Black and White original lino print of three plants

When buying one of my original Lino prints you may be wondering what I mean by limited edition and what the numbers at the bottom mean

So first of all, an original print are printmaking techniques such as lino and woodcut prints, screen prints, etchings and lithographs. Many hours can be spent on designing, creating and then printing them

Original prints are often printed as a limited edition, and in its simplest term a limited edition is when only a set amount is printed from the same plate or screen. Edition size will vary according to the artist creating it. For me, when I’m doing a limited edition, I will print no more than 50. Some printmakers I know will go up to 250 in an edition

Reproduction prints, or giclee print, are often printed in higher numbers, into the thousands, as they are printed from a high-end printer, whereas original prints are done by hand and take longer to produce, so are normally in smaller quantities

What is the writing below the print?

detail of the edition number, title and artist signature written in pencil under the printed image of a lino print

With my Lino Prints I will always sign and label them in pencil underneath the printed image starting with the edition number on the left, the title in the middle and then my name on the right. Sometimes with the edition number I will add an AP, EV, TP or a OE, and these are called labels

What do the different types of labels mean on my Limited Edition Lino Print?

Number – the first number refers to the print number and the second refers to the edition size. So, if it is signed as 1/20 it means the 1st print of an edition of 20 prints

AP – Stands for Artist’s Proof. In times gone by original prints would actually be printed by someone else, a technician called a Master Printer and some of the prints would be printed by the artist themselves and were labelled as AP. Now days, if an artist is like super famous, they could have a Master Printer print the edition and then print a few themselves too and label them AP. I and I know others will label a print AP when I’m proofing a print, to test it out before going ahead with the edition. These prints are usually for personal use only and not for sale, but on rare occasions, if I have a few available, I will sell an AP Lino print

EV – Stands for Edition Varied. This refers to the Lino print being unique due to the way I apply my inks. A lot of my Botanical Reduction Lino Prints are labelled this way because on some of the layers I will use multiple rollers inked up in colours and use them in a similar way as paint brushes. So even though the Lino image will be the same the colours with slightly vary on each of the edition. So, the Lino print will be labelled with an EV next to its edition number i.e., 1/20 EV

Other printmakers may use VE (Varied Edition), UP (Unique Print), US (Unique State) instead of EV

TP - Stands for Trial Proof and is used when proofing a print to check the design before printing the entire edition. This is a new label for me to use as I, in the past would have use AP when testing, but I will now be using TP from now on

OP – Stands for Open Edition. Now technically these are not limited edition prints as there is no set number in the edition and I can print as many as I like. Limited edition prints tend to be of higher value due to their uniqueness whereas with my Open edition prints, these are cheaper and can be a more affordable way of buying an original Lino print

Are there other labels you may see on a Limited Edition Print?

There can be many different labels written on a print and some vary in different countries. Below are just a few you may have seen signed on a limited edition Lino print

B.A.T – Stands for Bon á tirer, meaning Good to Pull and it is the first perfect print to be printed and is used as the one to match all other prints to

SP – Stands for State Proof and is the general term covering all working proofs

HC – Stands for Hors Commerce and are prints which are not for sale but are used for commercial/business use such as display or promotion. They also do not have to be signed by the artist

CP – Stands for Cancellation print and this is when the edition has been printed, the Lino block/Print surface is defaced so that it cannot be reprinted. Often one is printed with a large score across the Lino and signed as the cancellation print