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Printing Artists . . .
Printing
For Artists |
Fine Art Notecards - A Primer
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| A Tool of Many, Many Uses For Artists |
| Fine Art Notecards, in the
hands of a visual artist, serve a multi-faceted purpose. The cards,
either individually or in boxed sets, are meant to be sold. However,
every sold card - and every distributed card - is more than just a
card. It is also an advertisement and promotional piece, not only for
you as an artist, but for the sale (or resale) of the original work as
well. |
| In addition, Fine Art Notecards
can be used as invitations, show-opening announcements, and as
personalized greeting cards for the artists own use. We feel that our
Notecards are a cut above any other you may find. Just email
us for a sample. Our 80# Enhance!®
Textured cardstock is of the finest quality and has a unique textured
surface. The printing process is also quite special. |
Standard Fine Art Notecards feature blank insides and
a miniature image on the rear
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We call it PhaserPrint. The process uses
the latest solid-ink technology and printing is done at an unbelievable
1200 d.p.i.! |
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Sometimes the rear image is different from the front,
thusly showing two works for the cost of one!
Inside printing is costly and should be avoided
except for your own use as seen here.
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Notecard Pricing
Our artists' wholesale printing prices are designed to make possible the
retailing of singles and sets at prices in accordance with today’s
upscale card market. In this instance, we refer only 4.25" x
5.5" card, our Most Popular size. We recommend a selling price of
$3.95 per card with linen envelope. We advise not printing on the inside
of the card. Inside printing is costly and industry surveys indicate
that buyers of this type of fine art notecard prefer blank insides. 100
cards will cost you $95. You should sell them to stores for $195.00
which doubles your investment. This permits them to use their normal
mark-up and retail the card for $3.95. Don’t undercut your store
customers. If you retail a card, do so at the $3.95
price. BACK
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Copy Writing for Rear of
Notecards
Look carefully at the copy we have written on the rear of our cards.
Write your copy similarly. Be sure to provide a method of contact
(telephone or e-mail) for interested parties to use to buy more cards
... or the original art, if available! We’ll be happy to assist you
with your marketing questions. All you need to do is call 631-267-7910. |
SAMPLE
COPY FOR REAR OF NOTECARDS
Above: Alexander S. Kabbaz “September 11, 2001” Digital Giclée/Canvas
N.F.S.
Images Copyright © 2001 Alexander S. Kabbaz • All Rights Reserved
Fine Art Notecard Printing:Atelier AskArt at Artists’ Woods Copyright © 2002
Atelier AskArt
For Information on Notecard Sets or Original Art 631.267.7910 • www.artistswoods.com |
Many Options Are Available
Cards should always include envelopes - the Linen ones are nicest and
coordinate well with the Enhance! Textured card stock. Boxed sets of
eight cards retail very well at $27.95. You’ll make a slightly smaller
percentage on Boxed Sets, but what you lose in percentage you’ll make
up in volume. The Clear Box for sets and Card Jackets for singles are
wise investments as they lend a professional appearance to your work.
Gold Stretch Loops add the perfect finishing touch.
Additional Setup items include more graphic and/or type design such as
multiple images. This is charged at an hourly rate.
Finally, if you have a store which is doing well with your cards, you
may want to buy them a laminated, easel-backed letter-sized Sell Poster
for their checkout counter. We use them here and they really serve to
stimulate impulse sales. |
Clear Self-seal Envelopes give a professional
appearance as well as keeping the card pristine
This card, originally designed as a show invitation, has additional
set-up charges for the rear images
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Boxed Sets are the most professional and offer a much
larger return per sale than individual cards
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This Notecard was designed primarily as an invitation
and has the invitation wording on the rear in place of the mini-image
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Sales-Orientated
Representational Color
Fine Art Notecards are printed in Representational, not Reproductive
color. They are meant to be unique, attractive, and commercially
pleasing to an upscale market. They are meant to be affordable to you.
In short, they are meant to Sell. They are not meant to be exact color
reproductions of the original artwork. Although this can be
accomplished, it is unnecessary for these purposes. Should you desire to
spend a great deal of additional money on proofing and system-time for
color correction, PhaserPrinted colors can be made to match the original
art ... but you may price your Notecards out of the market range. If
your purpose is complete reproductive accuracy, the method used should
be Giclée. |
Why The Short-Run & Low Price?
Why, you may be wondering, are AskArt Fine Art Notecards available to
artists on better card stock at prices way below the rest of the market?
The answer is really quite simple. We are not only designers and
printers, but also wholesalers and retailers of Notecards. We operate a
national wholesale distribution program to a limited selection of
exclusive upscale outlets. In addition, the Gallery Art Shop at Artists’
Woods - our home base - retails our Notecards. Offering Notecards to
artists at below market pricing offers us a number of advantages. |
This card, a gallery invitation, features many
Optional Set-up additions. There are 3 images on the front and 7 on the
rear. There is also a company logo on the rear. Finally, there is a
simple Invitation Insert which goes inside the folded card.
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Firstly, we are able to maintain volume
purchasing of a top grade of card stock which keeps the paper price
down. Secondly, our small, talented design and production staff has
interesting work besides formats and packaging for in-house products.
The most important reason, however, is that this program assists us in
our constant search for the best of Notecard suitable fine art. Our
creative staff designs card formats, packaging, inserts, sales posters,
counter displays . . . even items like this Fine Art Notecard Program
Guide. They do not design cards. In contrast to the major card houses,
we feel that in-house design of card art eventually results in stale
re-creations of that which went before. For this reason, we are
constantly seeking new and exciting art and artists.Our
Fine Art Notecard Printing Program allows us the privilege
of selecting from a wide range of art. Many artists who have submitted
work to us in the past have been offered a place in our Fine Art
Notecard Series. Artists do not apply to be part of our in-house
Program. Selections are based on the quality of the work, its
appropriateness for reproduction in the form of notecards, the
convergence with the Program’s upcoming themes, and a desire on the
part of the artist to participate. It is this unique combination of
factors which permits us to offer significantly lower notecard printing
costs.
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