plaque mounting - how small is too small?

I need to put together a collection of a 8-10 plaque mounted prints for a local "gallery" (OK, full disclosure: a Hallmark store with some Wyoming art and other misc. stuff). The majority of the pieces need to be affordable to sell - probably in the $250 or less range. I want to include a few larger (e.g., 24x30) plaque mounted prints, but also need numerous smaller, more affordable pieces. I've been thinking of the following standard sizes for non-panoramic prints: 24x30, 16x20, and 12x18. My question is this: is 12x18 too small? Throw a 3-inch mat and a frame around a 12x18 and you have a reasonably-sized piece, but a plaque mounted 12x18 is relatively small. $150 for a traditionally framed 12x18 seems reasonable to most customers, but would $130 for a 12x18 seem like too much given the smaller size of the entire piece? Any advice or experience (Erik?!) with such issues would be welcome!

Thanks,

Brett

The actual cost of plaque mounting is pretty economical and if you have a reseller's license you can generally get a good discount on retail prices. I know Artist Showcase gives a generous discount. I view plaque mounting as a significant savings over matting and framing with superior display/hanging qualities. I think this opens up the possibility to price pieces very competitively. If you're prices are good and you still make the profit you want, the size won't matter, IMO.

When I was evaluating Artist Showcase, I had an 8.5x11 sample mounted. That sample is still on my wall and looks fine. I think 12x18 would be a perfectly acceptable size. Even though the matte and frame make a piece's area on a wall larger, the area of focus is still the image. I don't think plaque mounting detracts from that.

I've had several 13X19 float mounts made at Artist Showcase and they are fine. What is even better is a double float or plaque on a float. That way you have a border of about 3" all the way around. If you have a resellers license, you can save considerably, keep the cost down to Hallmark and still make a good profit. You can figure aobut $60 for the mount plus print cost. If you print at home, then $175-200 should give you some profit. If your work is really good, then you should ask for more, especially if they are signed.

Jack

I have the majority of my prints plaqued in either 11x14 or 16x20. It seems the market right now is for really big prints or smaller ones. I can get a 11x14 plaqued for $16 or a 16x20 for 27.50. If anyone wants to know more send me an email. You can also do a lot of variations on plaque mounting such as on an aluminum sheet with a float mount. You can also do shapes or even mount them on 3/8 plexiglas that lets light shine thru and is dishwasher safe. My opinion on the smaller sizes is that you can put up a decent collection on the wall. If i were to go out to buy a print i would look for something in these sizes.

Thanks guys, this is very helpful! I do have a reseller's license, and have been using Artist Showcase for the past year and have nothing but great things to say about their work. I've been box mounting because I look the more substantial look over plaque mounting, but the cost is higher, especially on big pieces, and I wonder if customers really care about this difference. I've not tried the float or "plaque on plaque" mounts but these look nice also. I'm about to make a large order and I guess I'm hoping for some inspiration before deciding how to frame my prints, and at what size to make them.

Hey Brett, I just got in and saw your post. I sell quite a few 10x15 plaques and have even sold some 8x10s. One of the things I have learned is that intimate shots (flowers, macro, detail shots) sell much better in smaller sizes than landscape scenes. I find that the landscape scenes in small sizes are good for helping people realize that they need to order them much larger to get that sense of drama and sense of being there. The comparison is helpful. I just dropped off several more orders at Artist Showcase including a 45"x67" and a 48"x96" piece. That may be a little larger than space would permit at Hallmark. Good luck on the pieces! Also, for the small ones I do prefer the boxes as it does give them a bit more substance without much increase in cost. There are a number of new mounts which you may want to experiment with such as plaque on plaque with back float. They are pretty cool looking!

Thanks Erik! That makes a lot of sense. Aside from box mounting, what other styles have you and/or your customers found appealing?

I'm going to buck the trend here and say that I do not like small images plaque mounted. I do fully understand and appreciate the reasons for plaque mounting these sizes. But I prefer a traditional overmat and framed presentation for small images. For my own tastes, I would not consider plaque mounting for images smaller than 16X20 and even at that size I prefer a framed image. However, by 24X36 practical issues with framing start to make plaque mounting a much more appealing option. That said, if I were to run a gallery as Erik does, I think I would prefer a consistent look throughout the gallery and if I wanted to sell very large images I would have to favor plaque mounting.

Mel-