Gallery Image and Prints

So I know this general topic comes up, but I can't seem to find anything that covers my question. I'm about to do a gallery show in which I'll have sizes 24x36 and 12x18 in frames, and then 8x10s only in mats. My question is: what differentiates the original 8x10 being sold during the gallery show from the 8x10 prints that I'll eventually sell on their own? Considering they'll be printed by the same lab in the same manner, I'm not sure what to do. I don't want the one on display to be a series, otherwise where's the value? Your advice would be greatly appreciated, it's my first gallery show.

Sign / number and date the mats on the show 8x10 prints?

. . . My question is: what differentiates the original 8x10 being sold during the gallery show from the 8x10 prints that I'll eventually sell on their own? Considering they'll be printed by the same lab in the same manner, I'm not sure what to do. I don't want the one on display to be a series, otherwise where's the value? Your advice would be greatly appreciated, it's my first gallery show.

 

If I understand the exact meaning of your question, summarizing in a nutshell - you don't want any one 8 x 10 'display' Print to be part of a 'series', yet you want to make more than one 8 x 10 Print, all exactly the same, to sell more Prints - you can't have your cake and eat it too.

 

By definition, there will be naught differentiation, if they are 'the same'.

 

An option might be signing, dating and/or embossing the 'original' 8 x 10 display print as "Original Display Print - one only", but to my mind, unless your work is 'famous' (or 'infamous') doing that won't cut much mustard in the value stakes, certainly not where I work and sell stuff, but you, or your agent, might be able to sell that idea to your Prospects, I don't know: this it is certainly a marketing idea I have not come across and I guess the essence is in creating a differentiation in the mind of the buyer: my first thought is that will be best achieved by creative execution on the night(s) of the show.

 

But thinking as a cautious buyer, my thoughts are that - it is not as though the 'original' is an oil painting and you're making photographic prints of it. That's differentiation. The latter example of a oil painting has intrinsic differentiation and (where I sell stuff) an higher premium for 'the original' does have traction in the market place, so the oil painting (i.e. 'the original on display') will sell for $3000 and the 'prints' sell for 300 each, as an example.

 

Another option (which I've used) is differentiating on size: for example the ONE 'original' display print is 24 x 30 and the 'series' of 100 'copy' Prints are exclusively 8 x 10.

 

On the other hand if you insist on displaying an 8 x 10 Print - AND - making more 8x 10 copies the same, then Limit the 'series' to a small number and sell each one at a premium and destroy the image file.

 

You can do a projection of what the 'small number' should be - taking into account best guess at how many you can sell and also include the time and effort taken to sell them. For example only: I reckon that it is better to sell all of a limited series of 100 Prints $500 each, selling the lot within 6 months, than to sell all of a limited series of 100 Prints for $1000 each and for that to take three years, selling only 20 in the first six months. Lack of cash flow, generally will quickly kill you.

 

WW