Fine art prints have a long history.
When exploring fine art prints, it is easy for a first-time collector or researcher to become overwhelmed with the sheer number of kinds of prints. From lithographs to etchings, the print world offers new collectors the opportunity to collect art more inexpensively than they can do when buying paintings, for example. However, when you purchase prints, it is important to understand the differences among various kinds of prints, including offset lithograph prints.
Fine Art Prints
A fine art print refers to a reproducible image. These images can vary in production methods and materials, but usually involve ink on paper or canvas, and are often produced in limited editions. For example, a lithograph may be produced in a series of 50, after which the original printing plate is destroyed so that no more will be created. Because these are not unique works of art in the sense that a painting or a sculpture is, they are often more affordable than works of art in other media.
Lithographs
A traditional lithograph involves plates that are used by the artist to create the image he desires. The artist covers a plate with ink, hand-applying colors one at a time and drawing corrections directly on the plate, before pressing this inked plate onto paper or another material the artist has chosen. Because of the work the artist performs by hand on the plate before each lithograph print is made, making these prints is more time consuming, and no two will look exactly alike when complete. Traditional lithographs are highly collectible and can often be found for sale in galleries and at auctions.
Offset Lithographs
Offset lithographs differ from traditional lithographs in that they are printed mechanically. In the mechanical process, inked metal plates in a printing press print images onto paper through the use of mechanized rubber cylinders, also known as offset blankets. The ink transfers from the metal plate cylinder to the offset blanket cylinder and from there to the paper. This process removes the artist from all but the initial stages of creation and allows for a large edition, or series, of prints to be created relatively quickly.
Originality and Rarity
Offset lithographs are far less likely to show signs of the artist's hand than a traditional lithograph, as they are machine-produced. In addition, many offset lithographs may be printed without the artist's permission, after his or her death, as reproductions of works such as paintings, which were intended to be original. Because they are less original and less rare than traditional lithographs, as well as the efficiency and economy of their production, offset lithographs are often significantly less expensive than paintings or even other kinds of prints.
