Selling Prints

Scott Jones sent an email and I thought it worth showing everyone. It was in response to my discussion on print pricing. he refers to Brooks Jenson of Lenswork. With his permisssion here's his description of selling prints. I have to say I'm impresssed with the work he does. He is selling these prints by the way, for $50 for an 8X10 matted to 14X17 - very very reasonable.

Ya know the easiest way is the way Brooks does it. Just sell the bare print in a plastic bag and a backing board and put it in a priority mailer box (free) and charge an extra mailing fee. No fuss; no muss as we Yank say. I thought long and hard about this method, but had two concerns. It just didn't seem very special to sell the loose print and I really like to have my work shown in the traditional way. That is, dry mounted on rag bright white board and then over matted with a window that has a reveal all the way around the print and a weighted space for me to sign my name. Also this protects the surface of the print from scratches and marks that people are quite likely to make on the surface of the prints. I use EPSG paper which I love but it is fragile to scratching.

I handle the work part of this choice by using my local framer who works out of his house. I email him a "map" of how I want him to make my back board and window over mat. He cuts the window on a computerized cad/cam machine so the cut is perfect to the 1/16 inch. He also applies the archival tape hinge to the sandwich. I then drymount my trimmed image into the windowed space, sign and mail. This way I do not have to keep mat board in the house, or spend the time cutting it and making windows, and the cad/cam machine can make a better window than any human can. The cost for all of this is: $17 for a 16x20 sandwich and $15 for a 14x17 sandwich. After I factor in the cost of mounting tissue, paper, ink, crystal clear plastic bag, I clear a profit of approximately $30 which interestingly is more than Brooks gets for his easier method. I also then continue to control presentation. I include a "care and feeding" sheet that tells people how to take care of the print and my suggestion on how to frame it with a specific molding suggestion that any framer can order.

I then charge $10 for shipping fees and materials which I have just realized should be $12 to really cover all the costs of parcel post mail of my 4x corrugated cardboard sandwiches that I mail the matted print in. I haven't tried masonite. I buy the cardboard from our local framer supply store. I have an inch of extra space all the way around and tape it to survive a bomb blast.!

Well at least this is hat I am doing now. If I could just give up the control/presentation factor, then Brooks' method would be an absolute breeze. Hmmmm...

So yes, after reading your comments below again, perhaps that bare print method really makes sense. I am going to have to ask all the people I run into how they feel about bare prints for cheaper cost. Be interesting to see what the non photographer public says.

This is lots of fun talking to a kindred soul. I am enjoying your blog; wish more people would leave comments...

Happy Solstice (yes, it IS getting dark!)

So: thanks Scott for your description. I'm sure Scott is right that people do appreciate the matted prints. My own concern is less the large amount of work that Scott has to do to sell one print than it has to do with the difficulties of shipping larger prints flat through the mail. I have had very well packed prints destroyed by the post office - corners bashed, packages folded in half, despite packing them the same way that Scott describes. I'm open to more suggestions.