Can I sell my own Prints of my Artwork?

We offer two ways of selling prints on site with Bluethumb

This FAQ is specifically to help answer questions for artist wanting to sell their own prints, meaning the artist is responsible for printing and sends the work(s) to collectors.

If your looking for information on Print On Demand service (where we print the work and send it to the buyer on your behalf) please see the Print on Demand Overview & FAQ

This FAQ covers the following topics:

1. How does selling my own prints work with Bluethumb?

2. What can I sell as a print?

3. How to List Prints

4. What measurements do I put in the Artwork Size?

5. How many Prints can I sell?

6. How do I ship the print?

7. Do I have to sign my print?

8. Can prints be returned?

Selling your own prints with Bluethumb works exactly the same way as selling original artworks with us. You will need to list the work on site, accurately and correctly, when you sell a work you are responsible for shipping the work out to the buyer. You can set the listing price, Bluethumb will take its normal commission rate from the artwork value once a work sells. The buyer still has the same returns options, the artist is paid for the print after the returns period has past, as per the normal payment terms.

You can sell prints of your own original artworks. What we do not allow is the selling of prints by other artists, images you are not the copyright owner of or did not create yourself.

If you are a photographer or digital artists you will need to ensure you are approved to sell these mediums before listing them. You can apply to sell these from the link here. We do not accept any AI works or prints on site.

Listing a print is super easy and follows a similar format as listing an original work with some key differences. You can list the print from the Upload Art page.

2. When you select one of the above 'Mediums' an additonal section will appear which allows you to set the edition number in the run amount.

As mentioned the maximum run amount you can do is 250 prints. So for example if you wanted to sell the first print in a run of 250 you would enter "Edition 1 of 250" into the boxes

If you set up a run of prints up (e.g. Edition 1 of 250) when you sell a print the next edition number in that run will auto re-list on site for you shortly after the sale of the print (e.g. Edition 2 of 250). This way you only have to create one listing and dont have to re-upload each time one sells.

3. Choosing a print "Medium" will also change the signature options. For Prints there are three options you need to choose one from.

4. We understand most artists will only manufacturer print's after their sale, so If your printer processing times takes longer than the 5 days we allocate to ship works we strongly recommend writing the print turn around times in the artwork description field. This way it sets the expectation with the collector on how long it will take the work to be printed and in turn arrive e.g. This print is printed to order as such please allow 7-14 additonal days for printing.

For the Artwork Size we require artists to list the physical size of the print (including borders) the buyer will receive. Meaning if the print area is A4 size, but the work is printed onto an A3 size piece of paper, I would need to list the A3 size into the measurements section.

If the printed area is smaller in size than the physical size you will be sending (e.g. there is a boarder on the work) what we strongly recommend is in the artwork description is to clearly define the printed area size. E.G for an A4 printed area with a 5cm boarder I would state "the printed area of this work is 21cm x 29.7cm with a 5cm boarder all around making the over all size 31cm x 39.7cm"

We allow a maximum run of 250 prints for each listing. Meaning if you have the print available in three different sizes in three different listings, each listing can have a maximum edition run of 250, so totalling 750 across all three listings.

Shipping the sale of the print is the same as any other work sold through Bluethumb. The artist is responsible for packing the print (as per the Packaging Guidelines), booking the freight through our portal, which generates a label, and dropping the work off a the Post Office or handing over to the courier.

We understand some artist drop ship with their printers, however we are unable to reimburse shipping costs to artist who choose to send through their printers. What we advise for drop shipping is to book the shipment on behalf of the print (through our portal, you will need the package dimensions to do this) and send the label to them for sending.

For limited edition prints we strongly recommend it as this is a way to ensure the exclusivity of your work, and for buyers to feel like they are collection a limited edition item. However its not required that you have to sing and number your prints (buyers normally expect it - so this is something to be mindful of).

Most artists sign and number prints in the bottom right corner. We recommend following this as Framers will frame the work (cutting the matt board) to show the signature area.

Yes, prints sold through Bluethumb are subject to the same returns policy, so collectors can request to return prints. Again the same policies and process will apply to the return of these works as to originals (the works will be returned to the artist at the expense of Bluethumb).