If you are looking into starting to sell prints of your artwork, it’s incredibly important to take the time to find a print shop that respects your artwork and provides a quality product. Here are 5 attributes you should search for in a great print shop:
Customer Service:
You’ll be working really closely with whomever you choose as a printing service. There will be many emails back-and-forth, as well as trips to the shop to verify if the colors and inks are up to your standards in comparison to original artworks.
Not only will they be assisting you professionally, but they will be reproducing some of your most personal works which carry your reputation among your collectors and clients. Therefore, it’s important to build a good working relationship with your printer.
Budget/Profit Margin:
Know your budget! A good rule of thumb is a 25% profit on each print you sell which means you need to make sure your know what kind of print you’re buying and for how much. All shops have different prices for different printing services. In doing my initial research for a printer, I chose a common size that I normally paint in and asked what each shop would charge for a single gliche print on Epson hot press paper. This way I would have a good cost number comparison as to what each shop would charge for the same product . Some printers will offer a bulk buy discount as well.
Scanning Services:
I take high quality pictures of my work for my portfolio and blog but in my opinion, they are not to the standard of being able to be reproduced at a larger size for prints. Therefore, it was important to me to find a printer that offered professional color matching scanning services. Some print shops only
have the ability to scan artworks as big as 11 x 14, so it’s important to ask your printer what size their machine can scan. I also found that most print shops that offer professional scanning services for artworks also offer professional photography for artwork larger than than 11 x 14 that are not able to fit on their scanning machine.
Papers and Inks:
Print shops should know the papers, inks, and printing types that they use like the back of their hand. They should be willing to explain each of the different printing options as well as show you examples of their previous work and the paper types that they offer. This is why it’s important to visit print shops in person, so that you can physically touch the paper and see the inks/prints in different lighting.
Delivery:
If your print shop is far away, it’s important to know if they can deliver prints to your studio. The other important portion of delivery is understanding if they are able to deliver directly to the customer as soon as the customer orders a print from your own personal website. A bonus attribute is when a print shop can package the print with your personalized thank you note and business card to send directly to the customer.
My suggestion is to start your search for a print shop on google in your local area. Pick five based on their location to you and online prices (if they are listed). Call and set up an appointment to meet the owner/printer to make sure you vibe with them and get the answers to the following questions.
Questions to ask your print shop:
How do you like to be contacted?
Can you professionally photograph or scan my work?
How much does it cost to professionally scan or photograph my artwork?
Do you use software that can manipulate the photograph or scan to perfectly match my original artwork?
Do I receive a proof (and at what cost) prior to the final printing of the print?
What kind of printing do you offer? (i.e. Litho, Gichle) what kind of papers do you offer?
How much does it cost to print an _____ size print?
Do you offer bulk discount pricing if I order more than one print at a time?
Do you have the ability to ship straight to my client?
It’s important to do your research in finding a quality printer. Take the time to compare prices, customer service, and quality of work. Choose the shop that you feel will represent you and reprint your artwork in the best light.
If you’re in Austin, Texas, my number one go to for reproduction prints and framing is Agave Print.
Hand|Art. Head|Business. Heart|Belief.
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