There is such a looseness of definition used for signed and numbered editions. Digital imaging and its multitude of imaging methods opened the door for artists to have signed and numbered editions without having to print the entire edition at once.
One often used method by artists is to use color copiers to print and test market their work by making, say, ten copies, signing the copies and numbering them 1-10/50. They take the prints, often on whatever copier paper the quickprinter has in the machine, mat them and shrinkrap and have an investment of around $ 2.00 ea. They then sell the work at outdoor fairs and the like for $ 25.00 and up...a boon for artists who are willing to employ these methods, but appalling to print tradtionalists. If these prints sell, they then go back to the toner machine and print a few more. If they have any integrity they stop at the number they chose at the beginning...that is, stop numbering. Nothing stopping them from creating another signed un-numbered edition and sleeping well at night.
"Shoot, Harry, we sold them all? Who wudda thunk?
Run 10 or 20 more copies and put a little AP over the 50 and charge them double!"
Definitions are loose, but I don't consider any limited edition over 100 "limited". Anything over that number vastly lowers the value and uniquness in my book.
With the old methods, the artist either printed the edition himself, had an apprentice, or employed a tradesman to do the printing. The artist would be present for the first pulls off the stone, plate or press and personally approve (AP - artist's proof) a number of prints until satisfied with the quality. The artist then ran the edition or gave the go ahead to the tradesman. After being printed the stone was wiped clear, the plate scratched or woodblock, etc. destroyed.
In the above method, each print was truly an original and editions were often in the 30-80 range. The artist's proof prints were usually of inferior quality because they were just that...test prints...yet they often commanded a higher price, mostly out of ignorance of what they were. The best quality prints were quite often the prints made after about a third of the edition was printed...after the imperfections on the plate wore off and the person making the prints "got it down to a rythm". Late numbers in an edition were often of less quality and less valuable to a discerning collector because the plate began to wear down and lose it's crispness or any number of other factors (such as the artist left the printer and wasn't overseeing the whole process).
There have been many efforts to adopt strict quidelines (wow! sound familiar?), but to my knowledge there is not one set of standards accepted well enough by artists, printers, or collectors to create a concrete definition of a "limited edition print" in an internal market.
I'm not an authority on this topic (at least in this forum!) and would appreciate any input and correction where wrong.
Dave Makielski
"You can't change the direction of the wind, but you can adjust your sails".
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