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By Jamie Hudrlik Many self-taught artists ask me about signing prints. They worry that if they order the prints from an online POD service they will have to pay shipping twice if they want to sign them before mailing it to the customer. In some situations, I would recommend signing the print and in others I wouldn’t. Let’s first clarify why you should be signing your work at all.
Signing your work is, first and foremost, a mark of a professional artist (or an artist who intends to be a professional). But the other major benefit to signing your prints is that it helps you to lay claim to your art and can sometimes settle copyright disputes. THERE ARE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS A “PRINT” COULD REFER TO. “Print” refers to any sort of reproduction of a work – so it could be a giclee made from a photograph or scan of the original, which is arguably the most common use nowadays, or it could mean a “printmaker” who uses a flat plate of some material has created multiple works from that single plate including this print in question (this is usually called a hand-pulled print).
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![Number Print Number Print](https://img0.etsystatic.com/140/0/11637519/il_340x270.941000238_nh49.jpg)
The latter is a little closer to an original work since the artist creates that print with their own hands through a somewhat lengthy process, rather than a machine creating the print. SIGNING A HAND-PULLED PRINT If you are signing a hand-pulled print (the printmaker kind), then it is standard practice to sign all prints (all the ones you intend to sell, that is) in pencil under the bottom-right edge of the print. You should also include the edition information if it is a limited edition print, but under the bottom-left edge of the print. The edition information should look like a fraction with the top number being the number of the print (ie the first one made or the fifth one made, etc.) and the bottom number being the total number of prints that will be made of this piece (ie an edition of 25).
![Number Print Number Print](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/cc/ac/d2/ccacd2d443a1dd72a4c283f428ec67b0--name-tracing-worksheets-kids-worksheets.jpg)
However, if it is not a limited edition, you shouldn’t put any numbers on it to clearly differentiate it from your limited edition works. If you are titling the piece, it goes under the bottom edge of the print in the center. You may also want to deem a particular piece an Artist’s Proof, which means a piece where you are still working on the plate. In most instances you don’t sell these because if you are still working on the plate then the print isn’t “finished” yet.
However there are occasions in which you might want to sell a proof. In that case, it is preferred to write AP or EA (the traditional French abbreviation) either next to the edition information or next to your signature.
Some more traditional printmakers will put this in a cross formation with the edition information, but it’s not standard anymore. SIGNING A GICLEE REPRODUCTION Signing these is a bit simpler because there are fewer rules. I always suggest that open edition prints (ie you are not capping how many prints you will make of the piece) are not signed at all. This is easier for you, ensures that you aren’t accused of trying to sell an open edition under the lie that it is a limited edition, and allows the value to stay with the originals and the limited editions, since a signed piece has an increase in value over an unsigned artwork. Many art industry professionals publicly state that a signature can double the price, especially when an artist becomes more well-known.
For a limited edition giclee print, typically your signature goes in the same spot, under the bottom-right edge of the image and you would sign in ink. You do not usually include a title. Most people place the edition information under the signature to help further distinguish a hand-pulled print from a giclee print. One thing to note is that sometimes in a giclee print you can see the signature on the original work in the printed image.
If that is the case, it is considered inappropriate to sign the print as well. But you would still want to include edition information if it is a limited edition. How do you currently sign your originals and prints? I’d love to hear what standards you’ve adopted and if you are considering changes based on this article. If I get questions that I feel are appropriate, I will add the answers to this post because I do think it’s a good resource for artists who have never learned the industry best-practices of signing prints. Hi Laura, Thanks for informative article. We made a limited edition (lithograph) print of my husband’s artwork many years ago, and he signed and numbered them as we sold them.
First problem is that some of the prints were damaged by the printer, but we didn’t find out until years later, as they sold quite slowly. We thought we would just forget about it and put it down to experience, but we have now run out of the good prints, but we haven’t sold 250, which is the total print run. Recently I realised I could get giclee prints made for the numbers that we didn’t have undamaged prints for.
(We need 15 more prints made to replace the damaged ones.) So that should solve that problem – we will only have sold 250 prints in total – 235 lithographs and 15 giclees. Problem number 2: My husband died last year, so I can number the prints: 235/250 etc, but what about his signature?
This printing worksheet is a great activity to teach kids how to print the Number 5. This worksheet is printable and features lines of the Number 5 where you trace. PRINT ACTIVITIES has printable worksheets for kids and preschool printables like coloring pages, math worksheets, word puzzles, mazes and dot to dot worksheets. Oct 16, 2010. Go to 'Format', 'Page.' , Header/Footer to set up the pages how you want them. Edit 2015 I´m using Libre Office these days but a similar set of commands works there too. I´m suprised this answer still gets so many hits, glad it helps!!
I can have his signature printed on the giclee, and hand number each one. Would that still be acceptable for these prints? Printed signature and hand numbering? I would appreciate your advice. Thank you very much. I’m so sorry for your loss, Penny.
I hope the grieving process has been gentle on you and your loved ones. This is a challenge, but not unheard of. I would proceed with the giclees and hand-number them. I wouldn’t print his signature there.
I would sign it with your hand as an authorized printer of the work. A famous example of this would be Otto Mueller’s prints which I believe were signed by his wife after his death. And I would write “posthumous” next to or under your signature for further clarity. Then I would mark the damaged prints with PP (which stands for printer’s proof) or HC (hors commerce, which means not for sale) and include a damaged one with the giclee so that the customer is still getting his original signature.
I might also sell them at a lower price and consider including a printed card with his bio that also explains the damaged prints. The last thing to be careful of is ensuring that the giclees look like the lithographs. You want them to be as the artist himself would have liked. If there are color differences or drastic differences in paper, you shouldn’t sell the work as part of a limited edition at all because that would imply that the artist has given his approval. I hope this helps! Hi Laura, I have a problem similar to the last one.
My beloved artist grandmother passed away and we are left with hundreds of unsigned watercolor prints that she was signing as they sold. They do have her painted on name in block letters copied to each print from the original. I read your response above that you can sign in pencil the artists name but then write posthumous near the signature. Can you by chance use PH instead. I don’t really want people thinking about her death every time they look at their print. If we leave off the pencil signature entirely, do we advertise it as unsigned even though she has the block lettered name on each print? Or say, not individually signed?
And how does this effect the price? Help and thank you so much for your clarification on this. I actually do recommend you sign the original. An artwork isn’t considered to be attributed to the artist unless it is signed because the signature is you literally “signing off” that you approve of the artwork and consider it finished and ready for people to see. And I don’t recommend you sign a non-limited-edition giclee first because it’s standard practice not to and second because, as I mentioned in the article, it keeps the value discrepancy between limited edition and open edition giclees very clear. People may accuse you of trying to pass off an open edition print as a limited edition because you signed it. Or people may not see a reason to pay more for a limited edition print when both limited and open editions are signed.
This is fairly standard in the industry. Some artists have a custom seal that they imprint onto open edition giclees to certify that it came from their studio but avoid the signature issue. So that’s a workaround if it really bothers you. Yes this is a bit of difficulty as well because there aren’t good standards for this. Midcentury, they started marking them as E.V. (short for “edition varied”) or A 2/10 B 1/25 etc.
But if you’ve already sold the first edition and then decide to print a slightly different second edition, you would be forced to simply mark the second edition prints with “second” or “subsequent” which are the most commonly used markings in that instance. If you still have all 10 of the first edition, I would recommend using E.V.
Or A on them. Typically you wouldn’t sign the back either. But if you want to authorize it in some way, I recommend getting a stamp. A lot of artists do this and it serves as a middle-ground between having a signature (and all the pitfalls I wrote above about that) and collectors feeling assured that they got a print that you, the artist, felt was respectable quality.
Lots of people on Etsy will create custom stamps with your logo or name for very reasonable prices, if you want to support a handmade artisan. You could also consider getting a custom embosser instead, but that will be definitely more expensive. This is a toughie because it’s not very standardized. People started marking them as E.V.
(short for “edition varied”) or A 2/10 B 1/25 etc. In like the 50’s or so. But if you’ve already sold the first printing and then decide to print a slightly different second printing, you would be forced to simply mark the second printing with “second” or “subsequent” which are the most commonly used markings in that instance, instead of marking both printings with E.V. Or A/B structure on them. So for you I would probably just add “subsequent” under your edition number on the second printing. Hi Laura, I am a budding printmaker and will have prints in a show soon and possibly sell them in the future. They are monoprints.
I am experimenting a little, and I think they look better matted because the natural edges of my prints are not always crisp and clean since a lot of my work is created by printing multiple plates on the same sheet and they don’t always line up perfectly. But that leaves me nowhere to sign. Should I sign both the print and the mat?
(Only the signature on the mat would be visible once the print is framed.) Or do you recommend something else? Also, should I write 1/1 or is it not necessary? Thanks in advance! This is debated a lot, Mick. Personally, I like to keep your options open by numbering them separately as you described.
Some people argue you don’t need the A2 denotation, but I think it’s a good touch if you’re using a standard size like that to make it very clear that the edition amount is only for that size print, not for all reproductions of the image. The last thing you want to do is swindle customers by not being clear enough about the rareness of their purchase. However, many artists will just label each size 1/100 without any markings to indicate there are other editions of the image. And many other artists will label 1/300 if they are doing three sizes and count each print (no matter the paper size) as being part of the entire edition. Neither approach is more correct than the other, but boy do people have strong opinions about which they think is right. If you want my opinion, the way you described is perfect.
It gives you freedom to print more (or to not know from the start all the ways you’ll decide to print that image – like perhaps you’ll expand into metal or glass prints) and offers enough clarity about the rareness of each print to satisfy a customer. Hi Laura I’m such a newbie to all this. Its almost like trying to learn a second language. I’ve signed some of my originals not all yet, have made no sales haven’t even tried yet. Would like to eventually.
Some I’ve signed on the left some on the right. For all I used the same media as my originals. I didn’t know there was a proper side. I’d like to eventually sell prints at a set size of 24×18″ in matte so it looks more like the original. For some of my painting signing in pencil I really don’t think would show that well. I’m glad I didn’t sign some of my originals yet, now I know to sign on the right. Thanks for this info.
I don’t think I’ll ever be into numbering or special edition, just feels to technical for me. So should I sign my paintings with pencil, does it really matter all that much what media you use? It is totally like learning another language you’re so right! It’s definitely standard to sign on the bottom right of an original, but not an absolute must.
There are some artists who sign on the left – I’ve even seen artists who sign on the side or back of the canvas instead of visibly on the front. To clarify – signing in pencil is only for paper originals and paper prints. It wouldn’t work on canvas or board or other substrates like that. You would sign in paint on an original painting probably even if it is on paper.
There are fewer rules for what to do on originals. More rules with prints so that people don’t think they’re getting an original when it’s really a print.
Does that make sense? Hi Laura, I’ve been a painter for many years, and am only now considering limited edition prints of selected paintings. I have always signed my work on the original canvases, but I noticed that you indicated it is inappropriate to sign the digital print if the signature is visible on the original work. I somehow want to insure to a prospective buyer that I am signing off on the reproduction, and am also including the number in the edition. Is it just unprofessional to do this? My next question involves sizing. I have never made work that fits the standard list of sizes, unless it just happens to come out that way, and have usually used custom stretchers or self made panels for each work.
My feeling has always been that I crop an image at points that I feel designate the best proportion and look for the image. I’m just now trying to fit the mold, to satisfy framers. In discussing this with one of my dealers, he indicated that the printed image should conform to a standard size. I said “you mean crop the image?”, and he said “no, but manipulate it”. I then replied “that would distort the image”, and he disagreed, indicating “it can be done without distortion”.
I’m an old dog, and haven’t learned that new trick. I feel the added space for signing below the work, and the mat could make up for the odd size. Any help would be appreciated. Good questions, Robert!
With all limited edition prints, even if the original’s signature is visible on the image, you should number and sign. If it’s an open edition, that’s when you wouldn’t.
Don’t let your framer or your dealer bully you into standard sizes. It’s entirely up to you what sizes you offer. Now, sales will be much better if your prints are standard sizes. People like that they can buy the print and not have to take it to a framer (because they can buy a frame that fits at any big box store for much cheaper). I’m not sure what your dealer means about manipulating the image, but perhaps he’s talking about just what I think you’re talking about – printing it at it’s normal aspect ratio but onto a standard-size paper, meaning the margins wouldn’t be the same all around but it could be matted to compensate. And he thinks you’re saying the actual piece of paper would be a nonstandard size to fit your nonstandard-sized image. But I’m guessing on that one.
Either way, you are the artist and you get to decide how your work is presented. Sometimes that comes with consequences (fewer or more sales, frustrated or happy dealers, paying more or less for framing, etc) but you can weigh that against the importance of having it done the way you feel best represents your work. No one will fight for the best representation of your work like you will. So don’t feel guilty about it and definitely do it with confidence! Hi Laura Thanks for the information! I just wanted to check I’m doing a limited edition prints, its the first time I do prints I used to sell original artwork only. My questions is, Is it alright to sign the prints, name them and number them on the back?
I did the prints border to border so there is no margin space for me to sign them unless I sign them on top of the work, but I’m not convinced of doing that as it won’t look right. Is there a problem or is it not appropriate to sign it in the back? I couldn’t find any information about it. It’s not standard to sign on the back, Flor, but it’s certainly done. If you think it will mar the look to sign on the front, you should sign on the back and don’t let convention stress you out.
This entire article, actually, is about convention but there are no Signature Police out there waiting to find you and arrest you for doing it “wrong”. So if there’s a good reason not to follow the standard (like you have with no margin space on the front) then go for it. Do it the way you think is best. You’re the artist and you have control over how your work is presented. Hi Laura just what I was looking for, I create digital images in Illustrator and was wondering if it is standard and more or less required in this medium (as you mention it is in the traditional mediums) to add my signature to this original work by dropping on a signature that I’ve scanned, right into the file, so like the equivalent of hand applied signature in a traditional painting just digitally added. Then I print this out and of course do not then sign the reproduction (yay!, less mucking around) Would it be acceptable to leave off any such signature if I instead went for the custom stamp or embosser.
Or is a squiggle on the digital original the best route regardless? (Just don’t really LIKE my signature how it looks, and on the artwork in general to be honest, but I will if I have to!) thanks! Robert-I’m the same, I like to use the picture proportions that suit the resulting work, it really influences the overall concept and feel of the art I think. I may make available as an option the same image in standard sizes, dread the thought. I definitely don’t see it enough to say it’s ‘more or less required’, but I would say it’s fairly standard of digital artists who consider themselves artists or illustrators rather than (or in addition to, I suppose) graphic designers.
But if you hate your signature, there’s no reason for it considering your medium. Adopt a stamp or embosser instead and it sounds like you’ll be happier, with no adverse effects.
Sorry to hear you have print size issues too! The root of the problem is the lack of affordable, quality framing in custom sizes. Maybe someday!
Free Online Graph Paper / Grid Paper PDFs Downloadable and very printable, I find these PDFs extremely useful. Tip number one! Though I do return the correct header for a PDF, sometimes Explorer gets confused when downloading. So if you're running Windows, you may need to right-click a link and choose 'Save link to disk'. Tip number two! Some people may need to turn off the option in Adobe's Acrobat reader 'shrink to fit' which may resize the grid slightly to fit your printer's printable area.
Tip number three! (for hex and iso) If you want the hexes aligned with the other edge of the paper, just make your paper size '11 x 8.5' and print the result in landscape mode!
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