Limited Edition

chrismoore

Hi, I would like to offer a few of my prints as limited edition prints, with a limit of 25 or 50 prints. The way other photographers I have seen do this, the prices are a little higher and prints are numbered and signed. Because our ordering system at Smugmug ships directly to the customer, I was wondering if there were a solution to this-- ie, a customer orders a limited edition print, the prints is sent to me for review of its quality and, if acceptable, I sign and number the print and ship to the customer. Aside from using paypal, is there a way I can do this?
Thanks.

CWSkopec

The only solution I've yet to see is via Paypal and self-fulfillment. That means you have to keep track of the numbering yourself and do the leg work on your own (probably why you said "Aside from using Paypal...").

I'd be interested to hear if anyone else has found a better solution also!

TexPhotog

What about just ordering maybe 10 at a time for yourself??? SM prints/ships to you and maybe put a line on said photo page that for the limited edition prints they need to contact you directly... email and/or contact form...

As for payment on limited editions... I think PayPal would be the best option on that...

Just my 2 cents.

Dedalus77

Anything you sell as limited edition will need to be numbered (and should also be signed) so you'll have to do the fulfillment yourself. This is actually what I do for all my prints over 5x7 in size because I want to sign them.

Just a word of caution on limited editions, if you set a number that is all you can ever sell of that print in that size so make sure you choose the number carefully.

Art Scott

Dedalus77 wrote:

Anything you sell as limited edition will need to be numbered (and should also be signed) so you'll have to do the fulfillment yourself. This is actually what I do for all my prints over 5x7 in size because I want to sign them.

Just a word of caution on limited editions, if you set a number that is all you can ever sell of that print in that size so make sure you choose the number carefully.

along these lines a true limited edition is a run of whatever number you pick (10, 20, 50, 500 or what ever) and all are printed in one batch to ensure they are truly the same quality and so you cannot tell one from the other ......if you do a few at a time then there will be color shifts and other things that will drop the price down the road.....especially when they become collectible............because appraisers wil find ways to check paper to see if it is the same lot ect etc etc...........................

I have a limited edition running around with a number of 1 of 250.......it is an only child the slide was lost/destroyed before the rest of the run could be finished.....I had 499 sheets of paper sitting around for over 5 yrss before I found out what happened to that slide.....it was destroyed. I was doing all of my own printing of art shots at that time........

In the film days the neg or slide was supposed to be destroyed.....a simple burn hole was enuff......this was sold with the last print a lot of times........unfortunate with digital a copy of a file is just as good as the original in a lot of cases....of course one could make lesser quality but still very good copy files for later use.....but not as a numbered, signed limited edition...............

chrismoore

Dedalus77 wrote:

Anything you sell as limited edition will need to be numbered (and should also be signed) so you'll have to do the fulfillment yourself. This is actually what I do for all my prints over 5x7 in size because I want to sign them.

Just a word of caution on limited editions, if you set a number that is all you can ever sell of that print in that size so make sure you choose the number carefully.

Thanks, I read somewhere about the negative being destroyed and it was quite interesting to read about how things like this may be shaped in a digital era.

I've been holding on hope that smugmug would improve their pro branding more, namely using custom branded mailers to mail prints, etc. I'm not opposed to a smug logo of some sort, they do handle the customer service. Along those lines, Dedalus, when you mail your prints after signing do you have custom mailers with your logo? Also, I know that a lot of pros that sign and number do so with a print that has a white border around the image for signature/number. We can't do this from the Smug UI. Where on the prints do you sign?
Thanks

zoomer

Hi Chris,
I checked out your site. You have a lot of very strong work, hope you come up with a strategy that works for you.
You have probably heard of a site called Naturescapes.net, a lot of the best landscapes photographers on the planet are there.
If you post there they can probably help out with info on how they do it, if that is something you are looking for.

As far as Smugmug I would send your question to the help desk or the customizing forum here on DG, I am sure someone there can tell you what your possibilities are with Smugmug.

Dedalus77

chrismoore wrote:

Thanks, I read somewhere about the negative being destroyed and it was quite interesting to read about how things like this may be shaped in a digital era.

I've been holding on hope that smugmug would improve their pro branding more, namely using custom branded mailers to mail prints, etc. I'm not opposed to a smug logo of some sort, they do handle the customer service. Along those lines, Dedalus, when you mail your prints after signing do you have custom mailers with your logo? Also, I know that a lot of pros that sign and number do so with a print that has a white border around the image for signature/number. We can't do this from the Smug UI. Where on the prints do you sign?
Thanks

I don't have a branded mailer, but I do include a business card (if it's a new customer) and a branded invoice. As for signing, there are two, strongly opinionated schools of thought on this, personally I like to sign on the mat. Signing the mat gives my customers the opportunity to show the piece with or without my signature as they choose. I use backprinting to ensure that the print itself has something showing my info on it without affecting the photo.