Hand Signing vs Other Personalization For Fine Art Prints
You want to add fine art prints to your business and want to keep things easy, but you also want to add a personal touch. In this blog post, we will explore various options for including a hand-drawn signature, digital signature, or other personalization options on your fine art prints. Whether you've chosen to offer limited edition prints or unlimited copies, let's talk about your options for personalizing and adding signatures to your fine art prints.
Hand Drawn Signature
As an artist, hand signing your prints can offer numerous benefits. Firstly, it adds value to your artwork by giving it a personal touch. By physically signing each print, you are demonstrating that you have personally approved and endorsed the piece. This can increase its perceived worth in the eyes of collectors and buyers. Additionally, hand signing your prints adds an element of authenticity. It assures buyers that they are receiving a genuine work of art from the artist themselves, rather than a mass-produced copy. This can be particularly important for limited edition prints, as it ensures that each copy is unique and special. Furthermore, hand signing allows you to connect with your audience on a deeper level. It shows that you care about your art and take pride in your creations. This personal connection can result in increased sales and loyal customers.
Sarah Dean hand signing a print.
But, hand signing prints poses a challenge for drop shipping and print on demand. It's difficult to use print on demand while signing each piece, especially if you aren't local (though we can still help with that if that’s how you roll)! The whole point of print on demand is to save you time and money, not to create a huge hassle for you each time you sell a print.
You can still drop ship and hand sign, but it's definitely more challenging. Instead of print on demand, you'll have to order prints in advance, sign them, send them to us, and have them stored until they sell (we also have a cool service where we ship batches to you as they sell along with pre-labeled envelopes to send onto your customers).
If you're convinced that hand signing is the only way, read no further and let's get you a batch printed! But, if you're open to other options that make your life more hands off with prints, take a look at other options.
Digital Signatures
By far the most popular alternative to hand signing is using a digital signature in your prints. It’s simple, easy, and endorsed by some of the top print artists around, including Laurie Anne (learn how to create and add digital signatures to your art in her Art To Print course). Create a file of your signature and put it in the corner of each print (if you’re ordering prints through us, we can help you create the digital signature!). Here’s what we like about digital signatures:
Add the feeling of personalization to your prints.
Keeps things hands off for you.
You can keep the signature a consistent size across various sizes of the same print.
Adding a digital signature to an art file in Photoshop.
Other ways to personalize your prints
Want to personalize but don’t love digital signatures? Here are some other great options for personalizing while still keeping things simple for yourself and your POD supplier.
Use an Embosser
Not a lot of artist do this, but it’s classy AF, and we’re fans. Western artist Weatherly Stroh sent us an embosser with her seal that we use for all of her prints, and they look killer. It’s a subtle affect visually, but when you see it it’s very impressive. We also do it for the chalkboard art of Nathaniel Santa Cruz from Wondergarten. Just Google “Custom Embosser,” and you’ll be well on your way to having cool personalized prints.
An embossed paper from Nathaniel Santa Cruz.
Hand Sign Certificates of Authenticity
You don’t want to hand sign every print but still want a hand drawn signature in there? Sign a stack of certificates and send them to your printer to include with prints. It’s personal, hand drawn, but flexible with whatever print you happen to sell next.
Use a Stamp
Have you signature added to prints via an old school stamp. It’s easy and can really stand out. Arizona artist Carlisle Burch sent us a bold red stamp of her signature which goes on every print we send out.
Have Your Printer Forge Your Signature
Just kidding, we don’t do that! Some printers have a thing called a ghost writer where a machine arm draws your signature and then they call it hand signed… but that’s just weird in our opinion and not much different than having a digital signature printed on in the first place.
