Few questions stir more debate among artists than whether to sell limited or open editions of prints and photographs. Both approaches carry benefits and drawbacks, and both can work in the right context. But the choice you make will shape not only your pricing strategy, but also the long-term earning potential of your most popular images.
The Appeal of Limited Editions
The main attraction of limited editions is scarcity. By capping the number of prints available, you create urgency: collectors feel pressure to buy before the edition sells out. That scarcity can help justify a higher price point, and some buyers enjoy the idea that their print is one of only a handful in existence.
The downside is obvious: once the edition is gone, it’s gone. If you’ve set your limit at 12 or 24 and the image takes off, you’ve cut yourself off from potentially dozens—or even hundreds—of additional sales. What felt like a smart marketing move at the start may end up capping your career-defining image.
Why Open Editions Work
Open editions avoid that ceiling. If a particular piece resonates, you can keep producing and selling it until demand naturally tapers. Instead of 12 sales at $1,000 each, you might make 100 sales at the same price point—a massive difference in revenue.
In today’s market, most buyers aren’t focused on edition size. They’re responding to whether the image speaks to them, not how many others may own a copy. At Xanadu Gallery, we sell both limited and open editions, and the reality is that most collectors don’t ask or seem to care. They’re drawn to the image itself, the emotional connection, and how it will look in their space.
A Hybrid Approach: Retirement Instead of Limits
Some artists adopt a hybrid strategy: they sell open editions but retire images periodically. This creates a sense of urgency—buyers know a piece won’t be around forever—without capping sales at an artificially low number. Each new release comes with the added marketing angle of older works being phased out.
Consistency Matters
Whichever path you choose, commit to it. Once a collector has purchased under one model, changing the rules midstream erodes trust. If you’ve promised an edition of 12, you can’t later decide to release more. Likewise, if you’ve built your reputation on open editions, suddenly claiming scarcity can raise eyebrows.
As with many business choices in the art world, there’s no absolute right or wrong here. What matters is aligning your approach with your long-term goals, staying consistent, and building a model that maximizes both your sales and your integrity with collectors.
it is so inexpensive to set up and produce ltd editions and open editions there is no reason to not do them both. Art publishing used to be an investment scale of 100s of thousands now it can be done for 5004 out of a pare bedroom. The pinch point however is marketing. if there is no market or no access to a buying group the publishers fail. despite the low risk factors most publishers of art will fail. [bought/sold publishers for 30 years] if you are going to publish find out about your market before you invest your life savings!!
Almost all my prints are opened and the only reason why I have limited is because some Art Festivals require limited.
What I have found, like you said, most people don’t care if the prints are marked either way. It’s more about how the piece makes them feel.
Out of hundreds of print buyers, l’ve had only a couple of handful of people who have given me any pushback for not having more limited. And most of them were other artists wanting to give me advice.
At times, limited sounds good, but then again I feel like I would rather spend that time creating something new.
I produced a limited series of bronzes from my stone original In Love and Soaring. Before we reached the iimit my bronze foundry closed and another foundry bought all its molds but lost all of mine in transit. We scanned one of the existing bronzes from the limited edition, scaled up the model to compensate for the shrinkage of bronze, and produced a new unlimited series from it.
Then the new company found the old molds they had lost. That meant we had the mold to continue making the limited series up to the limit, plus the mold to make the nearly identical unlimited series. My new (3rd) foundry and I examined both molds and we decided which of them is better. Now all we need is more buyers.
There’s no real takehome message here, other than to keep track of your molds and things can get complicated if you don’t. I have no idea what a lawyer would say about it, but it was an interesting experience for us and maybe it’s worth sharing with you.
I do limited edition large scale gallery wrapped canvas prints, anywhere from 36”- 72”, my editions are consistent in size. I also do mini prints that are 11x 14 that are unlimited for a small price point accessible to anyone. Both methods have been consistent sellers. An advantage of the large limited edition canvases is I can custom size them to the inch to fit a clients unique space, it allows great flexibility.
But, like you said Jason, it really all about the image and how people respond to it. Get that right and the prints sell themselves, regardless of how one is presenting them.
I like that approach. I am currently starting a limited edition larger print sale, but unlimited prints of the same thing will be available in smaller sizes.
Yep. Allows you to get your work in the hands of everyone who is drawn to it. Not everybody can afford an original or limited edition print which are not cheap. The mini prints profit margin is make it a no brainer as well.
Your article came along at the perfect time for me, Jason.
I published several limited edition prints on paper in the 80’s and 90’s and they sold well at the time, but became less popular after the turn of the century.
In the last few decades I have focused on original paintings while offering custom prints (open series) of selected images through Fine Art America. No clients have asked about limited editions during this time.
Now I am embarking on a project to provide prints and notecards of a single iconic image, as well as small original paintings of local scenery, to be sold in one of the top provincial parks in Ontario. I have been weighing the pros and cons of limited vs open for this project.
Having read your timely article, I realize an open edition is the way to go, as park visitors will respond to the image and not its perceived scarcity. I could be looking at decades of sales for this popular image, in a park that attracts over 200k visitors annually.
Thanks Jason.
This article couldn’t have come in a better time. I’ve had an interesting couple of days that said can you suggest a a pathway or a process to starting with really good prints? I mean I had some done that I wasn’t pleased with and I don’t know if it was the photography or the printer but the color profile was off so I’m really looking for a place to start with having Prince produced.
Yep. Allows you to get your work in the hands of everyone who is drawn to it. Not everybody can afford an original or limited edition print which are not cheap. The mini prints profit margin is make it a no brainer as well.
If you sold the original painting, does that mean you can no longer sell prints of it?