Many of Jack Vettriano's paintings have been made available as Limited Edition Prints. Releasing Limited Edition Prints has made Vettriano's art much more available to a wider audience. Many other artists also release Limited Editions Prints, but what exactly are they should you buy one?
Traditional printing methods used a printing plate which degraded with use. They could only be used to produce a limited number of prints before the deterioration affected the image and became unusable. The plate would be destroyed and no more prints could be made from this plate. The print was truly limited.
Modern digital printing techniques have ensured that there is no deterioration in the quality of prints. The most common method of printing Limited Editions is called Giclee (pronounced g-clay).
Giclee - is a fine art printing process which combines pigment based inks with high quality paper, often cotton rag paper, Bartya paper or canvas. The combination of the paper and the printing process gives the print a soft textured feel, closer to that of the original painting. There is no dot screen pattern visible and the tone and hues of the original painting remain. Vettriano's giclee prints are printed on cotton paper.
Why a Limited Edition Print?
Artists produce Limited Edition Prints to give more people accessibility to their work. As there are a limited number of prints it makes them more exclusive than an open edition print (which has no restrictions on the number printed), but not as rare as the original one-off painting.
Modern Limited Edition Prints are produced directly from the original painting. The printing method ensures that the image remains very close to that of the original painting. They are signed and numbered by the artist, which adds value to the print.
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Signature and Numbering
Limited Edition prints are normally signed and numbered by the artists in pencil. Pencil is used because it doesn't fade and it is difficult for a computer to be able to reproduce pencil. Jack Vettriano always signs his prints to the bottom right hand side of the print in pencil, along the border of the image. On the bottom left hand border you will find the print number, also written in pencil. For example, a print numbered 11/100, means this is print number 11 of an edition size of 100.
How many prints are in a Limited Edition?
The Fine Art Trade Guild has set a maximum number of Limited Editions at 1950. They do recommend that Limited Editions be kept below 850. It is possible to have as little as 2, but we normally see a minimum of 50 Limited Editions. The artist and/or publisher decide how many prints are to be released.
Once an edition has been printed no more prints of this particular image, at this size, on this paper quality should be produced. Some artists will release limited edition prints of the same image in different sizes.
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Are Limited Edition Prints a good investment?
Limited Edition Prints can increase in value over time if demand out-strips supply. However, as with all art, prices change over time. Market forces, style and fashions all change. As with an original painting, there is no guarantee that a Limited Edition Print will increase in value, or be worth as much as was originally paid for it.
Limited Edition Prints cost more than an open edition print due the limited quantity available and because they are signed by the artist. Limited Edition Prints cost less than the original painting.
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Should your Limited Edition Print have a Certificate of Authenticity/COA?
Not all Jack Vettriano Limited Edition Prints were released with a Certificate of Authenticity or COA. Some of Jack Vettriano's earlier works were not released with COA's. Some came with COA's only on request. Jack Vettriano's latest works should always be accompanied by a COA.
If you are looking for a Jack Vettriano Limited Edition Print, you can find them available here for sale. At Simply Jack Vettriano we have the UK's biggest selection of Vettriano Limited Edition Prints, and we specialise in secondary market prints. As a Jack Vettriano official stockist you can be assured of the quality and authenticity of your print when buying from us.