Some of us nowadays would really like to print paintings and likely to frame it or create a unique oil painting as souvenirs or gifts for our loved ones. But did you know that there are differences between print and oil painting?

Differences between print and oil painting 

If you want to tell the difference between a print and a painting can be difficult, especially when the work is under glass and masquerading as a watercolor, or is a high-tech “textured” print meant to fool us with an application of convincing faux-brushstrokes.Difference between a print and a watercolor can be just as difficult as determining if you’ve got an oil painting or a textured print. Telling the difference between a print and a watercolor, start by taking it out of the frame so you can really get a good, close look at the surface. If you’re worried about putting the frame back together, a local framer can usually help you take the work out of the frame and re-assemble it for just a small fee if you call ahead.

Not everyone can afford an original painting, and prints provide a an affordable means of adding art to one's life and walls -- an extremely important matter in a world that is increasingly focused on facts and numbers and the bottom line. Without art, we become spiritless, hard-edged and cynical.

Prints are multiples of the same piece, created through a printmaking technique. One of the most common types of prints is the one produced by a photo-mechanical process. The image is photographically transferred from an original source and is mass reproduced. Do not confuse this with original prints.

Oil Paintings are artwork unique, which is generally a single metal plate; stone block, wooden block or screen that is hand-made by the artist. Each impression is done by the artist or artisan and the matrix is later destroyed. The paintings are traditionally signed and numbered in pencil by the artist and generally called “Limited Edition Prints”.

Tips to help you figure out what is Print and Oil Painting:

• An Oil Painting has textured brush strokes. Watercolor or gouache oil paintings will typically be in a rough paper with a distinctive grain.  
• A Print is sometimes flat and has a dot matrix pattern, the same pattern you find in magazines or book images.
• An Oil Painting has irregular and uneven paint on the edges of the stretched canvas.
• A Print frequently has sharp, even and clean edges; where the buyer typically does not look.
• An Oil Painting examined under a strong light might show pencil lines from the artist's original sketch and changes made by the artist while painting.
• A Print usually has a number of identification and a copyright logo printed in small letters.
• An Oil Painting has rich and vibrant colors, and overall, looks, feels and smells like an original.
• An Oil Painting will last for how many years its because of its natural coats of paintings.
• A Print usually last for a very short time years will past print paintings will fade.