Do My Prints Seem More Expensive? Here's Why
I'll be honest with you, if you've compared my prints to what you'd find on a big box print site or a cheaper print on demand service, mine probably do cost more. That's not an accident, and it's not me padding a margin for the sake of it. It comes down to a few very deliberate choices I've made about what I'm actually willing to put out into the world.
It starts with the paper
Every print I sell is produced on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Giclée paper, a genuinely archival, museum grade stock prized for its depth of colour and its texture. This isn't glossy photo paper, it has a real tooth to it, almost like the surface of the original painting itself, which matters enormously for work like mine, where colour and texture carry so much of the story.
Giclée printing itself uses archival pigment inks, not standard dye based ink, the same process museums and serious collectors expect, built to resist fading for generations rather than years. That alone puts it in a different category to a standard poster print.
Properly mounted, every time
I make sure every print is properly mounted before it ever reaches you, not just slipped into a frame unsupported. Mounting keeps the paper flat, protects it from warping or rippling over time, and gives it a clean, finished presentation whether it's framed or displayed as is. It's a small detail most people don't think about until it's missing, and it's one I'm not willing to skip, even though it adds cost.
Framing that's made to last
When a print is ordered framed, the frames themselves are solid wood from sustainable sources, built to a genuinely high standard. I wanted framing that felt like it belonged on a gallery wall, not something that would warp or feel flimsy a year in. They arrive ready to hang.
Signed, numbered, and genuinely yours
Every single print is digitally signed by me, and arrives with an exclusive Certificate of Authenticity, your signature and edition number, so you know exactly what you're holding and that it's genuinely part of a limited run, not an endless reprint.
Delivery that respects the work
Every order ships safe and tracked, worldwide, packaged sustainably every step of the way. I didn't want the care that went into the print itself to fall apart the moment it was shipped. It's actually one of the things I hear about most from people who've ordered, both prints and framed pieces, comments on just how carefully everything arrived, nothing shifted, nothing damaged, packaging that clearly wasn't an afterthought.
The one thing people say they'd change
The other comment that comes up again and again is size. More than a few people have told me they wished they'd gone larger once the print actually arrived and went up on the wall, it reads differently in a room than it does on a screen. If you're on the fence between two sizes, that's worth keeping in mind.
So, yes, more expensive. Here's what that actually buys you
Archival paper that won't yellow or fade in a decade. Real pigment ink. Proper mounting. Sustainably sourced wood framing. A genuine signature and certificate, not a generic print run. Packaging that gets it to you safely, wherever you are in the world. None of that is marketing language, it's just what it actually takes to make something worth hanging on a wall for the next twenty years, not the next two.
My work has always been about colour, about bringing a bit of sunshine into a grey day, about making something that genuinely lifts a room and the person standing in it. A print that fades, warps, or falls apart doesn't do that. These do! I hope this article was helpful! xo