Ever wanted to know about the different types of editions there are, how they are labelled, and what they mean? Are you curious about the varied print processes and techniques used to create some of the items for sale in this shop? Read on…
What is a Limited Edition?
Limited edition means there will only ever be a fixed number of copies of that item/variant. Prints can be limited edition, and so can photographic prints, artist's books, artefacts/objects etc.
e.g. if a print is in an edition of 20, there will only ever be 20 copies of that print.
Occasionally, variants may be produced in different colours/sizes/formats. These belong to their own limited edition e.g. a print might be produced in blue in an edition of 20, and also be produced in pink in an edition of 20. These are both completely separate editions.
Each of the items in that edition are numbered, signed by the artist and come with a signed Certificate of Authenticity - this is a signed certificate that proves that it is the only item that exists with that number from that edition.
Edition Numbering
Limited edition prints are traditionally numbered to indicate the edition size. It takes the form of two numbers separated by a slash e.g. 1/20. The edition size number on the right indicates how many items are in an edition (in the above case, 20 items). The item number on the left indicates the unique number of this item within the edition. No two items within an edition will ever have the same item number.
Monoprints
A monoprint is a one-off print. Although it may be produced using techniques traditionally used to create editions of prints, (e.g. screen prints, etchings, linocuts etc.) it is a unique item, and only one exists. These will sometimes be marked 1/1 (i.e. number one from an edition of one)
Artist's Proofs
An Artist's Proof is a print from outside the numbered edition that is traditionally kept by the artist as a record of the work. These are not numbered, but are indicated with A/P. Typically the number of prints that are designated Artist's Proofs are no more than 10% of the size of an edition, though sometimes there are less than that. For example, an edition may consist of 20 items and a further two un-numbered items labelled "A/P". Occasionally, we will offer Artist's Proofs for sale at our discretion.
Open Editions
An open edition is an item that has no limit on the number of copies that will be made of it. Open editions will be signed, but not numbered and do not come with a Certificate of Authenticity.
Handmade prints
Unless stated, the prints within this shop (except Giclée prints) are made by hand, and often printed by the artist.
Please note: These are hand made items, and whilst every effort is taken to produce identical items, inevitably there will be slight variations across the edition. This is a characteristic of any hand made process and key to its appeal.
A guide to PRINT processes
Screen Prints
A screen print is a hand made print, produced by applying ink layers to a surface one at a time through a stencil attached to a fine nylon mesh onto a surface (typically paper or fabric). This act of pressing the ink through the stencil is called pulling. All prints sold on this site have been hand pulled.
It is based on an ancient Chinese technique where the mesh was traditionally made of silk, so this type of print is sometimes called a silkscreen print.
Lithographs
A planographic process that uses a thin aluminium plate, or a slab of limestone to transfer a thin layer(s) of ink onto paper. It's a technique based on the principle that oil and water repel each other. It's used in mass production to create newspapers and magazines, but artists also use small scale version of this process to create fine art prints with a subtle tonal range.
Etching
A metal plate (zinc, copper or steel) is covered with a protective wax resist layer, that the artist scratches through to create a drawing. The plate is then placed in a mordant or acid solution that dissolves, or etches, the areas of the plate exposed by the act of drawing. The wax is then cleaned off and the etched plate inked up and polished, leaving ink in the pits where the plate was etched. A sheet of dampened paper is placed on top of the inked plate and run through an etching press (similar to a mangle), which forces the ink onto the paper. An etching has a characteristic indentation made by the plate being pressed into the paper. Tonal washes can be added to the line drawing through the aquatint process.
Drypoint
A drawing is scratched onto a metal or plastic plate using sharp tools. When inked up, these rough scratches catch the ink to create lines and tone. The plate is then placed in contact with dampened paper and passed through an etching press. The resulting image often has a rich, velvety, soft line - unlike the precise and clean line of an etching.
Photopolymer
A process similar to etching. A metal plate is covered with a light sensitive polymer, exposed to artwork and developed to create an intaglio plate (a plate with "valleys" and pits that retain ink). This is inked up and fed through an etching press, with forces it into close contact with dampened paper, creating a print.
Relief Print
A block has an image cut into its surface, which is inked up and pressed onto a surface such as paper or fabric. This printing block can be made of lino (a Linocut) or wood (Woodblock/Woodcut).
Chine Collé
This is a technique of embellishing a print by collaging/glueing coloured paper into a print as it’s being made, so it becomes an integral part of the printed surface. Often the papers used are delicate, handmade Japanese papers.
Risograph
Riso is a brand of duplicator machines. They were invented by the Japanese Riso Kagaku Corporation in 1986 as a way to create cost-effective prints. A Riso printer looks and functions in a similar way to a photocopier, but uses brightly coloured inks made from soy paste instead of toner, so is very environmentally-friendly. It was later adopted by artists, zine-makers, graphic artists and independent publishers, drawn to its lo-fi aesthetic and characteristic colour palette.
Letterpress
Type and decorative elements cast from lead (and sometimes carved from wood) are placed on the bed of an offset press. The mechanism of the press inks the type, then transfers an impression of the type onto a rubber roller, which then transfers onto the paper. Setting lead type by hand is a time consuming and exacting process.
Giclée Prints
Also called archival prints or digital prints. This is digital artwork - either originated on computer or an image that was created using traditional methods (painting, drawing etc) and then scanned/photographed to create a digital copy. This is then printed by expert technicians on a calibrated, high-end inkjet printer that is capable of much finer detail than a home inkjet printer. The archival inks are of the highest quality and can be printed onto a variety of surfaces, but typically acid-free artist's papers or smooth coated paper stock. Unlike a handmade print, every giclée print is superficially identical (within tolerances).
C-type Prints
These are photographic prints, exposed by digitally-controlled coloured laser lights onto traditional colour photographic paper. It is then developed and fixed in the traditional way to create a photographic print.
Silver Gelatine Print
A traditional black and white photographic print. Typically a photographic negative is exposed onto light sensitive paper in a darkroom, though sometimes objects are laid directly onto the paper and exposed (these shadow pictures are called photograms). The paper is then developed and fixed so it’s no longer light sensitive and can be viewed in daylight.
Cyanotype
An alternative photographic process, and a forerunner to modern photographic prints. A mixture of light-sensitive salts are brushed onto a surface – typically paper, though cyanotypes can be made on a variety of surfaces including fabric, glass and wood. Objects and stencils are laid on top, and the coated paper is exposed to sunlight for a few hours. When rinsed in water it reveals negative shadows within a rich Prussian blue ground. The brush marks are unique to each paper coating and characteristic of the process.
Artist's Book
An artist's book is a limited edition book – alternatively called a livre d’artist. Often they are handmade and hand-bound. Sometimes the pages will be printed using hand methods like letterpress or printed digitally. An artist's book is as much about the structure and format of the book as it is about the content within.