Managing Editions

Editions are managed from an artwork’s Edition tab. The tab appears for Limited edition and Open edition artworks, but not for originals.

Use a Limited edition when the work has a fixed number of copies. Use an Open edition when you make copies without a fixed edition size.

Choosing an edition type

Open an artwork, choose Edit info, and select one of these values in Edition type:

• Original for a one-of-a-kind work
• Limited edition for a fixed run of copies
• Open edition for copies without a fixed run

Save the artwork before opening the Edition tab. The edition type is part of the artwork record; production, inventory, and disposition details are tracked separately there.

Setting up a limited edition

When you save a new limited-edition artwork without an edition size, the Edition tab asks you to set it up.

1. Enter the Edition size.
2. Click Set up edition.
3. Open the Standard copies table to see the numbered copies.

Artlope creates copies labelled like 1/10, 2/10, and 10/10. New copies start as Planned. Mark them Done as they are produced.

After setup, the overview shows:

• Edition type
• Total copies, including standard and special copies
• Done, the copies whose production is complete
• Available, the completed copies with an available disposition
• Sold, the copies with a sold disposition

You can increase the edition size later. This adds the missing numbered copies as planned. Reducing the size is blocked once copies or edition activity exists, so existing records cannot be orphaned.

Standard and special copies

Standard copies are the numbered copies created from the edition size. Their numbers cannot be changed.

Use Add a special copy for proofs or other copies outside the numbered run. Choose AP, PP, HC, BAT, or Other, then enter its number. For example, choosing AP and entering 1/2 creates the label AP 1/2. You can also add an optional inventory number.

Special copies are kept in their own table. A new special copy starts as Planned with an Available disposition; mark its production as complete before selling it.

Each table shows:

• Copy
• Inventory number
• Location
• Production
• Disposition
• actions for selecting copies and opening details

On narrow screens, the tables can scroll horizontally. Long inventory numbers and locations are shortened visually; focus or hover them to see the full value.

Copy details and history

Open a copy’s details action to see information that is not in the compact table, including:

• production completion date
• condition and private condition notes
• current location
• reservation, gift, or loss details
• sale information
• current exhibitions and shipment
• chronological history

Use Edit to update the details that belong to the copy. You can edit a special-copy identifier, inventory number, production status and date, condition, notes, and location. Standard copy numbers remain fixed.

You can select several copies and update their production status or location together with Apply to selected.

Production and disposition

Production describes whether a copy is being made:

• Planned
• In progress
• Done
• Failed

Disposition describes what has happened to the completed copy:

• Available
• Reserved
• Sold
• Gifted
• Lost

These are separate. For example, a copy can be Planned and Available, or Done and Reserved.

Only a Done copy with an Available disposition can be sold. You can reserve a planned or in-progress copy after acknowledging the warning that production is not complete. A reservation stores a name, date, and private note.

From a copy’s details, you can also record a gift or loss, release a reservation, correct gift or loss details, or recover a lost copy. These actions keep a history of the change.

Selling an edition copy

When you click Mark as sold on a limited-edition artwork, choose exactly one eligible copy. The sale price is the total price for that copy. Copies that are incomplete, failed, reserved, sold, gifted, or lost are shown as unavailable with an explanation.

The sale updates that copy’s disposition and appears in its details and history. It does not change the copy’s location.

Older sales that included several edition numbers remain available as historical multi-copy sales. Their original identifiers and total price are preserved.

Open-edition inventory

Open editions do not have numbered copy rows or individual inventory numbers. Their Edition tab tracks quantities instead.

The overview can show:

• Made
• Available
• Reserved
• Gifted
• Sold

Use the actions at the top of the overview to:

• Add production with a quantity and production status
• Move production between production statuses
• Enter opening balance for existing available stock
• reserve or release one available copy
• record or release one gifted copy

Production statuses are Planned, In progress, Done, and Failed. Only completed production increases available inventory. The Inventory history table records quantities, dates, actions, and private notes. Historical sales that predate tracked inventory can appear as untracked sales without making availability negative.

Each new open-edition sale records one copy and labels the price as the total price for that copy. Historical sales with larger quantities remain unchanged. Exhibitions and shipments continue to record open editions as quantities, not as physical copies.

Editions in exhibitions, submissions, and shipments

For limited editions, select the exact copies when adding the artwork to an exhibition or submission. You can select several copies, including special copies. The selected copy’s disposition is shown beside it.

The same limited copy cannot be assigned to overlapping exhibitions. Artlope disables the conflicting choice and explains which exhibition causes the conflict. Sold and gifted copies can still be recorded for later provenance; this does not change their disposition or location.

For shipments, you can select exact limited copies after choosing the artworks. Only completed copies can be assigned. Sold and gifted copies remain selectable with their ownership status, while lost or unfinished copies are unavailable.

Originals and open editions continue to use artwork-level relationships. Open-edition exhibitions and shipments use quantities where applicable.

See Managing exhibition artworks and Managing submission artworks for the complete workflows.

Changing the edition type

You can change an artwork’s edition type from Edit info while there is no protected edition activity. Once copies, sales, gifts, or inventory activity need to be preserved, Artlope may block the change. This prevents a limited or open edition from being silently converted and losing its history.