PRINTS VS. REPRODUCTIONS

There is much confusion over the difference between hand-pulled original prints and limited edition reproductions because the latter are often advertised and sold as "limited edition prints."

An original print is an image created by an artist from a plate, stone, block, or screen. The unique qualities of each process determine which medium is chosen. Prints are numbered and signed in pencil by the artist beneath the image, after the edition is printed. Editions are usually limited to less than 200 images, often as few as 10 or 15. After the specified number of prints, including one of two called "artist's proofs," the block or plate is destroyed.

A reproduction is a copy of an original painting, drawing, etc. The original work is photographed and reproduced by an offset printing process, sometimes in an "edition" of 1000 or more images. The artist may not be involved in the printing process at all.

Because reproductions are all made by the same printing technique, they have a certain textural uniformity. Original prints, on the other hand, vary considerably depending on the process and the type of paper used. Many printmakers make their own paper, giving their work a quality that cannot be duplicated.

Reproductions can and do bring beauty into many homes and offices, but they do not have the distinction and hands-on quality of original prints. The difference is that indefinable quality between the work of a craftsperson and something mass-produced. The problem is that reproductions are sometimes numbered and signed in the same manner as original prints and then marketed and sold as "limited edition fine art prints." Consumers are thus led to believe they are purchasing an original piece of fine art.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

To distinguish between an original print and a reproduction, you need to look for certain signs:

• Images printed by a photo-mechanical offset process will have dot patterns that are often invisible to the naked eye and always visible under magnification.
• The size of an edition. Generally, original prints are printed in small editions (about 10-200) because of physical limitations (i.e. the image on a plate, block, or screen will eventually wear down). Reproductions are usually printed in large editions (500 or more). Several hundred to several thousand is common.
• Contemporary printmakers sign the print in pencil, usually in the lower right-hand corner below the image. In certain cases, where the image covers the full sheet of paper, the signature may appear in pencil in the image or on the back. Therefore, if you see a printed signature in the image as well as a penciled signature below it, suspect that the "print" is a reproduction.
• Ask whether the piece you are considering was hand-pulled by the artist or the product of the photo-offset process.

Text adapted from The Art of Printmaking, published by the N.W. Print Council. Descriptions of various printmaking processes taken from the 1994 Original Print Calendar by the Washinton, DC, Area Printmakers. Many thanks to both.