Digital BW, The Print

Hello Arthur,

Good questions, all, which is why I have the same reply as Bruce.  I
number my prints sequentially, regardless of size or treatment.  I
feel that limited editions are an artificial marketing gimmick, and,
as you are seeing, make everything more complicated.

IMO, if you become famous then you'll sell more prints and you don't
want to limit a popular image.  If an image is really popular, it will
hold it's collector's value even if you have made a lot of them
(Moonrise).  One that is not so popular won't have very many out
there, so if there is any added value by being scarce, collectors will
still derive that benefit.  So in the first case, the LE hurts you,
and in the second, gives no added benefit.  If you don't become famous
then none of it matters anyway.   

Having numbered prints, on the other hand, does provide some benefits:
1) Prints are uniquely identifiable and can be tracked.
2) To the buyer, a numbered print still has the "ambiance" (is that
the right word?) of a serious piece of art.
3) Assuming you keep records and become famous, a paper trail of a
print can be built by historians and researchers years after you are gone.

Just my $.02
 


>By the way, my assumption is that I'll have a record keeping system 
>for this outside of my photo database (now Portfolio, but will 
>probably be iViewMediaPro) -- which saddens me.  I'd like to have one 
>database, in which I caption a raw image, track the various 
>conversions, further track the different files made for printing, 
>track the editions produced, and, finally, keep contact information 
>for who has each print.  

I may have a good solution for you.  Can you contact me by private email?


Regards,
Clayton


Info on black and white digital printing at    
http://www.cjcom.net/digiprnarts.htm