed flat, in daylight, with the paper edge showing. A print cropped to the image hides the deckle and the plate mark, which are half of what you're buying.
Original, reproduction, and how to tell
An original print — Was made as a print. The plate, block or screen is the work, and the paper is where it ends up
A reproduction — Is a photograph of something else, printed on good paper. Nothing wrong with one — it just isn't the same object
How to tell, in the shop — Look for a plate mark, an impression you can feel, and ink sitting ON the paper rather than in it
The wording to watch — "Limited edition giclée" is a reproduction in a numbered jacket. The number limits the printing, not the thing
What that means for price — An original print of forty is dearer than a reproduction of five hundred, and cheaper than the painting. That is the whole ladder
What it doesn't mean — That a reproduction is a con. Plenty of artists sell both honestly, labelled as what they are, and so do I
A reproduction — Is a photograph of something else, printed on good paper. Nothing wrong with one — it just isn't the same object
How to tell, in the shop — Look for a plate mark, an impression you can feel, and ink sitting ON the paper rather than in it
The wording to watch — "Limited edition giclée" is a reproduction in a numbered jacket. The number limits the printing, not the thing
What that means for price — An original print of forty is dearer than a reproduction of five hundred, and cheaper than the painting. That is the whole ladder
What it doesn't mean — That a reproduction is a con. Plenty of artists sell both honestly, labelled as what they are, and so do I
The plate gets destroyed
At the end of every edition, and a photograph of it goes to everybody who bought one. An edition that could quietly be reprinted isn't an edition.
What happens — The plate is scored through, corner to corner, and one impression is pulled from it after that
That last impression — Is the cancellation proof. It is kept, not sold, and it is the evidence the edition is closed
Why bother — Because "limited" means nothing if the limit is somebody's memory. This is the only version of the promise that can be checked
You get the photograph — With the print, in the same envelope, dated. Nobody asks for it and everybody keeps it
Monoprints — Are a single impression by nature, so nothing is cancelled. The label says monoprint and the price says the same
What is never done — A second edition at a different size, quietly, from the same plate. That is the loophole and it is closed here
That last impression — Is the cancellation proof. It is kept, not sold, and it is the evidence the edition is closed
Why bother — Because "limited" means nothing if the limit is somebody's memory. This is the only version of the promise that can be checked
You get the photograph — With the print, in the same envelope, dated. Nobody asks for it and everybody keeps it
Monoprints — Are a single impression by nature, so nothing is cancelled. The label says monoprint and the price says the same
What is never done — A second edition at a different size, quietly, from the same plate. That is the loophole and it is closed here
Why they cost what they cost
Every impression is pulled by hand — Ink rolled, paper placed, pressure applied, paper lifted. Forty times, one at a time, over several days
A third of a run goes in the bin — Slipped registration, a bad ink day, a fold. Those get destroyed rather than sold cheaply, and you pay for them anyway
Multi-colour is multiplied — Each colour is a separate plate and a separate pass, and the paper has to line up every time
The paper — Cotton rag at several pounds a sheet, before anything has gone wrong on it. It is the second biggest cost after time
What the price doesn't cover — The hours. Divided out, most editions pay well under a sensible rate and every printmaker knows it
Why they're still cheap — Because forty people share one plate's worth of work. That is the whole point of the medium and it is a good deal
A third of a run goes in the bin — Slipped registration, a bad ink day, a fold. Those get destroyed rather than sold cheaply, and you pay for them anyway
Multi-colour is multiplied — Each colour is a separate plate and a separate pass, and the paper has to line up every time
The paper — Cotton rag at several pounds a sheet, before anything has gone wrong on it. It is the second biggest cost after time
What the price doesn't cover — The hours. Divided out, most editions pay well under a sensible rate and every printmaker knows it
Why they're still cheap — Because forty people share one plate's worth of work. That is the whole point of the medium and it is a good deal
Available editions
Every listing says the process, the edition size and the paper. If a print shop's listing doesn't tell you all three, ask before buying — anywhere, not just here.
The press, and using it
Press hire — $25 a session for anybody who has been shown how it works. Relief and intaglio, not screen
Being shown how — A two-hour induction, once, $40, and after that the hourly rate. It is genuinely about not breaking the press
What's included — Ink, rollers, the drying rack and the guillotine. Bring your own paper and your own plate
Editioning for other artists — Yes — I'll print your plate to a standard and sign it as printer. Priced per impression once I've seen the plate
What I won't print — Somebody else's image without their say-so, and anything I'd be embarrassed to have my chop on
Teaching — A day of lino for beginners runs most months. It is on the classes list rather than here
Being shown how — A two-hour induction, once, $40, and after that the hourly rate. It is genuinely about not breaking the press
What's included — Ink, rollers, the drying rack and the guillotine. Bring your own paper and your own plate
Editioning for other artists — Yes — I'll print your plate to a standard and sign it as printer. Priced per impression once I've seen the plate
What I won't print — Somebody else's image without their say-so, and anything I'd be embarrassed to have my chop on
Teaching — A day of lino for beginners runs most months. It is on the classes list rather than here
Ask about a print, or about the press
Both go to the same place. Say which and you'll get a straight answer — including if what you want would be better made some other way.
Ask about a print
"Explain it to me" is a completely normal answer and it is picked more often than either of the specific ones. Nobody is born knowing what A/P means.
Live preview — every color, word and block is editable after you pick it.