PCF Prints
How can PCF Prints help painting collections?
The vast majority of the photographs of paintings shown on the Your Paintings website and in the series of catalogues have been taken by the PCF on behalf of the participating collections and gifted to the collections along with the copyright in the photo.
The PCF is now offering participating collections an opportunity to generate an income stream from products based on the photographs of the oil paintings. Such products will include ‘print-on-demand’ products chosen by customers and cards and other products as offered by the PCF.
How it will work?
Subject to a collection wishing to participate and signing a licensing agreement, the PCF will generate printed products based on the photographs of the collection’s oil paintings that the PCF already holds and offer these for sale from this website. Payment for products will be taken online and products will be mailed to customers.
This service will be operated on behalf of the PCF by the Bridgeman Art Library and the Bridgeman’s own subcontractors. The Bridgeman Art Library already has considerable experience in this area. There will be access to the respective product purchase page on this website from the Your Paintings website for those collections that choose to use the PCF service. Collections are also encouraged to send traffic to this website from their own websites.
What about copyright?
In almost all cases the collection owns the copyright in the photograph of the painting. The collection is therefore able to enter into a licence agreement with the PCF to offer products for sale based on these photographs.
However, the reproduction of images for sale will also require the permission of artists and estates where the painting is still in copyright (in other words where the artist is alive or died in the last 70 years). The PCF will need to seek these consents in advance before prints of these paintings can be offered.
In return for these consents a royalty of 10% will be paid to artists and estates with this royalty being fully recouped from the customer through the product sale price. In this way the artists and estates can also benefit commercially from the transaction. So, in other words, prints of paintings in copyright will cost 10% more than paintings not in copyright.
What revenue will be generated for a painting collection?
The net income from each transaction is the amount of income that remains after all costs associated with the making of the print/product have been subtracted. This net income will be shared 50:50 between the PCF and the collection that owns the painting involved in the transaction. Collections will receive a statement of account quarterly from the PCF. Naturally, revenue will only accrue when a product that is based on a collection’s painting is purchased.
The PCF’s share of the net income will go towards sustaining its charitable work of improving access to the nation’s oil painting collection and keeping up to date the database of these works.
Is your collection interested in participating?
If you would like to see a copy of the licensing agreement with the PCF please contact prints@thepcf.org.uk.
Order Enquiries
For all enquiries regarding your PCF Prints order, please contact us using the email address below:
E-mail: printorders@thepcf.org.uk
Please quote www.prints.thepcf.org.uk in your correspondence.
The office is open 10.00 – 18.00 GMT Monday to Friday; closed Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.