That is a good question. When you say lithograph, I assume you are talking a 4-color offset lithographic print as opposed to a stone lithograph. If my assumption is correct, then one very basic difference is the cost to produce a serigraph versus a lithograph. Serigraphs can be quite costly to produce if you are going to use more than a few colors. You can easily spend well more than $100 per print to create a serigraph. By constrast, an offset print will be a fraction of the cost of a serigraph.

You didn't mention the giclee process. It has become the de facto choice for most new artists attempting to get prints into the market place. For instance, I attended the ArtExpo New York show last weekend. It is arguably the top art tradeshow for print artists looking for gallery representation in the mid range of the art print market. What I observed was a preponderance of giclees. There were numerous companies there promoting digital printing services including Epson, HP and others. There is concern by some parties who feel the obvious presence of technology hurts the value of the art presented there. I disagree, after all offset printing is also technology. Even serigraphy these days is highly automated. You rarely see "hand-pulled serigraphs" any more.

The chief advantage of the giclee process is its POD (Print-On-Demand) capability. Instead of betting thousands on printing an entire run, an artist can print a few and test the market with them. A much better financial decision for most artists seeking to break into the art print market.

Barney Davey

www.barneydavey.com