Limited Edition Prints

Limited edition prints which are sometimes known as LE's have been produced by printmakers for the last three hundred years. Key to a limited edition print is the number of prints produced for any edition. Historically traditional printmaking techniques could only produce a small number of limited edition prints before the quality of the impressions detoriated.

Today the actual numbers of prints that can be produced are likely to be as few as ten or twenty for a technique like drypoint. More likely print editions are produced in the low hundreds. With the use of Giclee technolgy print runs of over a thousand without any loss of quality are possible, but such edition sizes are not generally bought by serious art collectors. The majority of todays limited edition prints of edition sizes over 250 are likely to be of print reproductions of paintings.

A limited edition print is normally hand signed and numbered by the artist. Typically this is done using a pencil and the numbering of the print is in the form 10/100. The first number (in this example number ten) is the number of the specific limited edition print. The second number is the number of overall art prints which will be produced in the edition series of the image. Generally lower number edition series are better if long term value and collectible appeal are important. In addition to the edition series which is limited to a specific number it is common place for upto another 10% of the edition size to be produced as "Artist Proofs". These are signed and numbered with the initials "AP" or "proof".

The majority of Red Rag Gallery British limited edition prints are giclee art prints. A Giclee is an individually produced, high-resolution, reproduction produced on a special large format printer. Giclees art prints are produced from digital scans of existing British art work and are recognised as perhaps the finest method of accurately reproducing modern British art works. The Giclee print process produces deep saturated colours and has a beautiful painterly quality that retains minute and subtle tints, blends and detail. Giclee art prints are perfect for reproducing paintings of pastels, acrylics, oils and watercolours.

Each Limited Edition Print from Red Rag Gallery is a strictly limited series of art prints reproduced from an original British artwork. Many of the art prints sold by Red Rag have been reproduced from original art works that have been sold by the gallery. Red Rag Gallery look to produce unique artworks of exceptional quality as Limited Edition Prints. Limited Edition art prints are strictly limited to a specific number and no further Giclee prints will ever be produced from the same artwork.

Red Rag Gallery - British Art, Limited Edition Prints and Art Prints