I physically signed on the print with a silver pen Brian Auer had. - Bryan Villarin

Thanks Bryan! I'm really curious to see if anyone does this digitally and how they accomplish it. - Justin Korn

You could create a handwritten watermark if you have a Wacom tablet and some kind of inking program. I've used my Wacom tablet and Skitch (Mac app) to ink out captions for Polaroid scans I posted on Flickr: 1. http://www.flickr.com/photos... 2. http://www.flickr.com/photos... - Cheryl Jones

I've never sold a print. I gave one to Scoble. Donated one for a Flickr Katrina Relief Auction and am about to put one in another charity auction for school arts programs. I signed the one I gave to Scoble on the mat I think, the one from the Flickr auction on the back of the print and the one for the school charity auction on the back of the mat. - Thomas Hawk

I leave about a 1/2" to 1" border on all sides, maybe a bit extra at the bottom. Then I sign below the print with an archival paint pen found at most art stores (black or silver depending on the print). Name of print, year taken, and print number on the left -- signature on the right. The intent is to have the print matted outside of the actual print area, leaving the signature visible. For my square aspect photos, I'll sometimes sign right on the print so that the 1:1 ratio can be maintained. - Brian Auer

ooh! good topic. I just framed my first print on the weekend and was thinking of signing it but wasn't sure what the "standard" was. or if one even existed. I think I like adding the Name of print, year taken along with a signature! - Nathalie

I'm curious why you'd want to sign digitally. A signature is like your seal of approval stating that you made the print or at least oversaw it's creation and that the print is up to your standards. It's also the one thing that makes the print special and unique. - Brian Auer

I've signed on the mat but I really like Brian Auer's method! - Rachel Lea Fox

I've signed the mat around the photo, along with the printed title of the shot. I would not sign digitally -- to me that seems to detract from the originality of the piece. I like Brian's method as well. I think I will try that next time I print. - Jeremy Brooks

Signing the mat is just fine too, I've seen plenty of people do it that way. But I'd only sign the mat if it were permanently adhered to the photo. - Brian Auer

Back of the print. Don't trust signing the mat, and I see no advantage in signing the front of the print. And signing digitally makes no sense, at least to me. Like Brian mentioned, a signature is a "seal of approval". Non-signed prints I consider reproductions whose printing process may or may not have been overseen by me. - Antonio Marques

I think I'd rather sign on the photo vs the mat as well. and not digitally. as far as leaving a border on all sides, I'm trying to picture in my head how this looks once framed and matted. wouldn't it take attention away from the shot to have a border on the photo, then the the mat then the frame? do you have an example so I can see what it looks like. I love the idea of putting the title but without this border, I also worry that it would cover up a key part of the image. (yes. I over analyse a lot) - Nathalie

I love stepping away to do work and seeing the conversation bloom! Great conversation going. @Brian - I'd love to see an example of how you do your border as well if possible. I think that's a great idea and actually one I had thought of, but wasn't sure how to do it. For example, if you have an 8x10 print and add a 1" border to all sides, your aspect ratio is off. Also, like Nathalie said, doesn't the border through the image off a bit as far as how it displays within the mat and frame? I'm starting to think signing the back is the best option however, I'm very curious to see how Brian is doing his borders :) In the past, I've donated a few prints and signed the mat, but really didn't like that approach. - Justin Korn

Nathalie, here's a shot of 3 prints hanging on my wall right now (from other photographers). -- http://www.flickr.com/photos... -- The one on the left is signed and matted the way I typically do it with the border. The one in the middle is signed right on the print and is matted with no border. The one on the right is matted with no border and signed on the mat. - Brian Auer

Oh, and when I say "border" I just mean white space around the edge of the photo. I don't print an actual border on my photos. @Justin, as for the standard aspect ratio thing... I go under the assumption that the print will be custom matted -- it's not terribly expensive, even from a professional framer. - Brian Auer

ooooh! that looks good! maybe I have to shop around because when I looked into custom mats - they'd run me about 15$ a piece. or more. I'm cheap. 15$ is a lot of money if you're framing lots. - Nathalie

@Nathalie: If you're framing a lot of pieces, look into a mat cutter. Then you can purchase the full size pieces of mat material and cut your own. It's very easy to cut them, and you end up with exactly the mat you want. - Jeremy Brooks

Brian - I figured you meant white space. I'm trying to streamline my process as much as possible and by doing so, I will be allowing clients to purchase frames and mats right from my storefront. This means the final product needs to be in one of the generally accepted aspect ratios. That said, I could easily add a 1in border to the sides and 2in to the top and bottom on an 8x10 to make it 9x12 without an issue. Maybe I'm going about this all wrong. Should I only be offering fine art prints in predetermined sizes, not allowing the client to choose? - Justin Korn from IM

Justin - Offering multiple sizes with mat and frame can be a daunting task indeed. This is why I usually offer just the print and allow the buyer to mat and frame as they see fit. If somebody wants me to mat the print, I'll usually have it mounted on gatorboard and matted with the external dimensions being a standard size. So a 14" or 16" print will be mounted to a 16x20 board with a custom mat window -- that way it can be dropped into a standard frame. - Brian Auer

I think a blog post series is in order... I'll see if I can post the intro tonight and get some feedback on which topics people want to learn more about. Between myself and the knowledgeable readers of Epic Edits, I think we can put together a good solid guide for printing, signing, mounting, matting, framing, and shipping these things. - Brian Auer

Andy: You will end up with some waste, but many of the smaller pieces can be used again, for smaller prints. I have found that cutting mats myself saves me money over custom cut sizes, even with the waste. - Jeremy Brooks

I like your thinking Brian. Looking forward to the post(s)... - Justin Korn from IM

That will be a good series, Brian! I have an example of a square format photo that I mounted in an oversized mat and framed in a 16x20 frame that gets really good feedback. Maybe a post on doing mounting/framing outside of the box would be interesting. - Jeremy Brooks

Really looking forward to the square format info!! - Nathalie

Jeremy - for sure! I recently did an 11x11 print mounted to a 16x20 board in the vertical orientation with the window slightly above center. Square formats definitely give you the extra options. - Brian Auer

Feverishly working on an intro for this blog series... I'm really excited to get this discussion off the ground!!! Thanks for the inspiration, guys! - Brian Auer

Ok gang... here's the start of the blog series. Looking for some feedback and direction in this introductory post: http://blog.epicedits.com/2009... - Brian Auer

Awesome! I'm really looking forward to this series Brian! - Justin Korn from IM

Brian - I was going to write this to you directly, but thought maybe the community would benefit from it as well. I noticed you use ImageKind (or at least have a link on your website to it). How do you like their offerings? Would you recommend it? If you had a customer order something from there, how would you place your "seal of approval" then? - Justin Korn

Justin - I like the quality from ImageKind and I would recommend their products. I've ordered several prints from them just to test the quality. But... I wouldn't sign a print from ImageKind. The prints I sell from IK are unsigned only. I prefer to have complete control over the quality of my signed prints, so I utilize a professional printer in my local area (and I watch over the print as it's produced). - Brian Auer

Brain - Thanks! That makes sense. - Justin Korn from IM

Hey Justin, I know you started this topic because you probably need immediate answers, so email me directly if you want some 1 on 1 conversation. The blog series will probably take a few weeks to wrap up. - Brian Auer

Thanks Brian! I'm going to let this information sync in for a day or two and I'll get to you directly if anything comes up. I really appreciate your input so far! - Justin Korn from IM

I tend to take a practical approach. I always sign the print itself on the lower white border of the print with an archival pen. Most of the time I'm using a pre-cut mat at a standard size and printing the image to the same size (8x10 mat opening with an 8x10 image size) to keep my costs down. This means the mat will cover the signature and number. If I'm showing and not sure of sale, I won't sign the mat as odds are good I will want to reuse it after the show. If this is a sale, then I'll sign the mat but with a pencil so it doesn't stand out as much. If I was going to custom cut the mat (rare as I usually don't have the time), then I might cut the opening larger than the print so the signature is visible. The mat is not permanent hence why I always sign the print. - Greg Lato

Here is a better question: limited edition or not? If limited edition, what does that mean and how do you enforce and track it? - Greg Lato

Ah yes... a touchy subject! The term "limited edition" has legal implications for each country and state. I prefer to offer my prints as "limited signed prints" rather than limited editions. In the digital age, limited editions are far more complicated than most photographer would think. http://blog.epicedits.com/2008... - Brian Auer