Poster prints?

[Jasonwclark]

What do you guys usually charge for posters?

I got invited to go to this festival art walk thing to support one of my friends who runs a pub downtown. I'm not 100% on the specs, but I'm pretty sure it’s going to involve a lot of hanging out on the sidewalk, while people get drunk (and hopefully more likely to buy the art.) I don't know, maybe someone else has does this thing before, and has a better idea of what to expect. Anyhow, the idea is to bring down some prints, originals or whatever and try land a little of that sweet bread and butter. Problem, is I don't have any originals I want to part with, and I'm not really sure how to go about getting prints made. I had an offer from Belvedere a while back, to get a limited edition printing of 100 for one of my drawings… but they're up in Canada, and I've never worked with a gallery before, so I'm not really sure how that sort of thing goes. It probably takes a while though, I’m guessing, and I'm also not sure I really want to jump into the game like that just yet, since I'm still working on my studies.

I was thinking about maybe running off some posters, and basically asking people to buy them so I can eat and go to art school. In the past when I've done this, I usually just gave the copies away if someone thought it looked cool, because I felt kind of lame taking money from friends (and a little weird taking money from strangers.) Rent's getting pretty steep down here though, and my girlfriend's birthday is coming up, so I'm thinking maybe I should try to pull something together. Is double the cost of printing too much do you think? To low? I've heard people say it’s a good idea not to sell yourself short, but its also not like I had to grind down any stones, or polish a copper plate to get the copies made, so I'm not sure what's reasonable.

11x17 only costs me like a dollar, but its pretty small. Anything larger and they start charging by the square foot (10 bucks I think.) I was going to have just a couple larger ones done and maybe 20-30 at something like 16x20. You guys think its too much to ask for $20 for the smaller ones, and maybe $50-100 for the larger poster prints? I guess I could try to recoup the cost of printing the bigger ones, by asking a little more for the smaller ones, but I'm not sure anyone’s even going to like them, so I'm trying not to break the bank here.

Usually when I've bought a book or print from another artist, I think of it as supporting the people who inspire me, but I really don't know much about the printing process. I took a litho class in college so I have some idea off all the work that goes into those, but I couldn't get the stone to reproduce my pencil drawings so a TIFF file seems like the next best thing.

Any thoughts, ideas, suggestions?

[Mirana]

I used to be a framer, so what I saw on a daily basis:

Cost-wise, you can ask more for a "print" than you would a "poster." I've never seen customers pay that much for a "poster" unless it was an offical one (sanctioned by the festival, the guest of honor, or the music venue). The prices you're quoting I generally see on "prints" that are matted, backed and sleeved (unless you have a name for yourself). In fact, you can save money on the printing by going smaller, but matting up to a larger size.

A word about content...as awful as it sounds, local scenes/themes and cliche subjects (dogs, sports, fairies) are what sold the most in my city. So invest the printing cash into pieces that reflect your customers--at least for a first timer--so you don't get burned. :)

[Jasonwclark]

Yeah I was thinking to hook up a simple [sic]Matte job, sign it and do like a quick doodle on the reverse side when they buy one... Maybe put a couple of the larger ones in some simple wooden frames. I don't have that much money to throw around though - starving artist disclaimer and such. :yum:

I guess I'm just stuck on how expensive it is to reproduce these things, even just color xerox style. The most affordable places I've come across still seem to want more in order to print them, than I could reasonably charge somebody, unless I make them look nice with a mat or frame. It'd be sweet to at least break even though. I know they wouldn't be like official prints, (which is why I wanted to call them posters), but if you jazz a poster up and present it nicely, does that make it a little different?

[VulgarDragon]

Maybe this site would interest you: cafepress (http://www.cafepress.com/)

Basically, it's a site where you can open your own store, sell custom stuff (with your art) like mugs, shirts, and of course, posters.

[Mirana]

Yeah I was thinking to hook up a simple Matte job, sign it and do like a quick doodle on the reverse side when they buy one... Maybe put a couple of the larger ones in some simple wooden frames. I don't have that much money to throw around though - starving artist disclaimer and such.

You aren't going to cut the mat right there, are you...? People don't like to wait, especially at a fest. I'd at least have a good back log of pre-cut mats ready, and then cut more as I sold. Backing is important too, b/c they're going to be carrying this thing around and mats are not strong enough by themselves (use foamcore or scrap mat with acid-free corners or a touch of double stick tape). Drawing on the back...enh. It's cool for books, comics--things people are going to be able to see. A drawing on the back of a piece or mat is pointless if they're going to hang it on a wall. Maybe a drawing on a business card? That'll make them hold onto it, and perhaps go to your site for more art in the future.

The cheapest to do anything is print small and on inexpensive paper. I've seen many an artist who printed at home on a decent printer and then masked the quality of paper with a simple mat. It sadly works more often than it should. 9_9 Most people like smaller anyway because it's inexpensive for them, easy to find a place to hang, and cheap enough to give as a gift. Maybe print a couple large ones to display at your table to draw customers in (small prints are hard to see)...and then you can always pass a business card for those interested in buying the big one and say something like, "Oh, sold out! But you can buy them from me after the fest and that way you don't have to carry them around! :D"

I'm sorry to burst your large format ideas, but I can only tell you what I saw everyday. Regular people--even so-called "art enthusiasts"--don't know a damn thing about buying art or how much it costs. I just don't want you to go in there with a lot of start up money on the line and no idea of what you might be stuck with afterwards. At least start small and then you'll know what works for the next fest, gallery or cafe.

Oh, another tip (though it may be obvious) don't do pencil-work prints. Stick to color or stark inks, because pencil doesn't reproduce well for hanging works. I almost never saw pencil prints, and when I did it was fanart from a con somebody went to. ;)

Call 'em prints, no matter what they're printed like. People equate poster with cheap.

[J Wilson]

Call 'em prints, no matter what they're printed like. People equate poster with cheap.

Agreed. In my mind a poster is something mass produced, which doesn't sound like what you are doing. Call it a print and sign it (not the mat in my opinion, because sometimes you want to change the mat).

Another idea, if you want a gimmick, is print off something that has strong line work, and work in a minimal amount of color by hand on each one. Now each is an original!

[Jasonwclark]

Thanks for that link MCross
And for the advice Mirana, Dweller

I think I'm going to do as you suggest and just print out the small sized ones... get the mattes and backings ready beforehand and hope for the best. Drawing on the reverse side does seem rather pointless too, now that you mention it. The business card idea is much cleverer, (though I suppose that would probably require that I get some business cards printed... doh!) Right now I'm trying to prepare for a general disappointment, so I don't get down on myself if nobody likes them. I figure its basically a favor to a friend, and it came together at the last minute, so I probably shouldn't expect too much.

Oh, another tip (though it may be obvious) don't do pencil-work prints. Stick to color or stark inks, because pencil doesn't reproduce well for hanging works.

That could be problems for me, since everything I have is in graphite. I do want to learn how to use the color and the inks though. Next year I'll probably be moving back to the Bay Area, so I’m trying to save up for CA school on top of the other things. Maybe someone floats a few ducats in my direction if I’m lucky I guess – best you can hope for right?

Thanks again for the helpful suggestions. This sort of info can be hard to come by, so its nice to hear from people with some experience.

... :devil:

[Mirana]

Then make sure you up the contrast in Photoshop before you print. If you've got decent values beforehand, it shouldn't be too much of an issue. Also, shoot for black mat only as it makes the contrast pop futher (plus it's neutral for decor and looks classic).

(BTW, "matte" is a finish. "Mat" is the paper border (as the term is used in US framing). ;) )