 fax-sinclair.com - Fax Sinclair  Contact Fax Sinclair Fax Sinclair's Gallery |
Fine Art or Posters? I have a large format printer and sell my photos (mostly 13 x 19) as fine-art images through two galleries - and to friends and people who found me through BP. The question is, now that I have a great source for printing posters cheaply, should I be selling that way? Will that kill my fine-art sales? In the current economy, would it be better to sell more images for less money? I have not put cards in my galleries for fear people would buy them and not the big ones. (Just like I do.) What do you think? Aloha,
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Thom Schoeller |
We have much in common and I've crossed that bridge myself. Personally, I found making the prints at home to be extremely costly not even including the printer investment. My question to you is: Did you find an outside source to make quality prints versus making prints at home? I don't make prints at home any longer since I found a lab I trust and provides high-quality prints (as large as I wish) for a fraction of what the ink and paper cost at home. I also sell my prints in galleries and occasionally at art fairs. I look at it as a "win-win" since they (lab) provide much higher quality than any home printer under $2,000.00 at less cost per print to myself. Better quality equals more sales, lower price equals higher profit margin. I sell my prints as cards also - it turns out that it's the biggest part of my business. Not just speaking for myself but other photographers as well. Often times the cards pay for the vendor spot! I prefer that the customer not leave empty-handed. Hope I have helped you Fax. Visited your web site, your work is gorgeous :) Best of luck.
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fax-sinclair.com - Fax Sinclair Contact Fax Sinclair Fax Sinclair's Gallery |
Aloha Thomas, Thank you for your reply and for your compliment! I am very interested in your oppinion that an outside printer will be more cost-effective than running my almost-new Canon Prograf 5000. (Which I will continue to use to get back my upfront costs for it and the ink.) But I think I do waste a lot of time and money trying to be a master printer. But my real question is: Would I devalue my fine-art prints if I offered them as (more cheaply printed) posters. And does it matter if I was selling more? As you point out with the card sales. Thanks again for your help and thoughts! aloha,
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Thom Schoeller |
First, I know that Tony Sweet, for example, sells "poster prints" of his fine art at lower prices than his matted/framed high-end limited edition prints. (At least, last time I saw his web site.) I use Tony as the example here because I have utmost respect for his work - he's a contemporary photographer, a Nikon living legend, and well-known to most serious pro and semi pros.> I feel it benefits him because it opens up a whole different segment in the marketplace. In this case, the customer knows going in they are purchasing a lower value "replica" on non-archival quality paper. I think the fun part about poster prints is you can get away with placing words or self advertising just below the image like "Fine Art Images by Fax" or whatever you feel appropriate. So I honestly feel it doesn't lower the value of a high end, archival quality pigment based satin print suitable for matting and framing. I think, however, name recognition goes a long way in the poster art business. Secondly .. ."Selling More?" Personally I don't sell numbered/limited edition prints. I think it sends a tone that "I think who I am". I also enjoy the flexibility to be able to use my image in a variety of ways for as long as I wish. (ex: publications, calanders, websites, etc.) Would hate to corner myself and limit use to say 100 signed prints and have to pass up on a magazine cover at a later time. That would be $600.00 + and perhaps tens of thousands of issues sold. Publications build name recognition like nothing else. Otherwise, I don't feel that increased sales (selling more) would have a reverse effect on print value. Hope this helps!! Tom
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fax-sinclair.com - Fax Sinclair Contact Fax Sinclair Fax Sinclair's Gallery |
Aloha Tom, Thanks so much for your valuable advice! I also don't sell my archival prints as limited editions for the reasons you list. However I have heard other photographers say that you can always put out a slightly different edit or size and start counting again, but that seems like cheating! Thanks for the poster/art ideas!
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- Stephanie Halstead Contact Stephanie Halstead Stephanie Halstead's Gallery |
A question for both of you. When you sell photo cards, do you put your name on the photo itself or on the back of the card?
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fax-sinclair.com - Fax Sinclair Contact Fax Sinclair Fax Sinclair's Gallery |
I always sign my fineart prints and put a small lable with contact info on the back edge. However, I just put my name and image title with contact info on the back of the card.
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Thom Schoeller |
I have custom cards made up with my website info. and other misc. info on the back. Also leave room for facts like location-state etc.. I stamp the backside of each individule photo with my copyright (c) and business name. I dont "sign" the cards or the photos.
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Kathy Radford |
I put all the info centered on the back of my notecards with website, email address and phone number, the last line I add Enlargments Available. On the bottom left hand corner I add the reference number info of where I have it located on my computer for easy retrieval if they want more or want enlarements as I often have many different angles of the same scene and don't want to get them mixed up and send them the wrong shot. Hope this is helpful.
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Thom Schoeller |
Kathy, very similar approach! I also use (for reference) a book of "proofs". Each image is marked with an inventory # in the column provided. I've used it as an impromptu portfolio when trying to sell my line of cards to a perspective vendor.
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Kathy Radford |
Great idea Tom.
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fax-sinclair.com - Fax Sinclair Contact Fax Sinclair Fax Sinclair's Gallery |
Inventory numbers! What a concept! Thanks.
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Lynn R. Powers |
Back to the original OP. Fax if you mean by "poster" a photo printed on poster paper and not photo paper, one that is made with printing presses, than yes you will degrade your photography. But if you need a very large poster to hang on a wall for an event that may last a week or so the inexpensive poster print is the way to go. For selling prints that are to be hung on the wall it is far cheaper to do yourself at the 12x18" size. For prints from 8x10" downward it cost more to do yourself unless it is a one-off. Fax you say that you have the Canon Prograph 5000 which uses pigment inks and large tanks. The 135ml tanks cost about $.58 /ml. That is almost half of what it cost me with my Canon i9900 which only takes 13ml cartridges ($14 plus tax per cartridge) and that is for Dye ink. Perhaps you are using very expensive papers. For some things it is necessary but I find for most everything I shoot Ilford Gallerie Smooth Pearl to bring out the best results. (It is requested so much that the local lab keeps it on hand for their large prints<44".) I have tested out Moab, Canon, Harman (sp?), and a couple other Ilford papers to find it the best overall but for some prints may occassionaly use one of the others. I always purchase in the largest package that they sell. If they sell 100 sheets in a size I purchase it. The 13x19" largest package is 50 sheets but a savings of fifty cents per sheet over buying 10 sheets at a time. With your ipf 5000 you can purchase rolls of paper at even a lesser price. My actual cash cost for a 12x18" print is about $3.60 and sells for $60. After I have them mounted on a backboard, double matted, it looks more professional, I add on the price that cost plus 10-25% and sell them for $110. Being that you have a high cost printer I must ask if you are taking your photos in RAW. From RAW I get a PSD image from which I print. I also take my photos and process the RAW files in Adobe RGB. If I needed to send out I make a JPEG image by changing the color profile to sRGB and insure that it is in 8 bit and change it from PSD to .jpeg. I do not have problems with poor color nor lack of detail on my prints. As for postcards/notecards only people with nothing else to do would sit at home making 10-25 copies of several images at a time. For that matter any large orders or packages. This is definitely a case to use the online printers.
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fax-sinclair.com - Fax Sinclair Contact Fax Sinclair Fax Sinclair's Gallery |
Aloha Lynn, Thanks for your thoughtful response. Yes, I shoot in RAW and process to Photoshop image for printing. I use inkjetart.com for paper. They sell all brands but the papers they produce are cheaper (but same quality.) I download the profiles for the paper from them. But may try the ilford you suggest just to see if I get a better result. Mahalo for the well reasoned advice.
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