While Art Prints, including lithographs, screenprints, etchings, etc., are a quintessential medium within contemporary art and one of the principal forms of artistic expression, posters are simply a mechanical reproduction of an original artwork.
Art Prints are actually created, in limited numbers, by the artist, who signs and numbers each piece, in most cases.
Other major differences include:
- Art Pints are often printed with quality ink on archival or other artistic papers. A poster is generally printed on a standard glossy paper with standard ink and generally deteriorates quickly.
- An Art Print has the potential to rise in value. On the other hand, most posters will rarely do so. In fact, a large portion of contemporary art auctions is dedicated to Art Prints.
- The prices of Art Prints can vary from less than a $100 / €100 for works by emerging artists to hundreds of thousands of dollars (euros) for rare Art Prints by masters, such as Picasso. The price of the majority of posters is generally less than $100 / €100.
- Art Prints should be accompanied by Certificates of Authenticity signed by the artist or the dealer / gallery; where as generic posters are not.