COMMISSION - Negotiations

ORIGINAL 3 PRINTS

I have had some prints on display at Bramble Bakehouse for a few months and have had a commission from a cafe customer. The original display was of a set of 3 prints I completed for the 'Tales Told' festival which is held in Aireborough and covers art, theatre and musical events within the community. I had produced these prints of 3 local clock towers as part of an exhibition last year. In the festival's second year, I was asked to exhibit my prints again but also display them in a cafe for several months.

I have had several sales from the cafe but have just received an enquiry for 2 new local illustrations to be commissioned. 

The client has asked for 2 new local landmarks to be added to the series of limited edition screen prints.

INITIAL CONSIDERATIONS

- great opportunity to respond to a client brief

- great practice for professional communication and negotiation skills

- people want my work!

- the original prints weren't a personal project and I don't like them

- the cost of originating and producing 2 new limited edition screen prints is high, both in time and financially

FORMULATING A PRICE

I was selling the original 3 prints at £8 each, reduced from the initial selling price of £10 as I simply wanted rid but I now need to cost 2 other screen prints from start to finish rather than just as finished prints. 

The client has already purchased the initial set of 3 prints so I have calculated my costings for origination and production of 2 new prints. Advice from print-making artist Brian Hindmarch has helped me to clarify the value of my time and work, as well as the knowledge of the time and process required to produce the original 3.

Costing for origination and printing of 2 limited edition prints:

• Originate and print artwork - up to 10 hours (production of image 3 hours, preparation of screens 2 hours, printing 5 hours)
• Materials (screens, 4 colour inks + black, paper stock) 
• Limited edition run of 10 prints of each illustration

Total cost of commission £100.

PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED IN COSTINGS

As this is not a personal project, I would not be keeping the screens after print, and so I would be carrying out a limited edition run of 10 prints of each image. While this is appropriate in the sense that the client has requested two new images and I would like them to feel that the prints are unique and personal, this also increases costs due to the limited edition and the client has to cover the cost of producing more prints than they require. Running a limited edition for me however, means that I am not left with a mass of prints that I am not particularly invested in and also reduced printing time.

Origination of two new prints means that I have to cost the prints from the initial drawing through to the finished print, specifically for a client, whereas the original set was priced for the cost of the artwork and process at my own disgression. 

CLIENT FEEDBACK

The client has responded to my costings and was not expecting the commission to be quite as expensive so has asked for costings for 1 new image. As I know that the client is not familiar with the screen print process, I have taken the time to explain this and they understand the appropriate costings. 

Economies of scale would mean that just 1 new image would not be particularly much cheaper than the price of commissioning 2 new images as there is large amount of processing in order to screen print that would apply across any number of prints. If I was printing two 3-colour images I would have 3 screens, one for each layer of both prints. However, if I print just one image, I would still need a screen per layer. I would estimate this to be around £75 for one image.

In order to meet the client's request of the 2 images, at a cost that is affordable to them, I have an alternative to screen print. Another option is for me to make the new images as digital prints. I would construct the images in layers as I would to create a screen print but would digitally colour and overlay these. This is a process I use regularly in my practice when I am wanting a screen-print aesthetic with the flexibility of a digital file. As this would not require any of the process of preparing and exposing silk screens, and the images could be easily re-produced, these would be much cheaper to make.

Costing for origination and printing of 2 digital prints:

Originate and print artwork - up to 6 hours (production of images 3 hours, construction of digital image and print around 3 hours)

Materials (paper stock and ink)

2 original digital prints

My total cost for this commission would be £35.

I am now waiting for the go ahead . . .