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1.	What is a print?
2.	What is the difference between a wall poster, a fine art poster, and a fine art print?
3.	What is a reproduction?
4.	What is moulding?
5.	What is foam board?
6.	What is matting?
7.	What is acrylic glazing?
8.	What is a lithograph?
9.	What is offset lithography?
10.	What is a serigraph?
11.	What is a giclee?
12.	What is a numbered print?
13.	What does �S/N� mean?
14.	What is an edition?
15.	What is a limited edition?
16.	What is an original?
17.	What is a vintage original poster?
18.	What is a canvas transfer?
19.	What is a hand colored print?

1. What is a print?

A print is a graphic image that has been duplicated one or more times. There are various techniques used to create a print, such as serigraphy (or silk screening), lithography, etching, and offset printing. Prints, especially limited editions, are considered fine art and can be highly valued.

2. What is the difference between a wall poster, a fine art poster, and a fine art print?

Generally the difference is in the level of quality. Wall posters are typically printed in large volume on less expensive paper, fine-art posters are printed on high-quality paper, and fine-art prints are printed with careful attention to true color reproduction on high-quality paper.

Art.com offers a large selection of items ranging from wall posters to fine art prints, and even limited-edition prints.

3. What is a reproduction?

A reproduction is a copy or facsimile of an original work. The end product of a reproduction is significantly faithful in its resemblance to the form and elements of the original.

4. What is moulding?

Moulding is the wood or metal material used for framing a print or poster. At Art.com, we use the finest quality mouldings, just as you would find in traditional fine framing stores.

5. What is foam board?

Foam board is a lightweight, stiff backing mounted or affixed to a print or poster prior to framing. The heat and pressure of our dry-mount press activates the adhesive coating on the foam board forming a smooth, permanent bond with the print.

6. What is matting?

Matting is a stiff paper, fabric or suede border around a print or poster. Our matting is buffered to an alkaline pH (to prevent acid damage to the print) and provides consistent colors, clean creamy bevels, and smooth cuts.

7. What is acrylic glazing?

Acrylic glazing is a pane or sheet of plastic composite often used in place of glass where safety and weight are a concern. Acrylic is much more impact-resistant than conventional glass and half the weight. At Art.com we use acrylic glazing for framed items with a size of 20" x 24" or larger.

8. What is a lithograph?

A lithograph is created using a printing technique based on the principle that oil and water do not mix. Using oil-based ink or a grease crayon, an image is drawn on a flat stone or metal plate. Water is applied to the surface and is repelled by the areas where oil-based images have been drawn. The entire surface is then coated with an oil-based ink that adheres only to the areas drawn in oil, ink or crayon. The image is then printed on paper. Lithography became a popular printing technique because thousands of exact replicas could be made that were like drawings on paper, without degradation of the image.

9. What is offset lithography?

Offset lithography is an industrialized version of the same printing technique as lithography. By using modern printing presses, high-quality reproductions are produced faster and in higher volumes than with manually-produced lithographs.

10. What is a serigraph?

A serigraph is an original silk-screen color print. Serigraphy (or silk screening) is a stencil process in which ink is forced onto the material through the meshes of a silk or organdy screen, which has been prepared to have pervious printing areas and impervious nonprinting areas.

11. What is a giclee?

Gicl�e (pronounced "zhee-clay") is a French word meaning "a spraying of ink.� With the advent of gicl�e, the art of reproducing fine art has become even more precise. Gicl�es have the highest apparent resolution available today -- as high as 1,800 dots per inch. In addition, since no screens are used, the prints have a higher apparent resolution than lithographs and a color range that exceeds that of serigraphy. Displaying a full color spectrum, gicl�e prints capture every nuance of an original and have gained wide acceptance from artists and galleries throughout the world.

The patented printing technology utilizes microscopically fine droplets of ink to form the image. A print can consist of nearly 20 billion ink droplets. The microscopic droplets of ink vary in sizes (approximately the size of a red blood cell) and density. This unique patented feature produces a near continuous tone image, smoother gradation between tones, and a more finely differentiated color palette.

12. What is a numbered print?

Numbering refers to labeling on a print that specifies its place in the order of its production when it is one of a limited edition.

13. What does �S/N� mean?

S/N is a symbol used to indicate that a limited edition print has been signed and numbered by the artist himself/herself.

14. What is an edition?

An edition is a set of identical prints, sometimes numbered and signed, often printed under the supervision of the artist. Two numbers are often written at the lower edge of a print -- the first indicating the print�s place in the order of all prints in the edition, the second number indicating the total number of prints in the edition.

15. What is a limited edition?

A limited edition is a series of identical prints, which are limited to a one-time printing of a certain number of pieces. The artist determines the size of the edition, and usually signs and numbers each individual piece.

16. What is an original?

An original work is considered to be an authentic example of the works of an artist, rather than a reproduction or imitation.

17. What is a vintage original poster?

A vintage original is a poster generally 50 years of age or older. Many of these posters were created using a printing technique known as stone lithography. Most were used much like billboards to market products and services including food, liquor, travel and entertainment.

18. What is a canvas transfer?

A canvas transfer is a print or poster image that has been transferred and fixed to a canvas surface. The result is a piece of printed art that has the appearance of an original canvas painting without the high cost usually associated with original artwork. Our selection of canvas transfers are available stretched onto a wooden frame, ready to hang.

19. What is a hand colored print?

A hand colored print is a black and white print that has been individually colored by an artist using high quality watercolor paints. The artist uses layers of paint to bring depth and vibrancy to the colors. Our selection of hand colored prints are painted using traditional techniques that give each piece a rich, higher quality look usually associated with original art.

Updated November 9, 2004

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