Articles
Giclee – Benefits to the Artist
Advances in digital printing allow artists to make more beautiful high quality reproductions than ever before. By supplementing the sales of original artwork with art reproductions (giclees), an artist has the opportunity to make more profit, gain more exposure, and reach a broader market.
Many artists sell giclee prints to supplement their original sales and meet the demands of buyers for a less expensive product. This allows an artist to sell lower priced alternatives to buyers with a limited budget. These art buyers commonly purchase giclees because that’s all they can afford at the moment. They often return at a later date to buy an original. This expands an artist’s market by appealing to more income demographics while establishing a broader reach with their work.
Artist: Todd Healy. Original artwork with multiple print sizes
The exposure of an artist and their work expands greatly as more giclees are sold and are readily available. An artist can sell prints themselves, sell their giclees through publishers or middlemen, or donate prints to charities or charity auctions. This offers more outlets for profit potential and exposure than what is possible with just one original.
Original, hand-made artwork is more time consuming to produce and therefore must sell for a higher price. By creating giclees an artist gets to reap the benefits of the time and effort put forth to create that one original for years.
Selling prints increases exposure, which in turn creates more demand for an artists’ work. With more demand for an artists’ work an artist can ask higher prices. In business this is the proven law of supply and demand.
It is unfair to limit an artist’s profit potential and exposure by restricting the sales of high quality reproductions or giclees like some art centers and galleries have done. It is a relief that many of these outlets have adjusted their rules, acknowledging the acceptance of art reproductions as a viable and quality source of extra income and exposure for artists in today’s economy.