whats a common size of prints?

[HAPPYGUY_45]

I have no idea what to suggest to people about buying my prints. What is the common size to sell at?

 

[Box Brownie]

I have no idea what to suggest to people about buying my prints. What is the common size to sell at?

Common size for which genre of photography and as such the target customer(s)?

FWIW

My wildlife and nature prints range from:-

10x10inch

12x12 inch

12x8 inch

..........

to largest 24 x 16inch photocanvases.

 

[Gesture]

Good question.

I think 11 x 14 makes sense. Larger than our everyday "letter" size and yet reasonably affordable paper and final print costs and framing costs. I've been doing more and more of my prints at that size. 12 x 12 also makes sense to me for square images.

 

[NAwlins Contrarian]

I have no idea what to suggest to people about buying my prints. What is the common size to sell at?

There's really no correct answer here; so much depends on the images and the target audience. Also, it depends somewhat whether the image will be framed with an overmat that creates a thick border, or printed onto canvas and stretched over a frame, or what. That said, IMO for many people and locations, actual images areas of 11x14" and 16x20" are a sweet spot. Some images in some settings work well at 8x10" or even jewel-like 5x7" image areas. But the right image in the right space might well go 24x30", 30x40", or even 40x50". YMMV!

FWIW, I have a couple of my photos printed and framed in my office. They're 11x14" image areas mounted on 16x20" boards, with an overmat. I think that works well for the space, the images, and my taste. But again, YMMV!

 

[JohnSil]

I have no idea what to suggest to people about buying my prints. What is the common size to sell at?

You need to work with whatever size you're comfortable working with and what your files will support well.

For me I rarely print smaller than 16x20 and the bigger the better. If you're selling prints, it's hard to make any money with small prints. Good luck

John

 

[Keith Cooper]

All good info, but the key is knowing your market and what sells there.

'Sell what people will buy, not what you can make'

I'll agree with all the technical size info in this thread so far, but not knowing your market, and particularly who will buy your work is in many ways the biggest question.

It's location dependent too - I spent an hour or so in a small seaside gallery in Wales chatting about printing [the owner had seen some of my reviews].

A great time... I was able to help with a few colour management issues, and 'in return' the owner shared lots of observations about how people bought stuff, who they were and how she planned their print offerings.

So, types of image - which did well, which didn't. Image choices such as accepting that a real personal favourite just didn't sell.

As to sizes, A3 was the largest to sell - A3+ and a few big prints got attention but no sales.

Pre matted worked well, but mainly for small stuff.

The owner knew her business well enough, and the people who would come in the gallery. Equally well, she knew that her gallery as was wouldn't work so well in a bigger location. She also knew the local views which would catch people's attention.

 

[NAwlins Contrarian]

All good info, but the key is knowing your market and what sells there.

'Sell what people will buy, not what you can make'

I'll agree with all the technical size info in this thread so far, but not knowing your market, and particularly who will buy your work is in many ways the biggest question.

It's location dependent too - I spent an hour or so in a small seaside gallery in Wales chatting about printing [the owner had seen some of my reviews]....

As to sizes, A3 was the largest to sell - A3+ and a few big prints got attention but no sales.

To translate that into American, A3 = 11.7x16.6", pretty close to the 11x14" that I noted was my personal choice.* IMO, for most people that's the closest thing to the sweet spot for most typical spaces where most people might display framed prints.

*Yes, I'm aware that American paper sizes are centered around, and American paper weights (listed in pounds) are based on, ANSI C-size sheets, i.e., 17x22". And yes, in ANSI paper sizes, the next smaller size, ANSI B, is half of that, i.e. 11x17", what we sometimes call ledger-size. But most commercial photo printing operations don't offer ledger size, AFAIK it has never really been a popular photo print size, and 11x14" is the closest one we have. Anyway, we Americans proudly quote our print sizes based on the inch, as the King (Æthelberht) intended, not some platinum bar in Paris based on a bit of a mis-estimation of one ten-millionth of the distance from the equator to the North Pole along a great circle. Now if we can only start quoting paper weights in stone instead of pounds ...

 

[Keith Cooper]

All good info, but the key is knowing your market and what sells there.

'Sell what people will buy, not what you can make'

I'll agree with all the technical size info in this thread so far, but not knowing your market, and particularly who will buy your work is in many ways the biggest question.

It's location dependent too - I spent an hour or so in a small seaside gallery in Wales chatting about printing [the owner had seen some of my reviews]....

As to sizes, A3 was the largest to sell - A3+ and a few big prints got attention but no sales.

To translate that into American, A3 = 11.7x16.6", pretty close to the 11x14" that I noted was my personal choice.* IMO, for most people that's the closest thing to the sweet spot for most typical spaces where most people might display framed prints.

*Yes, I'm aware that American paper sizes are centered around, and American paper weights (listed in pounds) are based on, ANSI C-size sheets, i.e., 17x22". And yes, in ANSI paper sizes, the next smaller size, ANSI B, is half of that, i.e. 11x17", what we sometimes call ledger-size. But most commercial photo printing operations don't offer ledger size, AFAIK it has never really been a popular photo print size, and 11x14" is the closest one we have. Anyway, we Americans proudly quote our print sizes based on the inch, as the King (Æthelberht) intended, not some platinum bar in Paris based on a bit of a mis-estimation of one ten-millionth of the distance from the equator to the North Pole along a great circle. Now if we can only start quoting paper weights in stone instead of pounds ...

It's why we still weigh people in stones [14lbs] and pounds... ;-)

OK there is that kg stuff, but I still think of people's weights in stones, much as I think of summer temperatures in ºF but winter ones in ºC

 

[Schleiermacher]

When I sell prints a few times a year, the most popular size is 12"x18" or 12"x16" inches. If it’s a square photo, 12"x12" is my standard. These fit into an 18x24" or 16"x20" frame, which is most commonly what buyers want in their homes or offices. That seems to be the sweet spot for pricing and size for my clients.

--
Schleiermacher
www.mmathews.zenfolio.com
----------------------------------------------
'At our best and most fortunate we make pictures because of what stands in front of the camera, to honor what is greater and more interesting than we are. We never accomplish this perfectly, though in return we are given something perfect -- a sense of inclusion. Our subject thus redefines us, and is part of the biography by which we want to be known.' --Robert Adams, Why People Photograph

 

[Stan Disbrow]

Hi,

My highest sales are 16x20" and the next is 11x14".

And already in frames. So much so that I have quit carrying unframed prints.

Stan