Since 1880, when the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers was established, artists have been endeavouring to validate the worth of original prints by numbering and signing them. Prints are not necessarily numbered in chronological sequence, and so number 1 is in practice seldom the first one printed. If signed, these artist’s proofs and trail proofs have exactly the same value as others in the edition and they are usually sold by an artist once the edition has sold out.

Occasionally, an artist may choose to sell a trial proof, ‘tp’, and these are early workings of the print design in which the artist may be experimenting with different colours or compositions before deciding on the final version for the full edition. In addition to the declared number of prints in an edition, the artist may print up an additional extra 10% and these are classed as artist’s proofs and designated as ‘ap’ on the print. The prints are inspected, titled, signed and numbered by the artist, usually in pencil. The number of prints in a limited edition may range anywhere up to 200 and the length of an edition is ultimately limited by the durability of the printmaking materials and the patience of the artist. The metal or stone plate, wood or lino block or screen needs to be inked up for each and every print in an edition. What is an Original Limited Edition Print? An artist-printmaker can spend weeks, even months, working on a particular print in order to achieve the desired effects and for this reason they are justifiably appreciated as original works of art. These printmaking processes require skill and can be highly technical and time-consuming. ‘Relief’ prints in which ink is transferred from the higher relief areas of a surface e.g., woodcut, wood engraving and linocut. ‘Intaglio’ prints in which the ink is transferred out of an incised line e.g., etching, aquatint, drypoint and mezzotint. Printmaking techniques, in addition to screenprinting and lithography, can be broadly categorised thus: When paper is laid against this matrix and pressure applied the image in the matrix is transferred to the printing paper. These all begin with a ‘printmaking matrix’ which is made by hand from various materials including metal, fabric, stone, wood, cardboard and lino and into which an image is created. An etching, aquatint, drypoint, mezzotint, woodcut, wood engraving, linocut, collagraph, screenprint and lithograph are examples of a handmade print. An original print is created by the hand of the artist.

Fine art lithographic printing