Digital BW, The Print

Hi Mark,

Except for the misguided souls that "limit" their editions many of the successful photographer/printmakers (silver gelatin) I know or know about print on demand. They may print a goodly number at a session but when the box gets low there is no reticence to refill it. AA's printers were filling orders for his photographs for many many years after the photographs were first made. As an example, look at the history of prints made from the "Moonrise; Hernandez New Mexico 1941" negative and the pricing from before or after the negative was intensified. Strand's photos have been printed by a number of people over time etc. etc..

I think some of the squeeze in thinking comes from the common practice of lithographers and the like to deface their stones after pulling a number of prints from them. To some extent I wonder if that is a practical matter since it would be quite an undertaking to store x number of large rocks....  

To my thinking, limiting an edition is ego over pocketbook. If one is successful the prints will increase in value. Press prints of many famous photographs are readily available but it hasn't dropped the price of an "original" (what ever that may be) one whit.

Digital printing is a whole new game in some respects. Someone could easily hook up a bunch of printers to a fast computer and put out an enormous number of "originals." Even so, Unless it were a rotogravure press or the like the number isn't going to be astronomical and should have little effect on the ultimate pricing. The quality of the image and the print are, one would hope, the ultimate driving force.

Roger

  -----Original Message-----
  From: Mark Tucker [mailto:mark@...]
  Sent: Monday, November 18, 2002 7:16 AM
  To: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com
  Subject: [Digital BW] Silver Printers: Printing for Editions?


  I'd like to know if serious silver printers print ALL of their entire 
  edition at one time, in one run? 

  I'm not talking about art fair guys; I'm talking about guys who are 
  represented by galleries, who are selling prints for a grand and 
  higher.

  I know one guy that I can call today. I'll report back.

  I just want to know if silver guys are printing "on demand", ie 
  when they get an order, they make a print. If so, how could all of 
  the prints in a given edition ever match? I'd think it would be quite 
  impossible.

  MT, http://marktucker.com/


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