People sometimes wonder if there are any secrets to selling art prints that they might not be aware of. There are several and today we want to talk about one. If you are reselling your art prints, the paper you choose can help you more than you may realize. It is not just carrying the image, it is helping your customer decide whether your price feels reasonable, whether your work feels professional, and whether your brand feels established. Many artists using FinerWorks start with a single paper option, often archival matte, and that is usually the right move. As your business grows, however, paper choice becomes a powerful way to shape how buyers experience and value your work.
A Common Starting Point, Open Edition Prints
Imagine you are selling open edition prints on Etsy or in your Shopify store in the thirty to fifty dollar range. Your buyers are often decorating a home or buying a gift, not building a fine art collection. In this scenario, archival matte paper makes a lot of sense. It looks clean, photographs well for online listings, ships safely, and keeps your production costs predictable. Choosing a more expensive cotton rag paper here would likely force you to raise prices in a way that feels hard to justify to your audience. In this case, sticking with archival matte is not a compromise, it is a smart business decision.
When an Upgrade Changes the Conversation
Now imagine a different scenario. You are releasing a limited edition run of a popular piece, perhaps signed and numbered, priced at one hundred fifty dollars or more. Buyers at this level expect something special. This is where a paper like Hahnemühle Photo Rag starts working for you. When you describe the print as being produced on museum grade cotton paper used by galleries and collectors, the paper becomes part of the artwork’s story. The customer is no longer comparing your print to a poster, they are comparing it to fine art they might see in a gallery. That shift alone can remove price resistance.
Using Paper to Support Your Brand Identity
Paper choice can also help reinforce the type of artist you are. For example, if your work is highly detailed photography with smooth tonal transitions and deep shadows, a higher tier paper can visibly preserve those details. When customers receive the print and notice the depth and texture, it reinforces their confidence in you as a professional. On the other hand, if your work is graphic, bold, or illustration based, a smooth archival matte paper often looks just as good and sometimes even better. Matching the paper to the artwork shows intention, and buyers pick up on that even if they cannot articulate why.
Upselling the Same Print Within One Listing
One of the simplest and most effective ways to increase your revenue is to offer premium paper as an upsell in the same online listing. This requires little effort but can provide significant rewards. You do not need to create an entirely new product, you simply add a variant of the same artwork with a different size or higher tier paper. For example, you might already offer an 11 by 14 print on archival matte paper. Why not offer the same artwork as an 11 by 14 print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag at a higher price point? This gives your buyer a clear choice between a standard option and a premium option and lets you capture more profit without extra work. Offering upsells in the same listing is easy, it requires minimal management, and it allows buyers to select the option that best fits their needs while supporting your bottom line. It is a win-win for both you and your customers.
Even small prints can benefit from this approach. For example, an 8 by 10 print on archival matte might sell for twenty-five dollars, with production cost around five dollars. Offering the same print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag for thirty-five dollars, with a production cost of seven dollars, allows you to capture additional profit while giving buyers a choice. Many customers are willing to pay a modest premium for the assurance of a high quality paper, especially when it is clearly described as gallery standard or collector grade. The extra effort for you is minimal, while the return can be substantial.
Upselling also works when combining size and paper upgrades. Suppose you have an 11 by 14 print on archival matte priced at forty dollars. You could offer a variant of that same artwork as a 16 by 20 print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag for ninety dollars. The production cost for the larger, premium print might be around twenty-five dollars. The result is a significantly higher profit margin and a more luxurious option for your buyers. Again, this requires almost no extra effort, as you are using the same digital file and the same listing, and your customers perceive a clear value difference. Upselling in this way is simple, repeatable, and dramatically increases your average order value.
Explaining the Upgrade to Your Buyers
You do not need technical language to make upsells work. A simple statement, such as printed on 100 percent cotton fine art paper commonly used by galleries for its texture and longevity, is usually enough to justify the higher price. When buyers see the upgrade framed as part of the value and presentation of the artwork, they often choose it willingly. Even open edition prints, which most artists sell online, can benefit from this approach. Offering a slightly larger size or a higher tier paper communicates quality and makes your product feel special without creating additional work for you. Again, upselling in the same listing requires little effort and can result in higher revenue with very little extra work.
Example Print Pricing and Profit
| Print Size | Paper Type | Cost | Possible Retail Price | Profit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8×10 | Archival Matte | $8 | $25 | $17 | Standard option for open edition prints |
| 8×10 | Hahnemühle Photo Rag | $12 | $35 | $23 | Simple upsell, adds premium option with little extra effort |
| 11×14 | Archival Matte | $16 | $40 | $24 | Base size for many online buyers |
| 11×14 | Hahnemühle Photo Rag | $23 | $60 | $37 | Premium upgrade, same listing, increases average order value |
| 16×20 | Hahnemühle Photo Rag | $49 | $99 | $50 | Combine size and paper upgrade for higher profit and perceived value |
Building a Product Line That Supports Growth
Artists who succeed long term often think of paper choice as part of their product strategy. Archival matte papers serve as the foundation of their shop, supporting consistent sales and approachable pricing. Premium papers are offered intentionally for best sellers, limited editions, or higher priced options. FinerWorks makes it easy to offer multiple options for the same print, giving you flexibility to scale your business without adding operational burden. When you offer upsells in the same listing, you create more value for your customers while increasing your profit potential, making the entire process both simple and rewarding.
By integrating upsells into your online listings, you are giving your buyers choice, increasing your revenue, and keeping your workflow simple. The right paper does not just improve the print, it helps you sell your work more confidently and build a strong