Glossary of Art and Printing Terms
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Most Firefighters are working class individuals. As far as I¹m concerned we
are in a class of our own, but it is definitely a working class.. As such,
many of us are unfamiliar with or unsure of terms and abbreviations such as
artist¹s proofs (AP) and publisher¹s proofs (PP) etc. When I first leaped
into the world of the self-published artist, I was oblivious to nearly all
of the terms below. So for those who would like a little clarification,
these are definitions of a few of the commonly used terms in the world of
collectible art. You will find, as I have that there are variations on how
these terms are defined, some may nearly contradict another. I chose the
ones that seemed to be the most universally accepted.
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Giclée
Giclée, derived from the French term meaning "spray of ink," is a revolutionary and new printing process.
Since no screens are used in giclée printing, the prints have a higher resolution than lithographs and a more
dynamic color range. Also called a digital print or giclée print. A printing process using advanced technology
to create a lustrous, continuous-tone print that matches or exceeds the quality of traditional lithography and
screen-printing. A digital file of an original painting is printed by a special printer that sprays millions of
droplets of water-based inks onto a variety of materials.
Lithograph
An image is drawn directly on a flat stone or prepared metal or plastic plate, usually with a greasy crayon or ‘touché’.
The stone is dampened with water, and then inked. The ink sticks to the greasy marks but not the wet areas. When a piece
of paper is pressed lightly against the stone, only the ink on the greasy areas is transferred. Color lithography
requires separate drawings to be made for each color.
Since the earliest days of printing, artists’ works were duplicated by a process called “lithography”, from the
word “litho”, meaning stone. The technique actually used large, flat stones and a series of steps to create copies
or “lithographs” of drawings or paintings. These were created in a group, which was and still is referred to as the
“Edition”.
This can be an “Open Edition” wherein the prints are not numbered and therefore have no limit to the number.
Or they can be numbered thereby creating a “Limited Edition”.
Most, but not all, editions will have a signature of the artist printed as part of the print.
“Open Editions” rarely have the artist additionally sign the print. “Limited Edition” are invariably signed and
numbered (S/N) by the artist. The signatures quite often are done in pencil as graphite is impossible to reprint
and it lasts for hundreds of years.
Artist’s Proofs & Publisher’s Proofs
Both of these special proofs are throwbacks to early lithography. Due to technical advances,
which eliminate a difference in the look of the print, some collectors view the extra expense of the proofs
basically the price of bragging rights. It is also, however, an expense which commands a much higher second
market value. At the beginning of the press run the operator can make adjustments to the color, darkness, saturation,
etc. The prints created during this proofing period were subject to the approval/disapproval of the artist and were
sold as artist’s proofs. In modern times, however, almost all special sets of proofs are created after the final
adjustments and look as good as the rest of the edition. Also, relating to earlier lithography, the stone actually
wore down during the run of the edition causing a noticeable loss in sharpness in the later prints.
Today’s techniques have no noticeable degeneration of image even after tens of thousands of images.
In spite of the fact that the images are identical, artist’s proofs and publisher’s proofs still are more expensive
and, due to the numbering system and the fact that they represent a smaller group and more elite collectible,
they are worth considerably more than the rest of the edition.
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