Why Art Prints Matter for Artists (Maybe Now More Than Ever)

“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” — Edgar Degas

I spent the first two decades of my career immersed in the art print business at its peak.

Back then, I worked with a publishing company that produced Decor magazine, the go-to trade publication for the art print and picture framing industry. We organized trade shows, too. Before the internet, this was how you stayed informed and built relationships in the business.

It was a thriving business, full of energy and opportunity. From the 1980s into the early 2000s, the print market moved with a momentum that’s difficult to picture now. Artists like Thomas Kinkade, Robert Bateman, and Bev Doolittle were widely collected, and their print sales made them millionaires. Artists such as Royo could generate multi-million-dollar sales at ArtExpo New York, a single weekend event held at the glittering, spectacular Jacob Javits Center in Manhattan.

Promotions often felt larger than life. I remember ArtExpo New York post-show events where an artist like Michel Delacroix would sell a $40,000 original at an exclusive invitation-only gathering at Maxim’s, with Robin Leach and Ivana Trump there to help unveil the work.

Events like these weren’t just about selling originals. They generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in print sales during the show and created a sense of ongoing momentum throughout the art print market. Not to mention establishing new art retail clients who would order frequently. It was a well-oiled machine.

Looking back, it truly was a golden era for art prints. I’ve written about the print market for decades — most recently in the 3rd edition of How to Profit from the Art Print Market, which I updated last year — and the same pattern keeps showing up. Then the internet arrived, and over time, it changed that entire ecosystem. Trade magazines gradually faded away. Trade shows lost much of their influence. The support structure that once held up the print business became thinner and, in many respects, disappeared.

The print market didn’t vanish. It transformed. Today, it’s more fragmented—sometimes a commodity, sometimes highly specialized. The old support system isn’t there anymore.

But here’s what hasn’t changed:

Prints still work. Not at the same scale, but in a way that’s often more practical and useful for independent artists. Even with all that change, the core truth about prints hasn’t shifted.

Why Prints Still Matter

One of the more useful insights comes from Jason Horejs, who shared candid results from his gallery. Many collectors don’t start with high-priced originals. They start small. They make an initial purchase that feels comfortable and, over time, some move up to larger investments. That pattern hasn’t changed.

For self-representing artists, prints create that first step. They are often the simplest way to make an initial sale possible.

They give people a way to:

• connect with your work
• buy without hesitation
• begin a relationship with you as an artist

And that relationship is what leads to future sales.

Why Print-on-Demand Makes This Easier Than Ever

In the past, producing prints required upfront investment, inventory, and guesswork. That’s changed. Print-on-demand allows you to offer prints without carrying inventory or managing fulfillment. You produce them when they sell.

That simplicity matters. It lowers risk and makes it easier to get started without overcommitting time or money..

A Practical View of Open Editions

Limited editions had their place—especially during the peak of the print market. But for many independent artists today, open editions make more sense. They allow you to:

• keep your work available
• avoid artificial constraints
• focus on sharing rather than managing scarcity

In a world where simplicity and flexibility matter, that’s a practical advantage.

A Common Concern About Prints

Some artists worry that offering prints could hurt their reputation or devalue their originals. It’s an understandable concern. But in practice, it doesn’t hold up.

Collectors don’t stop valuing original work because prints exist. If anything, prints often introduce people to an artist’s work in the first place. They create familiarity—and familiarity builds interest. For most artists, the bigger challenge isn’t protecting a reputation. It’s building one.

Prints help with that. They allow more people to experience your work, live with it, and remember it. That kind of exposure works in your favor over time.

What the Market Actually Shows

If you look at best-selling art on sites like Art.com, you’ll see a mix of historic and contemporary artists. Names like Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso, and Vincent van Gogh appear alongside working artists today. Prints aren’t separate from the art world. They’re part of it. And this isn’t new.

Artists like Ansel Adams and Maxfield Parrish built lasting legacies in part through prints. Decades later, their work continues to reach new audiences and support their estates. The same is true for modern artists like Andy Warhol and David Hockney, whose print markets remain active.

Prints haven’t diminished their reputations. They’ve extended them. For independent artists, the takeaway is simple:

Offering prints isn’t a step down. It’s a way in. It creates an accessible price point for new buyers. And over time, some of those buyers become collectors—people who return, buy originals, and share your work with others. Many of those relationships wouldn’t begin without that first purchase.

Keep It Simple

The biggest mistake artists make with prints today isn’t offering them. It’s overcomplicating them. With so many tools available, it’s easy to:

• offer too many options
• experiment in too many directions
• spend more time setting things up than making art

Just because something is possible doesn’t mean it’s necessary. A focused selection will almost always outperform a scattered one. Start with a handful of your strongest images. Offer them as quality prints. Make them easy to understand and easy to buy. That’s enough.

A Practical Role for Prints Today

The print market isn’t what it once was. But it’s not irrelevant. If anything, it’s become more useful in a different way. Prints give you a way to:

• create an accessible price point
• introduce new buyers to your work
• build relationships that grow over time

Prints aren’t a step down. They’re a step in — a simple, practical way to help people begin a relationship with your work.

See you next week!