Digital BW, The Print

...the curious question I get more and more often these days is "is this an original?" - 
what else would it be. Can you call an inkjet print an "original"?

Clayton: Yes, IMO. [...] I consider each print to be an original work of art, to which I place 
my signature....

I agree. It's a "multiple original" - a standard art world term for fine prints. There's a 
matrix, and then there are the original prints made from it. In photography, the matrix is a 
negative, a digital file, etc. It's clear to me.

Harald Johnson

P.S. This definition may be of interest (from: http://www.dpandi.com/DAPTTF )

print
1. In the context of fine art, an original work of art (as a woodcut, lithograph, photograph, 
or digital print) where the art object or artwork does not exist until it is printed. The print 
is made directly from the matrix by the artist or pursuant to his/her directions. Also 
known as "fine print," "work on paper," and "original print." 2. A physical image, usually on 
paper, produced by, but not limited to, such processes as etching, lithography, 
serigraphy, relief printing, photography, or digital methods. Prints are usually, but not 
always, produced on paper and in multiples. Traditional, photographic, and digital 
processes can be used to produce prints.

And a similar (although limited to traditional) definition from the International Fine Print 
Dealers Association ( http://www.printdealers.com/learn.cfm )

WHAT IS A PRINT?
An original print is a work of art on paper which has been conceived by the artist to be 
realized as a print, rather than as a photographic reproduction of a work in another 
medium. Prints are produced by drawing or carving a composition on a hard surface (the 
matrix) such as a wood block, metal plate, or stone. This surface is then inked and the 
image is transferred to paper by the application of pressure, thus creating an "impression" 
or print. Unlike paintings or drawings, prints usually exist in multiple impressions, each of 
which is pulled from the inked surface. The total number of impressions made is called an 
edition. Artists began to sign and number each impression around the start of the 20th 
century.