(Printer’s Proof, Prueba de Impresor or Epreuve d’imprimeur) - These are proofs that the printmaker keeps, usually only one.ī.A.T. The standard is to only have 10% of your edition be made up of these kinds of prints.
These are part of the edition and are kept to the same standard but are labeled A/P for Artist Proof, or more traditionally E.A. (Artist Proof, Prueba de Artista or Epreuve d’artist) - If the artist is creating an edition for a dealer, the artist is able to keep a few prints for personal use from the edition. Outside of numbering an edition, there are different marks that printmakers use to distinguish certain prints as being unique from the numbered edition:Ī/P., P.A.,or E.A. So for example, if you have 25 identical prints and ready for numbering, you would number them 1/25 and the next 2/25 and so on.
The number below the slash is the size of the edition or how many prints are in the series and the upper number is the number assigned. These are two numbers that are divided by a slash and look like a fraction. On the left hand lower corner of the impression is where you should place your edition number. The Edition Number and Other Printer’s Marks Make a mark on a piece of paper using a #2 pencil and rub your finger over it and try the same with a 2H pencil and you will see why. I recommend using a sharp 2H pencil always rather than a regular #2 pencil. It’s much easier to print an ink signature than a pencil. This is always done with a sharp pencil to avoid fraud. If your print extends to the edge of the paper and doesn’t allow for a signature, you use the same standard but in the back of the print, or the verso. The standard is to sign the print at the bottom right hand corner below the impression, the edition number on the bottom left hand corner and the title, if any, in the center. Before even signing and numbering, the printmaker has to go through the edition and destroy the prints that have irregularities. When the printmaker signs and numbers a series of prints, that is a number of reproductions of some form from a single design, they are guaranteeing that each print made is exactly like the rest in quality and that only that number that appears on the print are the only in existence. These are the prints that I will be discussing in this article. Printmakers usually produce an original artwork that they create with their hands. Print could mean the product of a printmaking process, such as intaglio, serigraph, stone lithograph or relief among others.
Print by definition is a reproduction of an artwork, such as a giclee, sometimes called an archival print or archival ink print, which is a digitally produced print from an original photograph or scan of an original artwork. But what does “print” even mean? I think it’s important to define this before even discussing signing and numbering a work. One of the questions I get often from self-taught printmakers is the proper way to sign and number an original limited edition print. I will be updating this series at least once a month. If you have something to add to the topic, have a question or want to correct something I’ve presented incorrectly, please do so respectfully in the comments below. I will be sharing the accumulated knowledge of over 15 years of printmaking through these posts. This is the first in a series of skill share posts that I will call the Printmaking 101 Series.