A Quick Guide to Collecting Limited Edition Prints
Here is a quick Q&A style guide to understanding what being a collector of limited edition prints
Editions
Q: What are limited edition prints?
A: Limited Editions means there are only limited amount of the prints produced as opposed to what is called Open Edition, where there are no limit to the amount of prints made.
Some artworks could have as many as 250 editions, or as little as 5, which I have done in the past, this is my limited print of 5 editions
In case someone other than me decide to produce more prints without consent, it would not have the edition numbers in sequence or the chop mark (more on that later). That is then essentially a fake reproduction.
Q: How do I know what edition to collect?
A: For my hawker series, I am only producing a limited edition of 30, which means once all thirty has sold, I will not produce anymore. When you go to the drop down menu, you will see the editions that are for sale, and the consecutive editions, it is of course always better to get your hands on the earlier editions. And when the first set of 10 has totally sold out, it will show that you are only able to drop down to the next set of prints editions.
Q: Why does the price go up as the edition number goes up?
A: Edition prices go up the more editions sold because if a print edition run is small, then a print’s value is enhanced by its relative rarity.
Q: Where does the print edition written on the print?
A: They are written on the bottom right of the print, right at the border, if you see 2/30, that means that is edition 2 of 30.
Q: What’s an AP or Artist Proof?
A: Artist Proofs are the first few prints that the artist keep in their collection as records and sometimes the artist can choose to release it to the market. AP is normally very sought after because it is a very personal collection of an artist, and it tends to be more expensive too. Only a few people own my AP editions prints.
Q: What’s an Embossed Chop Mark
A: In all my art prints and original artworks, aside from individually signing them, I chop them with a signature Olij Studio Embossed chop on the right bottom corner as well. This chop mark is an authenticity seal that will make it impossible for the work to be replicated without my consent.
Some of you who received my surprised gift would have an original print that are also limited to 50 editions, and it’s chopped. Check what editions you received!
Some resources comes from https://artandcollectors.com/pages/understanding-your-print-and-the-significance-of-its-edition