Jack Vettriano Print Terms A to Z: A Collector's Glossary

Buying a Jack Vettriano print means meeting a fair bit of jargon: A/P, S/P, giclée, estate stamp, POA. This glossary explains the terms you are most likely to see on listings, certificates and auction catalogues, in plain English and in alphabetical order.

Where a term applies specifically to Vettriano editions, we say so. Where it is a general print-market term, we describe how it is usually used.

A to C

• Archival inks and papers: inks and papers made to resist fading and yellowing over time. Giclée prints are typically produced with archival pigment inks.

• Artist's Proof (A/P or AP): a small extra group of prints made alongside the main edition, usually about 10% of its size. They are signed and marked AP rather than numbered within the main run. Night Calls, for example, is an edition of 100 plus 10 Artist's Proofs. Our guide to the different edition types goes into more detail.

• Blind stamp: an embossed mark pressed into the paper without ink, so it shows as a raised impression. In the print world, publishers and printers often use one to identify their work. It is worth looking for, but it is not proof of authenticity on its own.

• Certificate of authenticity (COA): a document that accompanies a print and records details such as the title, edition and number. Every print we sell comes with one. Read what you need to know about certificates before buying second-hand.

D to G

• Edition number: the individual number of a print within its edition, written as a fraction such as 45/250. The first figure is the print's number; the second is the edition size.

• Edition size: the total number of prints in the main run, not counting proofs. Our Vettriano editions range from 50 (The Letter, Dancer For Money) to 495 (Beautiful Dreamer).

• Estate stamp: the official embossed stamp of the Estate of Jack Vettriano. Posthumous Estate editions are numbered and carry this stamp instead of a signature.

• Etching paper: a heavy, textured paper originally made for etchings and now widely used for fine art prints. Young Hearts is printed on museum etching paper.

• Framed / unframed: many prints can be supplied either way. Our framing guide covers what to look for.

• Giclée: a high-quality digital print made with archival pigment inks. Several of the smallest Vettriano editions, such as The Letter, are giclées.

H to M

• Hahnemühle: a long-established German maker of fine art papers. Some Vettriano editions, including In Thoughts Of You and Beautiful Dreamer, are printed on Hahnemühle mould-made paper.

• Hand-signed: signed by the artist himself, usually in pencil. Vettriano's lifetime limited editions were hand-signed in pencil.

• Image size: the size of the printed picture itself, as opposed to the sheet of paper or the frame. Always check which measurement a listing gives.

• Limited edition: a print produced in a fixed number, with each example numbered. Once the edition is sold, no more are made.

• Mould-made paper: paper made on a slow cylinder machine that imitates handmade paper, giving a strong, characterful sheet.

• Mount: the card border that sits between the print and the frame. It keeps the image away from the glass and adds visual breathing space. For valuable prints, an acid-free or conservation-grade mount is usually recommended.

O to P

• Open edition: a print with no limit on numbers. Open editions are unsigned and unnumbered, which makes them affordable gifts. Our Summer Days Triptych is an example.

• POA (price on application): used for rare prints where price and availability change. You contact the seller for a quote. The Singing Butler and a signed Mad Dogs are both POA with us at the time of writing.

• Posthumous edition: an edition released after the artist's death. Vettriano died in March 2025. Young Hearts and The Sailor's Toy are posthumous editions.

• Pre-signed edition: a small group of previously unreleased editions Vettriano hand-signed before his death. Narcissistic Bathers, released in September 2026, is one of them.

• Primary market: buying an edition new from the publisher or its stockists when it is first released.

• Provenance: the ownership history of a work. Good paperwork, such as original receipts and certificates, helps establish it.

• Publisher: the company that produces and releases an edition. Vettriano launched Heartbreak Publishing in 2009, and recent editions have been released by Jack Vettriano Publishing.

S to Z

• Secondary market: where prints are bought and sold after an edition has sold out from the publisher, through stockists, galleries, dealers and auctions. Prices here reflect demand and scarcity.

• Silkscreen (screen print): a print made layer by layer, pushing ink through a fine screen for each colour. Silkscreens are often admired for their rich colour, and several sold-out Vettriano silkscreens, such as An Imperfect Past, are sought after.

• Sold out: the publisher has no more of that edition to sell. From that point, examples come only from the secondary market.

• Studio Proof (S/P): a very small number of proofs from the same print run. Some lifetime editions had them, and selected Estate editions do too, such as Young Hearts (100 plus 10 Studio Proofs).

• View On Your Wall: our online tool on the Young Hearts, Narcissistic Bathers and Exit Eden pages that lets you preview a print in your own room.

Frequently asked questions

Is an Artist's Proof better than a numbered print?

It is from the same run, and the image is the same. Many collectors value proofs because there are fewer of them, but whether one is worth paying more for is a personal decision.

What does an estate stamp mean?

It shows the print was released by the Estate of Jack Vettriano after his death. The print is numbered and embossed with the official stamp instead of being signed.

Does a blind stamp prove a print is genuine?

No single mark proves authenticity. Look at the whole picture: certificate, numbering, signature or stamp, and the seller's reputation.

What should a certificate of authenticity include?

Typically the title, edition size, the print's number and the issuing publisher or seller. Keep it safe with your receipt.

If you would like to see these terms in practice, browse our limited editions, where each listing gives the edition size and medium, or visit our FAQs for answers on delivery and payment.