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DPChallenge Forums >> Tips, Tricks, and Q&A >> Print Signing
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 07/04/2005 04:53:25 PM · #1
Okay, this is probably going to be a dumb question but..

Do you use a specific type of pen when signing your prints for sale? I have someone who wants a signed copy and prefers it on the face of the print, rather than the back, so.. what do y'all use?

Thanks :)
 07/04/2005 04:55:05 PM · #2
I use a pen with archival ink. You can get these at any art supplies store including Michaels.
 07/04/2005 05:02:13 PM · #3
Do you all sign the prints themselves?

I currently sign the (black) matte with a white liquid ink pen with thin nib. I think it looks great and clients so far agree but... I'm not signing the print itself. Should I be and if so, what with and presumably on the back?
 07/04/2005 05:14:42 PM · #4
Signing the matte seems to be the most common way of doing it. However, I have sold a couple of prints where the buyer wanted the signature on the front of the print. They were small prints so I cheated a bit and used photoshop to put my signature on. (my sig is large and would have obscured the picture - 4x6)

The pens I have are gold, silver and white. Which one I use depends on the print though I've used the silver one the most as it is the most inconspicuous while still visible.
 07/04/2005 05:28:29 PM · #5
I'm not sure if this is related or not, but I've seen some photographers on this site "sign" their photo's with a copyright. For example I'll use Lauriel Black - I saw where she had a nice sig (not really a sig, but text in a cursive font) that incorporated a copyright and year.

Based on recent events with one of my images showing up somewhere else on the web and kiwiness (I think it was anyway) having the same issue I want to start putting my name and copyright on print photos.

The long-winded question is - do you put the copyright sig on the print itself (in the printable area - bottom right), or do you put it in the margin where it would be covered with matting?

If this is thread hijacking, my apologies and I'll move it to a new thread. Thanks.


07/04/2005 05:33:29 PM · #6
Glad2badad, the thing with those copyright notices (I have something similar on my DPC Prints) is that people who want to "borrow" the images will just crop out the copyright text and steal them anyway.

What would be great would be DPCP adding an obvious copyright notice in the middle of the print preview images so that this would be less likely to happen. We can't do it ourselves as the preview is created from the actual print file we submit...


07/04/2005 05:52:40 PM · #7
I don't usually offer stand alone prints without matting, so I just sign the mat board using archival ink.
 07/04/2005 06:20:15 PM · #8
If the prints are numbered as well as signed (and you've committed to limited production) I think they're often signed in pencil.
 07/04/2005 06:31:39 PM · #9
I sign with either black, silver or creme colored sharp pointed paint pens from an art supply store. My signature is small (only my last name) and in the most inconspicuous place along the bottom border of the print itself. Beside the signature I put the print number eg. 5/50. I only make 50 prints of each of my shots and then delete the file. Number 1 of each series is always my copy.
 07/04/2005 06:40:29 PM · #10
Originally posted by RonBeam:
I sign with either black, silver or creme colored sharp pointed paint pens from an art supply store. My signature is small (only my last name) and in the most inconspicuous place along the bottom border of the print itself. Beside the signature I put the print number eg. 5/50. I only make 50 prints of each of my shots and then delete the file. Number 1 of each series is always my copy.


you delete the file? that's pretty intense
 07/04/2005 07:16:28 PM · #11
This is what I was thinking about doing. (edit...copyright IS there - duh, my bad!)

What are your thoughts on this type of signature? Does it turn off potential buyers of the image?



Originally posted by Kavey:
Glad2badad, the thing with those copyright notices (I have something similar on my DPC Prints) is that people who want to "borrow" the images will just crop out the copyright text and steal them anyway.

What would be great would be DPCP adding an obvious copyright notice in the middle of the print preview images so that this would be less likely to happen. We can't do it ourselves as the preview is created from the actual print file we submit...


Message edited by author 2005-07-04 20:12:48.
 07/04/2005 07:32:01 PM · #12


i made my signature into a PS brush and i add it on a duplicate layer to my print so i can adjust the opacity. then i just adjust the opacity of the type layer to do the copyright symbol and date. i like to make that info as unobtrusive as possible while still being able to read it.
07/04/2005 07:33:15 PM · #13
Originally posted by glad2badad:
This is what I was thinking about doing. I thought Laurie had the copyright on there as well, but she doesn't.

What are your thoughts on this type of signature? Does it turn off potential buyers of the image?




There is a tiny © right before the 2005 in my image... and I'd like to know too if that "signature" is obtrusive. ;)
 07/04/2005 08:39:17 PM · #14
Speaking from a "consumer" point of view: I much prefer the signature ON the print itself, just as an artist would sign their work. This gives me more options as far as matting/framing. I can change the mat at some point if I want or need to and not lose the sig, and I can also display the work in an all glass "floating frame", something that I particularly like.

I purchase a great deal of art, and photography prints (which I consider art), and always want the sig on the work.

Linda
 07/04/2005 08:47:04 PM · #15
if you are going to 'type' it in, i think it looks better in a bordered margin, regardless of the font. put your copyright notice in the bottom right, and put a title in the bottom right.

if you are going to 'sign' it, you can either put it on the image, or put it on the matt. i've done it both ways. like sher, i've done one in ps that i can drag in as a layer. my 'signature' file has both a black and a white signature, so i can use either, or both. typically, i just drag it in and put it in the bottom corner of the image.



i guess it comes down to who you are making the print for, and how it is being sold, as well as your own personal preferences.
 07/04/2005 10:54:44 PM · #16
Originally posted by art-inept:
Originally posted by RonBeam:
I only make 50 prints of each of my shots and then delete the file. Number 1 of each series is always my copy.


you delete the file? that's pretty intense


Each print has less value if an infinite number of copies can be printed for an indefinite time. My photographic accomplishment is actually complete with print number one. The next 49 meet demand. Demand affects price. Have not reached it yet with any of my prints, but my hope is the last 10 or so of any series will be worth more than the precedents.

Glad2badad - Your signature on the alligator shot looks very good to my eyes; well placed so the buyer can choose to mat over it or make it visible when framing. I think a copyright "C" is overboard. An artist signs to identify the inspired, not lay claim to the result. Remember, a larger signature than minimally necessary is as much of a distraction as a blob of hue along the bottom of a scene.
 07/04/2005 11:09:12 PM · #17
First, I like the sig on the alligator/croc, but I think it's a little bright (IMHO). If you're putting it there via PS (or some other app), then I always try to select a color that blends in with its surroundings and/or increase its opacity/transparency; and I generally don't use a copyright symbol (although I know a lot of people do). When it comes to prints I actually sign, I generally use pencil on the matte, unless the buyer wants it on the print itself and then I use a fine tipped black or silver archival ink pen (and I want to get a sepia toned one).

07/04/2005 11:22:50 PM · #18
Originally posted by cpanaioti:
Signing the matte seems to be the most common way of doing it. However, I have sold a couple of prints where the buyer wanted the signature on the front of the print. They were small prints so I cheated a bit and used photoshop to put my signature on. (my sig is large and would have obscured the picture - 4x6)

The pens I have are gold, silver and white. Which one I use depends on the print though I've used the silver one the most as it is the most inconspicuous while still visible.


Sample embedded in image...



Message edited by author 2005-07-04 23:24:26.
 07/06/2005 10:28:39 AM · #19
That's not mine - it's a photo by laurielblack. I wish I could claim it! ;^)

Originally posted by RonBeam:
Glad2badad - Your signature on the alligator...

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