Art Print Resource Guide
Art Resource Guide:
Famous in Media is working to help make journalism and the arts more sustainable here in the United States. To that end, we also want to be used as a resource for creators to learn more about art prints, our process, and information we think you’ll find helpful.
This page, unlike a blog post, will be a living document that will be updated as new information is shared and becomes available. If you have any questions or recommendations for additions to the page, please feel free to reach out! We want this guide to be about things that you find helpful: to that end, we are open to any and all feedback. Famous in Media wants artists from all backgrounds, knowledge levels, and interests to thrive. Our core mission is to support individuals like you and journalism. Enjoy!
Turning your painting into a digital image:
When you create a portrait or paint on a canvas, there are a handful of ways you can turn that image into a digital creation. You can take a high-quality photo of the original piece, or scan it using a digital flatbed scanner, much like you see on office printers.
For larger pieces of artwork, you can scan the image in smaller component pieces and stitch them together in photoshop. If that doesn’t work, most local print shops have commercial-grade scanners that are much larger and can be used to scan your artwork.
When your image is scanned, photo editing software can be used to resize the image to the size/shape you desire for your art prints. We use Adobe Photoshop at Famous in Media, which we use to resize images and clean up images that were originally taken on film. Sometimes these images can have a fuzzy element to them, which can be reduced using Photoshop’s “reduce noise” function. It creates a much more crisp image, meaning the final product out of the printer will be much better defined with rich colors.
Should you decide to print your digital image, you’ll want to make sure the DPI (dots per image) is set to a minimum of 300. Anything lower and your images will be a bit grainy, which is especially difficult to hide if you are using Matte or Luster papers.
Types of print paper available to you:
There are a number of different types of archival quality print papers that can be used. It is important to know that each type of paper has its pros-and-cons, so be sure to read the entire list before deciding on what type of paper you would like your image printed on.
The different types of photo paper are:
- Matte: Best for black-and-white or sepia images. Matte paper lacks a shine, so it’s good for capturing different shades of black and gray. Matte is very good for old pictures that don’t have a wide range of different colors.
- Satin: Captures the bright colors of gloss paper without the shine. It reflects little light, so it’s good for photographs of people or locations. The paper is a bit thinner, so these are best behind a frame or photo scrapbook.
- Luster: wedding and portrait photography is best on Luster photo paper. Also good for black and white. It’s similar to satin in the fact that it picks up vibrant color, but is more muted and does not have a shine like gloss.
- Glossy: Landscape photography is best on gloss paper. It provides the largest color contrast and is excellent for displaying a wide array of colors. Famous in Media offers gloss on each of the images we sell, as they capture all the detail in an image. For the numerous landscapes and images we have listed, gloss is the perfect fit.
- Semi-Gloss: The happy medium between Gloss and Matte papers. They have less texture than matte paper but more than glossy paper, so they reflect less light but still have a heavier saturation of color to them. We offer semi-gloss on most print types for this specific reason. Semi-Gloss is also a bit thicker than satin/luster, so they feel more like an art print in your hand.
Paper Quality:
While there are different styles of paper like the ones listed above, there are other aspects of photo paper that you should be aware of. This list is not comprehensive, but it is important to think about:
- Paper thickness.
- Archival quality vs. Non-Archival Quality. Archival quality prints like the ones Famous in Media sells are guaranteed to last a very long time. The paper is thicker, absorbs ink better, and are dried overnight to avoid any color running or bleeding.
- Is the paper type faithful to the image? Use the above guide to determine whether you should be using matte, gloss, or other paper types. There are pros-and-cons to each type, depending on the type of image you want printed.
Print Size:
One of the great thing about art prints is the fact that they come in all shapes and sizes. At this time, Famous in Media sells our prints in (4) different sizes. Here's the breakdown:
- 4" x 6": A 4 inch by 6 inch image is the size of your standard postcard. It is great for sending to loved ones, accenting small areas you want to spruce up, or placing in picture frames around the home. The small size means these are accent pieces rather than centerpieces, but it's great to have a large quantity of them together (especially when making a gallery wall).
- 5" x 7": A 5 inch by 7 inch image is a bit larger than a postcard. You will typically see them used for marketing materials or flyers. Each sale of prints from Famous in Media comes with a QR code back to our website and a thank you note. We print these on 5" x 7" cards, as this size means the text on the print is easier to read.
- 8" x 10": An 8 inch by 10 inch image is a bit smaller than the typical piece of computer paper you encounter in your typical office. That paper is 8.5"x11" inches. The 8"x10" is a great size for images you want to display in your home, living room, or office space.
- 11" x 14": An 11 inch by 14 inch image is fairly large, it's almost a full foot wide and taller than a foot. This is where image sizes can become centerpieces instead of accent pieces. Placing an image of this size in a frame is a perfect addition to any home or office.
Framing your art print:
There are a number of framing shops located across the country that specialize in creating bespoke (unique) frames for your art. These frames can be exceedingly beautiful, and the craft is one we should respect and promote. Framers are excellent at helping you determine the style and feel of a frame that would fit best in your space.
When you buy art prints online, they very rarely come with the frames. Why is that? For starters, the frame is very difficult to match to all environments. Universal colors like black, white, or brown wood-finishes don’t fit in every space, so it is better to allow the buyer to find frames that fit better with their aesthetic. On top of that, selling prints with a frame makes the package a lot more heavy, which drives up shopping costs. Finally, a fully built frame can become damaged in transit, potentially damaging the print. For these reasons, it is better to allow the art purchaser to buy their own art frames.
Since Famous in Media sells replica art prints and not the original art, most of our users opt to use frames that can be sourced online, from shops like Amazon. When you have a large number of prints to put up (like you’re creating a gallery wall), the cost can be quite high for having custom frames built. A lot of customers opt to buy standard sized frames that they can place around their home in abundance. We have an affiliate link tab that will take you to a number of frame product offerings on Amazon. You can find that page here.
Shipping your art print:
Take extra care when shipping your art print to a new destination. Simply buying an envelope or bubble mailer sounds like a great, affordable option, but it likely means your art print will be damaged in transit.
When you ship an art print in flimsy packaging, other packages can smash into it or fold it around the edges during transit. Shipping services sort all of the packages together, so any large box can damage your print. It will likely arrive with bends, crumples, or tears. To avoid this, follow the best practices that we use here at Famous in Media.
We ship art prints first by sealing them into plastic sleeves with small cardboard inserts behind them. The cardboard insert prevents the prints from folding or being damaged in transit. The plastic sleeve waterproofs the art, so if the mailman is delivering a package on a rainy day, your image will still arrive safely to its destination.
Then we package the art print into a thick cardboard mailer with self-adhesive tape. This extra layer of cardboard offers an additional layer of security to prevent folding or tearing. The best part? The cardboard mailer is recyclable! Some of the bubble wrap envelopes you’ll see are listed as recyclable, but to do so you have to take them to very specific locations that can accept the thin plastic used. For the most part, bubble wrap mailers are not acceptable in your average blue recycling bin that gets picked up once a week (but cardboard mailers are).
If the image you are shipping is particularly large (say, larger than 13 inches x 19 inches), then it is best to get a cardboard tube mailer. These are certainly more expensive than flat cardboard envelopes, but they are essential for larger prints so they don’t get damaged in transit. When you ship your art in a rolled up tube, the receive just needs to flatten the image out upon arrival and let it sit for a day or two. Place heavy objects, like a textbook, on top to flatten the image out and prepare it for a frame.
USPS has affordable rates for shipping these mailers, ranging anywhere from $6-$10 depending on where you want to send them in the country. Because of the volume we do at Famous in Media, we use Stamps.com and can ship at a cheaper rate across the country at about $5 per package. If you’re interested in selling your own art prints and shipping with Stamps.com, use our referral link here with this code: C-448Q3V-HX3.
If you’re shipping only occasionally, it is better to pay each time you ship rather than subscribing to a discount carrier service.
Social Media Following:
If you click on any of the images you’ll find on Famous in Media’s page, you’ll see that they are not all affiliated with local journalism outlets. Many of the current products we have are actually from partnerships we have with individual photographers, and these photographers may or may not be involved with news outlets.
Since Famous in Media is a relatively new offering, it takes time to get newspapers to sign up and partner with us. Getting all stakeholders to approve an agreement, review a contract, and agree to sign up is not a quick task. So we work with local photographers who receive proceeds from each sale made on Famous in Media, and we link to their preferred social media platform to help bring them new followers. In a world filled with a lot of talented people, we believe in doing everything within our power to showcase the skills that folks have.
When you’re starting out in photography, many people blend their personal social media accounts with their budding professional accounts. We support this 100%, and also support you starting a unique professional account and keeping the two separate. Ultimately, it is up to the photographer and what info they would like to share.
Starting a separate photography account can be good for finding likeminded individuals and channeling new opportunities. Even if you don’t work for a newspaper, Famous in Media is always looking to add new collections and partners. If you would like your images uploaded, please visit our Partner with Us page here.
The key is: content, content, content. Don’t be afraid to share your passions with the world! We aren’t, and we are happy to support you and do everything we can to share your talents with our following. If you’re waiting for the perfect image or waiting for that magic moment when you think your skills are good enough: don’t wait. You can’t improve your craft until you know what needs to be improved, and the best way to do that is to share your work with the world. Launch it, tweak it, and improve it. There’s no harm, and it will help you develop your talents even faster.
Licensing your art:
As the owner of an art piece, you can license your art to anybody you would like. There are a number of different types of licenses that exist. Famous in Media asks for nonexclusive, non-transferrable licenses, meaning you retain ownership and we cannot give our license to anybody else. The license is exclusively for selling art prints and using the images as a part of our advertising strategy. Other licenses involve exclusivity, selling the image outright, or giving the licensee the ability to sell it on merch, for example. It is important to do additional research on licensing and find out what might work best for you.
Licensing is great because it allows your image to be reproduced and shared to a broader audience, but it is important to think about the pros-and-cons of any business agreement. You won’t find an agreement more friendly to the artist than Famous in Media, as our project is designed to help sustain journalism and the arts. We have our standard contract listed here. You can also find it at the bottom of our "Partner with Us" page in the menu above.
In general, most artistic licenses give the licensor anywhere between 15%-30% of the sale price. Famous in Media offers up to 50% on the transaction, meaning we are the most artist friendly on both revenue sharing and on maintaining artists ownership of their work. If you want to license your art to us and other outlets, go for it! We’re happy to support you in any endeavor that helps you raise more money and share your work. Just make sure that if you are issuing multiple licenses, other partners are aware of the existing licenses you have already given out and the terms of those agreements. Some licensees will want exclusive licenses, versus the nonexclusive license Famous in Media asks for.