Print Types
Artist Proof (A/P)
When a photographer/ art-director/artist releases a new image as a limited edition print, test prints are made, often in different sizes or on different types of paper before an edition is created. These pre-edition prints are known as Artist Proofs (AP) or in some cases, Printer’s Proofs (PP). Sometimes an AP is deliberated i.e. for a charity auction.
How many AP’s are made?
An AP is approximately 10% of an edition i.e. if an edition is 50 there is likely to be 5 artist proofs and so on. If an edition is created by a company on behalf of an artist the company will usually give the artist a few AP’s as part of their royalty payment. The artist can then give them to friends or sell them themselves, usually in some customised way to distinguish them from the edition.
More commonly, once the edition is sold out, these numbered or un-numbered Artist Proofs are sold for an end-of-edition price. Being customised or rare they are highly collectable depending on the reputation of the photographer.
Jill Furmanovsky, the founder of Rockarchive, has gone back to her renowned archive to make just 3 Artist Proofs available of each image exclusively for Rockarchive Chelsea. It is a rare chance to own a work in progress before an edition is created. This should ensure buyers have a good investment no matter what.
In the pre-digital era, photographers used to supply prints, usually 10”x8” prints known as ‘glossies’ to newspapers. Record companies also produced them by the 100’s to give to fans and the press. These prints surface from time to time, sometimes signed by the artists, in auction sales, but they are not artist proofs or editions. In the digital era prints are no longer required for reproduction purposes and most digital images will never be seen as prints unless they are specially made for a friend, an exhibition or produced as an edition.
AV Series
C-Type Prints
Darkroom/wet prints made from colour negatives or transparencies. Before digital technology, these were the prints we all received from the pharmacies from our holiday films. They were also produced in larger sizes for exhibitions. C-type prints are now archival and are still preferred by some photographers and collectors to digital art prints.
Edition 100
Edition 20/20
20/20 is a series of prints which are more obscure and more personal, not necessarily frontline images but ones which are highly valued by Storm Thorgerson. The series compromises 20 different images for a variety of bands including Pink Floyd, The Cranberries, The Mars Volta, Ethnix, Catherine Wheel, Phish, and Muse amongst others. The edition size is limited to only 20 of each image, hence
20/20.
Each print is signed, numbered and embossed with a custom designed 20/20 symbol. Each print purchased will come with descriptive notes and technical details.
NB Collectors purchasing 5 or more images at the same time will also receive a specially made limited edition 20/20 box.
Edition 30
Edition 30/30/30
Fine-art digital prints, aka Giclee, Iris or Art inkjet prints
The most common way of producing collectable prints in the digital age, is by scanning the original negative, or balancing a digital file from a digital camera, and out-putting the image, usually retouched, on various media types using archival inks. The advantage is that very fine quality coated papers can be used to make delicate, beautiful prints. Rockarchive's Edition 100 is made in this way in various sizes without any loss of quality.
Lamda or Lightjet
This mode of printing contains elements of both traditional darkroom printing and digital technology. The original negative is scanned, or a digital image adjusted, and the resulting image is outputted onto photographic paper by means of laser light. The prints have the same archival value as traditional photographic RC prints or C-type prints on plastic based papers, with the advantage to some collectors of being called 'photographic prints'.
Lenticular
Lenticular printing is a multi-step process consisting of creating an image from at least two existing images, and combining it with a special lens. This process can be used to create various frames of animation (for a motion effect), or simply to show a set of alternate images which may appear to transform into each other. The combined lenticular print will show two or more different images simply by changing the angle from which the print is viewed.
Other Print types
There are an array of differing print methods now available using both traditional and contemporary techniques. Any new print types entering Rockarchive will be detailed in this section as they become available.
Silk screen
Silver Gelatin fibre prints
Prints made from an original black & white negative in the darkroom using chemicals and fibre papers are known as silver gelatin fibre prints. These are the most valuable to collectors, particularly as this now historic method of print making, combined with the fragility of old negatives, mean the prints will be rare. One of the characteristics to these prints is that they do not always dry completely flat and may look a little ‘wavy’ when framed due to the process in which they are made. They are also particularly sensitive to dampness in the air and need to be treated with extra care. Jill Furmanovsky’s founding collection for Rockarchive, ‘30/30/30’ is made in this way.
Silver Gelatin RC prints
A silver gelatine RC print refers to an image made on resin-coated paper. These prints are also made from negatives in the darkroom using chemicals, but on plastic-based papers which are easier than fibre papers to work with. They also have the added benefit of drying flat. However, RC prints can be less ‘rich’ in terms of tone and texture than traditional fibre prints.