Printing size to allow for signing

To all you pros out there (or whoever wants to answer me), I have a question regarding your printing process: How do you allow for room for your autograph on the print? Do you simply print on a bigger size sheet than the actual picture and leave a solid border (it seems to me that a solid black border would eat up a lot of ink), or do you simply sign the picture itself? Or am I completely out to lunch on this and there is a way to do it that I haven't though of?

Hi Jeff,

I just wanted to "chime in" and let you know that I was thinking about asking this same question this morning on my way to work. Just goes to show that what my teachers always said about not being shy to ask questions because there were probably 3 or 4 others in class that had the same one is true............................... Anxious to here what others have to say!!

Hey Jeff, I sign on the mat thats placed over the print. Sometimes signing the mat can be a problem if the buyer is going to change the mat, then they lose the signing and limited edition number. Signing the print can be tough sometimes finding a place at the lower left or right where it will be visible and not be lost if the print is very detailed. Different permanent pens are available at art stores in black, gold, silver for siging on the prints. I find it much easier to sign the mat below the print and very rarely have a problem with a buyer. If your selling the print only then you'll have to find a place to sign on the image unless you allow for a border when printing.

Unless someone wants it done differently, I leave a white border around the print and sign in the white field below the print. When I mat, I almost always mat so there's a narrow white border between print and mat on both sides and top, with a deeper white border along the bottom so the signature shows. For those who don't want to mat it this way, I sign across the bottom right corner of the print itself in whatever color ink shows up against the field of the image. I have on occasion signed the mat itself when a customer has it mounted and matted and shipped to me for signature, and then I ship back to them so they can frame it, but that gets to be quite a rigamarole.

Like Steve, I leave a visible 3/8" to 3/4" (print size dependent) white border around the image area in which I sign. There is no right way or wrong way. You do what feels right and best to you.

Thanks a lot guys, that helps a lot.

Jeff and Mitch,

If you sign directly on the print, be sure to place your signature so that the matt does not hide it; or worse, cover only a part of your signature. Always use an acid-free pen, too.

-PB

That's a good reminder, Preston. Acid-free pen and mat and mount are surely the way to go.

As someone yet with a tiny reputation in fine art photography, I don't expect most customers to really care about signature issues. Maybe years in the future if my reputation becomes more prominent, I might change. Years ago during periods I had an active photog business, I grew to dislike signing my prints. And as is commonly done, signed fully framed prints on the white mats. Since these days I just sell unmatted, unframed prints, I instead have a discrete digital signature in the image area:

"The color of each such digital signature has been muted to nearly blend in with the image so as not to be aesthetically detracting. Most signatures are at frame bottom edges left or right corners, at least 3/16 inch from edges in order to be visible after minimal matting."
This link in that section shows an image of my digital signatures:

http://www.davidsenesac.com/crops/02p1-16_crop_corner.html

I also hand sign on the print white space before customer shipment. So unless someone makes special arrangements, there isn't going to be the usual mat signature. ...David

I initial on the print. If I mat myself, I sign on the mat. If I don't, there's still the initials on the print. It's easy for me.