Fresh Ideas to Let Your Artwork Work for You

This post is presented in partnership with 2017 MAX sponsor, Roland.

Written by Ben Fellowes. Ben is a writer, designer and marketer at Roland DGA. He loves art, punk rock, horror films, beer and cooking.

Okay! You’ve got that killer design but what are you going to do with it now? Where does it go from here? How can you make money from your artwork? Your first instinct might to stick it on a t-shirt. You may even feel like uploading it onto an online marketplace and forgetting about it, so it can live in digital bliss, waiting for someone to give it life as a poster, a tote bag or an iPhone case!

There is nothing wrong with uploading your design to a marketplace and featuring it on a bag or t-shirt. It’s a very smart idea. However, your artwork doesn’t have to sit in the “online ether” and can be more than just a t-shirt and a royalty payment. It has far more worth and profit potential than you may realize, especially when applied to new and unexpected products and surfaces to make highly desirable custom items.

There is a new breed of artists and designers who realize they can self-produce products featuring their art. These creatives put their art to work for them on a wide variety of products, to capitalize on new markets and revenue streams.

The following images illustrate just a few examples of artwork put to work using UV printing technology, by printing a single image on a variety of cool products including decor, merchandising, and unique functional pieces.

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As an artist or designer, there’s nothing quite so fulfilling as seeing your artwork on a medium like wood – add stylish UV ink effects to add a whole new element to your work.

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What could be more appropriate for a big pitch presentation, interview or simply as an awesome specialty graphics product.

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In addition to customizing fashionable items like retro lunchboxes, designers can add variable data printing fields to include print runs of items with different names, colors and design elements.

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Customize chic and trendy products, such as chalkboards for studios, homes, or as a custom signage service for local businesses.

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Or if a chalkboards are not your thing, a clean and sophisticated dry erase board is a smart idea.

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Create one-off, custom art items like tabletops to show off your personal designs or as high-value decorative pieces for homes, galleries, hotels and offices.

****UV flatbed printers help artists, designers and other creative professionals turn their designs into physical art objects that have a high worth. Flatbed UV printers empower your creativity and offer a world of profitable possibilities for your designs that go far beyond the obvious.

To request a free print sample on a flatbed UV printer, click here.