An edition is a declared run of signed, numbered impressions, usually from a matrix that is then destroyed, plus named proofs that are not the numbered edition. The record is the inscriptions and the cancelled surface. Tate already has the sequence: declare the size, sign and number the impressions, and, when the limit is a decision rather than a worn plate, destroy the surface. Proofs have names of their own, and a shop tile is not a substitute for that record. This page will not pretend an edition is for sale, and it will not name an artist or a lot.
Tate’s Art Term “Edition”: “Since the late nineteenth century the number of prints produced from a single plate or printing surface has usually been restricted and declared as a ‘limited edition’.” “Modern artists’ prints are usually limited to a specified number, anything between 2 and 1000 or more. Sometimes the quantity is dictated by the process — the plate wears out — but more commonly it is restricted by the artist or publisher, in which case the printing surface is usually destroyed.” “Editioned prints are usually signed, numbered, and often dated by the artist. An edition of twenty-five will be numbered 1/25, 2/25, etc.” The “2 and 1000 or more” range is Tate’s stated usual range, not a Glitxz edition size.
The same Tate entry: editioned prints “are usually accompanied by a number of proof prints, identical to the edition; those produced for artist are marked ‘AP’ (artist’s proof), those for the printer or publisher ‘PP’ (printer’s proof). A number of working proofs may also be made. ‘Bon à tirer’ (good to print) proofs provide a standard to guide the printer.” A proof is not a loose extra; it is a named class of impression.
Grand Valley State University Art Museum’s public printmaking glossary: “AP or Artist’s Proof — A designation on prints that conform to the edition, but are kept by the artist, usually numbering no more than 10% of the total edition.” “BAT (bon a tirer) — The designation on the proof that becomes the standard for an edition of prints (French ‘good to pull’).” The 10% figure is this museum glossary’s “usually,” not a statute and not a Glitxz rule.
A National Gallery of Australia Tyler Collection glossary that is often used for “cancellation proof” could not be opened in the research pass. This page does not define cancellation proof from memory. Tate’s already-opened line — the printing surface “is usually destroyed” when the edition is restricted by artist or publisher — is the honest public wording we have for closing the matrix.
The bill for a split system
An open-ended “edition” with no declared size and a living matrix. That is not what Tate describes as a limited edition. The number in the margin is a record only when the size was actually declared and the surface was actually closed; otherwise it is decoration.
Calling every extra print an artist’s proof, or treating AP as a marketing tier. AP, in the glossaries, conforms to the edition and is a designated class. GVSU’s usual 10% note, if mentioned, stays attributed to GVSU and is not made into a house cap.
Selling or previewing edition product that does not exist. The shop page is already honest; keep it that way. AIC Guideline 24 (written and pictorial records) and ICOM the glossary of that guide (documentation of the item, kept retrievable) are useful when an edition record is photographed or filed. They do not stock a shop.
A shared record, applied here
If a closed work is later editioned, write the edition size, the numbering, and which proofs exist, both in the journal and on the impression.
Keep a BAT, or an equivalent, as the standard the rest are pulled to.
Record that the matrix was closed, using Tate’s “usually destroyed” language rather than an unsourced definition of a cancellation proof.
Limits on this page
The house fee of 12% / 88% is already published in Terms, if it needs to be mentioned at all; it is not a research finding. This page is not legal advice on copyright, droit de suite, or authenticity certificates, and it is not a materials catalogue.
Sources
- Tate, Art Term, “Edition.” https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/e/edition
- Grand Valley State University Art Museum, “Learning Resource: Glossary of Printmaking Terms” (AP, BAT, the “usually… 10%” note). https://www.gvsu.edu/artmuseum/learning-resource-glossary-of-printmaking-terms-105
- AIC Code, Guideline 24 (written and pictorial records). https://www.culturalheritage.org/conservation-at-work/uphold-professional-standards/code
- ICOM Code of Ethics for Museums, revised 8 October 2004, §2.20. https://icom.museum/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/ICOM-code-En-web.pdf
- Glitxz Shop (honest empty / restocking). https://glitxz.com/shop
- Glitxz, “The artist closes the lot, not a clock.” https://glitxz.com/blog/the-artist-closes-the-lot
- Glitxz Terms of use. https://glitxz.com/terms
A situation like this
This is a worked example, not a listed artist. A later edition of 25, with a BAT and two APs, and a plate that was cancelled, would have a record that could survive a glossary.
Also in this section
- Photographing unfinished work — a session photograph is dated evidence, not a selling still.
- A public journal as provenance — provenance starts when the work starts, if someone writes it down.
- Inkjet, not giclée — the conservation name for a digitally printed sheet.
- What plotter art is and how it's made — a machine reads a file and draws with a pen.
- How to store and handle inkjet prints — cold storage for inkjet, without stacking or rolling the sheet.
Related: The artist closes the lot, The plotter had a hand in it, About, Apply, Terms.
If you print, the useful next step is to apply. When a first edition exists, the inscription should be able to survive a glossary. The shop is restocking; editions go up as works close, and first lots have not opened.
Author: Escherbridge. Last reviewed: 2026-11-10, America/Denver.