Question 1 of 18 · Chapter 1: What am I buying?
A fine art print is a photograph printed with care on archival paper or aluminum, checked before it goes out, and made to be lived with. A poster is made to be cheap and quick. I make the difference plain below, including what the words open and limited edition mean.
How it is different from a poster
A poster is a quick, inexpensive way to put a picture on a wall. A fine art print is slower. The photograph is printed on archival paper or on aluminum, someone looks the print over for color and detail, and it is made to hang in your home for a long time rather than a few years of a dorm room.
What I mean when I say it
- The photograph is printed on archival paper or on aluminum
- The inks are archival pigment inks on paper, and dye-sublimation on metal
- Each print is looked over for color and detail before it goes out
- It comes in an edition, either open or limited
Open or limited?
Open Edition prints can be made again whenever someone orders one. Signature Series prints are limited to 25 of an image, hand signed by me. I explain the difference in Open vs limited edition prints.
Where to go next
The next question is What makes a photograph fine art? That one is more about the photograph than the print.