From H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III Cultural and Art Museum
To members of the Cultural and Art Museum,
On October 29, 2014, the Office of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III published “An Open Letter from the Office of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III to Companies Selling Duplications of Paintings Created by H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III.” The letter stated that the printed duplications of paintings created by H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III sold at the Museum’s gift shop were priced too high and we should seriously consider this matter. The letter also asked us to give an explanation.
In response to that, we provide the following explanations regarding the printed duplications of paintings sold at the Museum:
- The printed duplications of paintings sold at the Museum are printed one copy at a time and are of the highest quality. The cost of production is very high. Such printed copies are in a totally different grade and class comparing to the copies printed by plate printing in large quantities. If we were to use the method of plate printing, the cost of making plates would be extremely high for large and medium-large sizes. Each painting requires a plate. So 100-200 plates are needed for the 100-200 paintings to be duplicated. Also, the print shop would ask for printing several hundred copies in one order with each plate. The most important consideration is that the quality of such printing is not good. The problem of dropping colors would occur a few years later to cause the printed copy to lose the picture. Such duplicated copies do not have values for collection. Additionally, our Museum currently has neither the required volume of sale nor the initial capital to justify investing in making the plates. That is why we can only use the method of single-copy production. Only a few copies can be made in one day. For a large oil painting, it can take several days to make one copy because of the need to add three-dimensional brush touches on the picture. To ensure the product’s quality to have elegant and realistic coloring and for long-term preservation, our Museum uses the permanent mineral colors and selects paper of the best quality. Therefore, the duplicated paintings sold at the Museum definitely have values for collection.
- Some of the printed paintings sold at the Museum use special materials. For example, some are printed on photographic paper of special quality. The cost to print a photo of such sizes at a photo shop specialized in making large photo copies for advertisements is in the range from $1,000-2,000 to $6,000-7,000. Additional, processing has to be done on the surface of the picture. For instance, brush touches must be added for oil paintings.
- Also, some printed paintings have to be printed in multiple layers. In the end, a layer of special material has to be applied for the purposes of removing reflection, friction tolerance, and resisting heat and moisture. The process of production is very complicated and the cost is very high.
Our Museum produces printed paintings of the highest class. The materials we use and our process of production are of the highest grade among what museums use. The high-quality printed paintings sold at our Museum require such finest handling and very high cost. Because of the expenses spent on the technology and cost of production for making printed paintings at the Museum, the real profit realized by the Museum is very low. The Museum applies the same quality requirements to the printed paintings provided by external art companies for sale at the Museum’s gift shop.
Now that H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III and the Office of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III expressed opinions on behalf of consumers, our Museum respects His Holiness the Buddha and the Office. We will do the calculation again to determine the costs accurately and adjust the prices downward. Please trust our honesty of treating buyers fairly.
H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III Cultural and Art Museum (Seal)
Long Zhou, Director (Signature)
November 3, 2014