Open edition
Also known as: Open edition print · Print on demand
An open edition is a print with no cap — it can be reprinted on demand for as long as the gallery offers it. Lower priced than a limited edition, with no scarcity claim.
An open edition is a print made to order, with no cap on how many will eventually exist. The gallery prints each impression when it’s bought rather than producing the whole run up front, and the edition stays open for as long as the gallery decides to keep it available.
The defining feature is that supply is unconstrained. If demand triples next year, the gallery can print three times as many. There’s no “selling out”, no impression number, and typically no signature unless the artist is on hand to sign each print as it’s made.
Open editions exist for a few sensible reasons. They let galleries offer a piece at a lower price point — there’s no scarcity premium baked in. They let an artist release work without committing to a closed run. And they make logistics simpler: print-on-demand has no inventory.
Open editions are not without provenance. The piece is still authentically the artist’s work, still made on archival paper with pigment inks, still hand-framed if you order it framed. What you’re not buying is scarcity. If “this print exists in 100 impressions and no more” is part of the appeal, an open edition isn’t the right format; if you just want a beautiful print on the wall, it’s the format that delivers most value per pound.
Our open editions are clearly marked on the product page, made to order on Hahnemühle 310gsm, and shipped within five to seven working days.
Common questions about open edition
- Do open editions hold their value?
- Open editions don't carry the scarcity premium of a limited edition. The right way to think about them is as beautiful prints to live with, not as collectibles to appreciate. If resale value matters more than the piece on the wall, a limited edition is the better fit.
- Are open edition prints still archival?
- Yes — same paper, same pigment inks, same hand-framing as our limited editions. Hahnemühle German Etching 310gsm, Wilhelm-rated for 100+ years under glass. The only difference between an open and limited edition is whether the impression count is capped.
- What's the difference between an open edition and a poster?
- A poster is mass-printed on lightweight wood-pulp paper that yellows within a decade. An open edition is a fine-art print made to order on heavyweight archival paper with pigment inks, hand-framed if you choose, and built to outlast the room it hangs in. Same production grade as a limited edition; only the impression count differs.