Digital BW, The Print

> He is Brooks Jensen of http://www.lenswork.com/
> Mark
> 
>It is rather clear though that he has little, if any, understanding
of >economics.


I happen to agree whole-heartedly with Brooks Jensen.  There is no
reason to limit a photographic edition.

However, I do understand economics as well and would make the
following suggestions.

First, It depends on why you are buying a print.  If I am buying a
print to hang on my wall, I am buying because it is beautiful and it
brings me pleasure each time I look at it. I don't plan to ever sell
the prints.  This is subjective value.  I don't care how many other
prints there are like it and the edition numbers and certificate of
authenticity means nothing to me.  I think there are other people like
me and there may be a large untapped market out there.  I won't pay a
premium for false scarcity.  I know how high quality prints can be
produced and know there is no reason that they cannot be made in any
number.

On the other hand people buy "art" as an investment.  These people
want the limited edition in order to preserve the value of their
investment.

Now, consider the following.  In economics there is a "demand curve"
that determines the value of a product.  Simply stated it says that if
you lower the price you will sell more units.  If you raise the price
you will sell less units.  You have to decide the price based on how
you will extract the most profit.  If you set too high a price you may
not sell any units.  If you set it too low, you may not make any
profit from each sale even if you sell millions.

Another economic theory says that it is possible to "fill the demand
curve".  Airlines are a prime example.  They have many different
prices for the same seat on a airplane.  If you want to travel cheap
you book well in advance.  If you are a business person you will pay a
premium to book at the last second.  Same product sold at a different
price.  If you had a fixed price for the airline seat it might be too
high for a trip to see Aunt Martha, but if you were a business person
who needed to travel, the airline has not extracted the maximum value
out of the seat.

Now lets consider art or photography.  Imagine that there is a Norman
Rockwell original.  Now imagine that there were signed and numbered
Litho prints.  In addition there are millions of POST magazine covers
with the same image.  Many of these are framed and hanging in people's
homes.  Would it diminish the value of any of these pieces if someone
made inkjet prints and offered them as numbered, but unlimited, and
unsigned edition?

With respect to making your own inkjet prints, I suggest that you
could make a limited edition signed and numbered of a certain size and
sell these to the investors.  You could then make a numbered, but
unlimited edition of a smaller size and sell to the subjective value
crowd.  This should not lower the value of the limited edition.

This is called filling the demand curve and extracting maximum value
from you work.

Thanks for you attention,

Ray Maxwell