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Q: Fine Art Canvas Reproductions in Canada. Legalities? Copywrite? Machines? Files? ( Answered,   0 Comments )
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Subject: Fine Art Canvas Reproductions in Canada. Legalities? Copywrite? Machines? Files?
Category: Business and Money > eCommerce
Asked by: sixfinger-ga
List Price: $200.00
Posted: 22 Aug 2003 00:40 PDT
Expires: 21 Sep 2003 00:40 PDT
Question ID: 247550
I want to start an ebusiness located in Canada, hopefully shipping
worldwide. I see many new "art on canvas" businesses, but i need to
know these things: (all of them answered well for full $200.00)

1. Where do they get their high quality image scans? Library books?
Art Gallery Slides? Other? I've tried these and neither is working.
How does a new canvas company like http://art-prints-on-demand.com
have 40,000+ images? Cd Rom? I want crisp highly enlargeable images.
Where do i get them? Mine are highly pixelated and crappy. i want nice
scans like this lady:

http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/marrar/

3. Tell me how she (marrar) gets her prices so low?! Other canvas
companies charge 2 -3 X her amount? Does she use a different canvas
type from this company? They will not tell me!

http://art-prints-on-demand.com

4. Where should i buy my canvas? HP? Is there a Canadian distributor?
How do I pick a canvas type? What do I need to know about storage,
shelf life, compatibility, cold weather, lighting damage etc.

5. What about actual canvas printers. Good grief. How do i pick an
affordable printer that can deliver excellent prints with decent inks
and be compatible with my canvas? I need a Canadian, preferably
British Columbia business Right? What about tech issues, parts etc?
They range from $4000 to $60,000. I am just starting out, how can I
look professional and still save money/earn money?

6. What actual scanner or digital camera or optical camera do i need
to capture paintings and framed art works locally? What works the
best? I have a Canon Sure shot S30. Good enough? I have read that Creo
(sp?) scanners at 6000 dpi are the only solution. But they are
$10,000. Should I just rent time at a studio or invest and get a loan
to purchase one? Can I run it myself? Will I need a brain transplant?

7. What are the actual copy write laws concerning dead artists?
50years? I am mainly concerned with Canadian, Japanese, American,
European. What if I sold a Mucha painting to a Japanese citizen in
Japan from my business in Canada? How am I ever going to understand
these laws? Are the laws over the image alone? the scan i borrow from
the gallery? Can i advertise with a "Van Goh" on my business cards? Is
this business idea legal at all?

8. Finally where can I go to build a website with a team, that will
not soak me like a wet noodle newbie and still be able to afford them?
I want a Canadian preferably Vancouver BC company if possible.

sixfinger@hotmail.com
Answer  
Subject: Re: Fine Art Canvas Reproductions in Canada. Legalities? Copywrite? Machines? Files?
Answered By: belindalevez-ga on 22 Aug 2003 08:04 PDT
 
<1. Getting high quality images.

Famous paintings.
Images of these are sourced from companies like Art Resource. They
have a huge collection of images that can be licensed for commercial
applications. They have over 3 million images including the
collections of art museums.
http://www.artres.com/

Copyright free, high resolution images.
Excelsiordirect has available high resolution images of famous
paintings including those of Van Gogh. If you want to use them for a
commercial application you first need to contact Excelsior.
Excelsior Fine Art
http://www.excelsiordirect.com/fineart.htm

Van Gogh images
http://www.excelsiordirect.com/vangogh.htm

Terms of usage.
http://www.excelsiordirect.com/usage.htm

Living artists.
Many companies work with living artists and make agreements with
artists. They offer the artists a royalty payment for the right to
reproduce prints of the original artwork. These prints are made from
photographs of the original art works. Initial contact with the artist
is often made by email advertising. My husband is an artist and he
regularly gets mailings from these companies offering their services.
They also advertise widely in art magazines.

Artists will have a stock of paintings. Assuming an artist has 100
paintings. Finding 400 artists would give you 40,000 images. Getting
these images involves little cost on your part as the artist provides
the photographs. A photograph is all you initially need to place on
your website.

To make the print at its best quality you need to digitize the
original painting. You then need to colour correct the digital image
against the original. You don’t have to actually pay the artist
anything until you have received your money.

Sarasota Artworks explains how they work with artists at.
http://www.giclee-art-printing.com/getting_started.htm


2. How can this site sell them so cheaply.

The sizes of many of the works on the Marrar site are quite small. A
Monet reproduction of 12 x 12 inches costs $34.99
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2341429359

A similar picture offered by Monet on Canvas which measures 20 x 30
inches costs $69.95
http://www.monet-on-canvas.com/prod348.htm




The cost of actually producing the prints is relatively low. Marrar
doesn’t appear to have a  store or their own website. By selling via
ebay there are just the costs associated with this. They charge a
percentage of the selling price. The choice of prints is also very
limited this cuts down the cost of licensing.

Some one selling from a framing shop for example has lots of overheads
– rent, electricity, heat, local taxes, advertising costs, staffing
costs etc. Selling via a website there are the costs of developing the
site and  hosting costs.

In addition most operators will look to maximise the profit that they
can earn. The price of original art work is extremely high. So even a
high priced print is cheap in comparison. The fact that other
companies are charging 2 or 3 times the price does not mean it is
costing them 2 or 3 times the price to produce the prints. They are
most likely making a bigger profit on each print.

4. FLAAR recommend Fredrix artist canvas. They suggest that you should
first test the canvas to check its compatibility with your printer and
inks. More information is given in their free report “Media and Inks
for Producing Fine Art Giclee Prints”.
http://www.fineartgicleeprinters.org/canvas_photographic_paper_media/media_photopaper_artcanvas.html

Fredrix Artist Canvas
This company has been in business since 1868. They make a canvas
specially designed for printing. The canvas has a specially formulated
top coat for ink receptivity. They produce canvases specifically for
inkjet and iris printers. You can get free samples of their products
for testing by completing the form at
http://www.fredrixprintcanvas.com/pages/testsamples.html
The company sells wholesale to trade customers. For further
information contact Fredrix Artist Canvas, PO Box 646, Lawrenceville,
GA 30046 U.S.A. Their contact page also lists dealers, click on C to
find a list of Canadian dealers that sell their products.
http://www.fredrixartistcanvas.com/framecontact.html

Home page
http://www.fredrixartistcanvas.com/

Print Canvas
http://www.fredrixartistcanvas.com/frameproducts.html
http://www.fredrixprintcanvas.com/
Types of print canvas
http://www.fredrixprintcanvas.com/pages/productdescriptions.html

To prolong the life of a print they suggest finishing it off with a
U.V. protective coating.
For questions about the technical aspects of Fredrix Canvas you should
contact 1-800-241-8129 Ext. 123
http://www.fredrixprintcanvas.com/pages/morequestions.html


Storing canvas
Canvas is susceptible to damage from growth of mould and from insects.
As a general guide canvas should be stored in cool, dry conditions and
protected from damage by insects. Individual manufacturers should be
contacted for advice on storing their products.
According to this site HP Canvas-Matte has a shelf life of 24 months.
It should be stored and converted under conditions of 20-60% relative
humidity and at a temperature of 10-30 degrees C.
http://216.239.53.104/search?q=cache:HbhCIJ4KMHoJ:www.hp.cz/spotrebak/pdf/q7966a_en.pdf+canvas+%22shelf+life%22&hl=en&ie=UTF-8


5. Printers

FineArtGicleePrinters.org recommends using an Epson 7600 at entry
level this costs under $3000. At a higher level there is HPDesignJet
at under $10,000. Mimaki JV4 costs under $30,000. At the highest level
the Iris 3047 costs $48,000.
http://www.fineartgicleeprinters.org/

They recommend the HP Design Jet for a start up business. The inks
have stability and longevity ratings for between150 and 200 years when
displayed in museum like conditions.
HP Design Jet
http://www.fineartgicleeprinters.org/Hewlett-PackardDesignJet_5000ps/HP_DesignJet_5000ps_HP_5000.htm
HP UV inks.
http://www.fineartgicleeprinters.org/archival_pigmented_inks_HP_5000/archival_pigmented_inks_HP.html

Colorspan
http://www.fineartgicleeprinters.org/Colorspan_wide_format_printers/Colorspanwideformatprinter.html

If you need help deciding which printer or ink to use you can contact
FLAAR by completing the form on this page. They are a non-profit
organisation and offer free information. They provide reports on
preparing a business plan, how to achieve great prints, business
survival, media and inks, trade shows and much more.
http://www.fineartgicleeprinters.org/form_fine_art_giclee/fineartgiclee_free_reports.html

Second hand equipment is offered for sale at
http://www.digitalartsupplies.com/usedequipment.html

6. Capturing the image is the most important processes. It therefore
does not pay to skimp on the cost of a good scanner. A good scanner
like a  CreoScitex EverSmart Supreme or ICG drum scanner can cost as
much as $45,900. For professional use FLAAR recommends using a scanner
from Cruse Gmbh.
http://www.fineartgicleeprinters.org/flatbed_scannerforfineartprints/flatbedscannerfineartprint.html

Cruse Digital Equipment.
http://www.crusedigital.com/home.html
Cruse Scanners
http://www.crusedigital.com/scanners.html

As you are working on a budget it is probably more cost effective to
rent time on someone else’s scanner until you are certain that you
have a viable business.


7. Copyright.
Copyright is a complex issue and great care should be taken to ensure
that you do not infringe any copyrights. The length of copyright
depends on when the work was made. An explanation is given at
http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html#hlc

Dead artists.
Reproducing a dead artist’s work is not just subject to copyright laws
but also laws regarding private property. Even though an artist may be
dead, you still need permission to publish a photograph of the work.
If a work is in a museum or private collection you need to get
permission from the owner of the work. You can’t for example
photograph a work in a museum, you will need to ask for permission
first.  For photographs of works you need to get permission of the
owner of the copyright on the photo. This may be the photographer but
may also be a publisher. If a photograph is in a book or magazine, you
need will need to get permission from the copyright owner.

The easiest way to get around these issues is to obtain photographs
from companies who specialise in providing stock photography like Art
Resource. They take on the responsibility of getting the necessary
permissions and licenses to use the photographs.

The United States Copyright Office provides detailed information about
copyright.
http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/

A brief guide to copyright issues is given at.
http://www.medialawyer.com/lec-copy.htm

8. Web design.

One of the best value Vancouver companies that I found was Synthium.
They charge between $150 – 500 for a 4-12 page small business site.
http://www.synthium.net/webdesign.html

Examples of other prices:

Radiant Communications offer a Small Business Solution. Prices are
from $119.00 per month and a $199.00 activation fee.
http://www.radiant.net/sbs_bens.cfm
Prices
http://www.radiant.net/sbs_prices.cfm
Home
http://www.radiant.ca/VANCOUVER_WEB_SITE_DESIGN_E-COMMERCE_SOLUTIONS.HTML

Jam Internet Consulting
Example of pricing are for a 20 page advanced web design with four
photographs per page costs $1,923. An ecommerce package with over 100
website products costs $655. Monthly website hosting costs $27.
http://www.jamconsulting.bc.ca/Vancouver/eCommerce.aspx?pg=1016


Shop in a box solution.

There are a number of companies that offer shopping cart software at a
low price.
Shop factory prices start from $179.00
http://www.shopfactory.com/

Creating an online shop can be accomplished by using software like
EasyShopMaker Pro. Up to 50,000 products can be added.
http://www.easyshopmaker.com/google_shop.php

Shopping cart software costs $99
http://www.online-store.co.uk/registration.shtml
An example store – monetprints.com
http://www.monetprints.co.uk/

Store Front
http://www.storefront.net/google/?referer=googleAd1>


<Additional links:>
Fast Frame Franchise opportunities – they have a breakdown of set up
costs which may be helpful to you.
http://www.fastframe.com/index2.html


<Search strategy:>

<"art prints" franchises>
<://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22art+prints%22+franchises>

<"commercial use" "stock photography>
<://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22commercial+use%22+%22stock+photography%22+%22famous+paintings%22>

<"copyright free" "art images" "van gogh">
<://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22copyright+free%22+%22art+images%22+%22van+gogh%22>

<"giclee" "scanning equipment">
<://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22giclee%22+%22scanning+equipment%22>

<"giclee prints" business>
<://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22giclee+prints%22+business>

<"shopping cart software">
<://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22shopping+cart+software%22>


<Hope this helps.>
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