Sunday, October 30, 2011

Finding out how to make a print from my art

One of my old roommates contacted me about buying a print of one of pieces!  It's great news!  She really wants a piece I did way back in high school that I put up on my blog under the Paintings Tab.
This one: 
It's a good piece, but I didn't want to sell it to her as is. I did it in high school, and don't want my name on a piece of art I am not currently satisfied with, though I do like the concept behind the piece.  So, I am now in the process of making it better!  I am updating the watercolors and adding a little more detail overall. I guess I wouldn't feel right about selling a piece I did so long ago that I do not currently love.  I hope she'll be happy with my new touches.  I'll post a picture of it when I have it completely updated.

I think it's a pretty cool piece, personally, with an old map of the United States/Americas, a large charcoal ship coming to the Americas, and bright bold colors and details to draw you in.  The theme for the piece was "our heritage."  This piece symbolizes my pioneering ancestors. One of my direct ancestors came across on the Mayflower.  Many of my forebears settled new areas of the uncharted West (they were Mormons).  This piece is emphasizes my heritage. 
But, one problem I am running into is that she is interested in a print.  I don't know much about getting prints done from original pieces of art.  I would want to get a high quality print, or a giclee, I think.  They are supposed to be the highest quality print you can get today.  However, I don't know how to go about it!

I have begun searching the internet for different companies and their services and fees.  This website provided some good tips while comparing printers.  A company in Pennsylvania, Crimson Atelier, Inc, seems to have pretty reasonable printing costs, allows for small orders, will scan and proof an original piece at no additional cost, and will keep a proof on hand in case I want to order more.  It doesn't seem like too bad of deal.  The only big draw back is of course the upfront cost.  Will I actually be able to sell more than 5 prints to make up the cost of printing (assuming I charge 2-3 times cost) and make a profit?  Do you think this piece is something that several people would want to buy?

My friend is open to buying the original, but doesn't have a huge budget (she's my age after all) so she was interested in how much a print would cost, and so was I.  Though I may not actually make a print out of the final image, I may be interested in doing so in the future with other pieces of art that I have created or create in the future. 

If you are an artist, who have you used to make prints of your original artworks?  Any other things to consider?
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