I sell my images as Fine Art Prints. But what does that mean? I do my prints myself, through my company FOTOverket. All my prints are signed and numbered, in limited editions.
Fine Art Print
For a Fine Art Print I think at least these conditions should be met:
- Paper of highest quality. I use Fine Art papers from Hahnemühle, based on cotton, bamboo or similar but never based on cellulose. The papers fulfill iso 9706 – permanent paper, to ensure highest longevity.
- Ink of highest quality. I use Epsons latest ink set, the Epson Ultrachrome Pro12, a 12 color ink set.
ISO 9706
ISO 9706 defines paper with qualities that makes it permanen.
- pH value between 7.5 and 10.0.
- Alkali reserve of at least 0.4 mol acid per kg paper.
- Tear resistance of at least 350 mN
- Kappa number lower than 5, which means that the paper is only allowed to have small amounts of easily oxidized materials like lignin
Permanence
Wilhelm Imaging Research (WIR) makes tests to see how long different combinations of paper and ink last under different storage conditions.
The best permanence is achieved if an image is stored in a dark place in acid free materials, but that’s rather boring. An image should be shown and enjoyed! Second best is to mount the image with acid free materials like passe-partout and insulation, behind a UV-protective glass. The image shall also be hanged outside of unnecessary light, like sunlight.
Under these condition the WIR testing shows that my color prints last at least 150 years without showing visible signs of degradation. The black and white images last >400 years, but testing still continues so it might even increase.
Editions
I sign all my Fine Art Prints, usually on the paper just below the image. The prints are done in limited editions with the numbering on the paper. I usually have two strategies for editions:
- Predetermined sizes with a predetermines number of copies per size. Each image exists in one or several sizes and of each size there’s a number of copies (might differ between sizes).
- Predetermined number of copies, free sizes. Each image is done in a limited number, but the size of each copy might vary. In the extreme case this means that all copies of an image might have different sizes.
Which strategy I use for a particular image is decided beforehand. For strategy 1 the sizes and how many of each size is decided, before exhibition/sales. Once decided no changes or adjustments are made.
Each motive/size can also have Artist Proofs (noted as AP <nr> on the image). These are only for the artists use, and never sold. They might be shown on exhibitions but not for sale. I do not list them as part of editions, but they can be done.
Certificate of authenticity
My Fine Art Prints are delivered with a certificate of authenticity for added clarity and security. Various information about the image is listed on the certificate.
