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What is a Limited Edition?
Whereas paintings are sold as unique creations, the essence of
printmaking is that the work is repeatable. To preserve the value of a print, a limit is set on the number of copies that can be made. A group of copies is known as a “Limited Edition.”
Those prints that the printmaker produces to fine-tune the edition are known as “Artist’s Proofs”. The number of copies in the editions presented here is set at either 50 or 20 with
up to 5 artist's proofs. Each print will be signed, dated and numbered. The proofs are currently not for sale. I guarantee that no more than 50 or 20 copies of each image will be printed. The
prints are not reproductions of something made in another medium; they are each “originals”. In this case there are either 50 or 20 of them.
What is an Archival Print?
Works on paper cannot be
considered as having permanence in the way that a bronze sculpture is expected to last forever. Lithographs and photographs have a finite life before deterioration sets in. A typical ink jet print
will last only 5 or 6 years. Recent paper and ink technology has enabled the printmaker to create work that has an expected life before any fading or discoloration of well over 100 years if exhibited
indoors under glass or acrylic. In addition, the work must have no contact with anything acidic in nature. This constitutes an “Archival Print.” It is achieved by ensuring that the right
combination of paper and ink is used. A print on a wonderful, acid-free cotton-based paper will discolor just as quickly as a print on copy paper if the wrong ink is used. I use Epson printers and
Epson ink and have chosen papers supplied by makers in Germany and the U.S. Some of the earlier prints use Generations Enhanced ink from MediaStreet in the U.S. You may be interested to search the
web for confirmation of what I say; start with Wilhelm Imaging Research.
What is an Archival Pigment Print?
The term merely states that the inks used are archival and are pigment-based rather than dye-based. Another descriptive term is “Giclée Printing”. The word “giclée” comes from the French word for “to spray” or “to flow.” In more prosaic terms, then, a giclée print is an “ink jet” print which is created by spraying minute streams of ink onto a paper surface. My printers are rather more precise, exacting and sophisticated than your
average desktop printer but they use the same technology.
The term “Giclée Print” has come to have undeserved connotations and is sometimes used in an almost pejorative sense. This
stems from a proliferation of giclée prints that are reproductions of works in another medium, such as painting, and somehow not worthy of consideration. The term purely refers to a printing process.
For some, however, it has come to mean “Reproduction” and therefore has no originality and no value. I assure you that my prints are original and could not exist in any other medium.
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