> 1) Do I have to print an entire edition at once?
> 2) Do I have to number an edition sequentially, or as long as I know what I've offered I'm ok.
> 3) Do I need to know who I sold a work to or just that it was sold and framed vs. unframed.
> 4) I can raise the price at any time during an edition, but never lower it, correct?
1) No, you can print "as needed". Printmakers, especially those who make prints by slowly destroying parts of the block or plates, usually print the entire edition at once, because they have to. But in the broadest sense, a limited edition is a contract between you and the buyers of your work that states you will make only so many prints of a particular image. How you go about producing those prints is up to you.
2) If you are printing digitally, the sequence of numbers won't make a whole lot of difference. You can start at 250 and number backwards, you can start in the middle, or wherever. Again, with traditional printmaking, there is degradation of the originals which makes the first few prints "truer" to the idea, and, as the block or plate wears down, shows up in decreased detail over the edition run. Digitally, you could argue that the last prints are better, due to improvements in printing inks, paper, printer technology and profiling. Keeping track is the key part here. A database, a simple spreadsheet, or some other method of documentation is important to start, and takes time to keep up to date as you make prints and sell them. It is additional work that has nothing to do with the actual art of making the photograph.
3) Knowing the provenance of your work -- who bought it, where it went after that, etc. - will be useful to you, especially as a marketing tool. Understanding your previous customers is always helpful. As far as rules for limited editions, it doesn't matter whether you keep track of ownership, nor does it matter whether the work was framed or unframed, or even matted. Matting and framing is merely a way to increase the value of the work you sell.
4) You can set any price you want. You can lower it if you want. However, if you set one price and sell ten prints, and then lower the price of the next ten, you have done a disservice to the first 10 buyers by overpricing your work. Legally, you have the right to price your work at any price point you deem fair and appropriate.
Numbering and editions are, for photographers, a way to elevate your work above a mass market, production-oriented commodity. By saying that you will only produce a limited number of prints, you offer buyers more exclusivity than the Walmarts of the world, and insure that the work is handmade by you, by affixing your signature. Will it make the work more salable? Maybe, maybe not. Most art show photography customers are looking for affordable alternatives to one of a kind paintings, and are budget-conscious shoppers. Most could care less about limited editions, as they buy on emotional terms or to match the furniture.
Jim Parker
parkerparker :: design | photography
http://www.parkerparker.info
@dakkid / twitter
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