A Guide to Ordering Fine Art Prints of Your Artwork in Ireland

If you’re an artist, illustrator or photographer looking to turn your work into beautiful, professional prints, knowing where to start can be surprisingly difficult.

What file should you send? Which paper should you choose? How large can you print your artwork? Should you order one print or an entire edition? And what should you consider if the finished piece is going to be framed?

At Strand Framing in Clonakilty, West Cork, we work with artists to help turn original artwork and digital files into professionally presented prints. In this guide, we’ll take you through the main things to consider when ordering prints of your artwork.

Start With the Best Possible Image

A great print starts with a great digital file.

If you create your artwork digitally or work in photography, you may already have a high-resolution file suitable for printing.

For paintings, drawings, watercolours and other original artwork, you'll first need a high-quality digital reproduction of the piece. The better the original file, the more detail we have to work with when producing the print.

Resolution becomes particularly important if you want to reproduce your artwork at a larger size. A file that looks perfectly sharp on Instagram or your website isn't necessarily large enough for a high-quality art print.

If you're unsure whether your file is suitable, it's worth checking before deciding on your final print size.

Choose the Right Print Size

A common question we hear from artists is:

“How big can I print this?”

The answer depends on the resolution and quality of your original file, as well as the proportions of the artwork itself.

You also need to think about what you're creating the prints for.

If you're building a collection to sell online or at markets, standardised sizes can make stock, packaging and framing easier to manage.

If you're reproducing a particular original artwork, however, keeping its original proportions may be more important than fitting it into a standard paper size.

And if the print will eventually be framed, it makes sense to think about the finished framed size from the beginning.

Should You Add a White Border?

You can have your artwork printed with or without a border, depending on the look you're trying to achieve.

A white border can be useful if you intend to sign the print or add an edition number. It can also give the artwork some visual breathing room and provide flexibility when mounting and framing.

Alternatively, you might prefer the image to fill the entire print.

There's no single correct approach. The important thing is deciding how you want the finished piece to look before ordering a larger quantity.

Choosing Paper for Your Art Prints

Paper has a huge influence on the finished print.

The same artwork can look and feel very different depending on whether it's printed on a smooth paper or one with a more pronounced texture.

For illustration, photography and artwork containing very fine detail, a smoother surface may work particularly well.

For watercolours, paintings and other traditional media, a textured fine art paper can help retain some of the character and tactile quality of the original.

When you're planning to sell your work, paper is also part of the customer's experience. Its weight, surface and feel all contribute to the perceived quality of the finished print.

If you're unsure which paper will best suit your artwork, talk to us about the options rather than choosing purely from a description online.

Consider Ordering a Test Print

If you're planning a larger print run, we'd recommend seeing the artwork physically printed first.

Screens and paper behave differently. Colours can appear brighter on a backlit monitor or phone than they do once they're reproduced with ink on paper.

A test print gives you an opportunity to look at the colour, detail, contrast, paper and overall scale before committing to a larger quantity.

It's particularly worthwhile when you're creating prints that you're going to sell under your own name.

Open Edition or Limited Edition?

Before ordering, consider whether your prints will be sold as an open edition or a limited edition.

An open edition can continue to be reproduced for as long as you want to sell it.

With a limited edition, you decide in advance how many prints will be produced. You might create an edition of 25, 50 or 100, for example.

Artists will often sign and number limited-edition prints:

1/50, 2/50, 3/50…

If you're producing a limited edition, it's worth keeping a simple record of the prints you've sold and their edition numbers.

You Don't Have to Order Huge Quantities

For independent artists, having boxes of unsold prints sitting in the studio isn't always the best use of money or space.

If you're launching a new collection or testing which pieces your customers respond to, it can make sense to begin with smaller quantities.

You can then order more of the designs that sell.

This is particularly useful for artists selling through their own websites, exhibitions, galleries, craft fairs and markets around Cork and throughout Ireland.

Think About Framing Before You Print

This is one area where a little planning can save a lot of hassle.

If you know that some or all of your prints will eventually be framed, consider the framing options before deciding on the final print dimensions.

The dimensions of the artwork, white border, mount and frame all work together.

Planning these elements at the same time can also help you develop a consistent presentation across an entire collection.

For example, you might offer customers:

• Print only
• Mounted print
• Professionally framed print

This gives customers different options and price points while keeping the artwork itself consistent.

And because Strand specialises in both printing and bespoke framing, we can consider the print and its final presentation together rather than treating them as two completely separate jobs.

Ordering Prints From Strand Framing in Clonakilty

Whether you're producing your first collection of prints or you're an established artist preparing another edition, we're happy to talk through the project with you.

Printing technology	Best suited to	Typical longevity*	Rough cost**	Key benefit

Fine Art / Giclée Pigment Inkjet

Paintings, watercolours, illustration, photography & limited editions

50–100+ years

€€€

Excellent detail, colour and choice of archival fine art papers

Photographic Printing

Photography & photographic artwork

30–100+ years

€€–€€€

Excellent tonal reproduction and photographic finishes

Dye-Based Inkjet

Photography, proofs & general art printing

10–50+ years

€–€€

Vibrant colour at a lower cost

Digital Toner Printing

Posters, cards, promotional prints & larger runs

10–30+ years

€

Economical and efficient, particularly at higher quantities

Ready to Print Your Artwork?

If you have an artwork or digital file you'd like to turn into a professional print, get in touch with Strand Framing.

We can help you choose a print size and paper that suits the work, discuss quantities, and explore framing options if you'd like to offer your artwork as a finished framed piece.

Contact Strand Framing to discuss your next print project.