Best Websites for Posters and Art Prints
Extensive is an understatement when it comes to the number of prints art.com has for sale: over 300,000! Shoppers search primarily by topic or artist, with mini-galleries for 7000 different artists available for browsing. They’ve got all the expected named along with probably thousands of photographers, painters, and other artists you may never have encountered before. Art.com is as much a place to buy prints as it is a place to explore art. The website itself is rather sophisticated, allowing you to see what prints would look like framed, laminated, or mounted.
This array of additional services makes art.com one-stop shopping, especially for gifts or more expensive choices that deserve immediate framing. Also of note is the “my gallery” feature, which will let you compile your favorite items for all the world to see (and for your friends and loved ones to take hints). There are a fair number of “regular” posters available here as well. I searched for Happy Bunny, Brad Pitt, and Brett Favre, and I found more results than I ever expected. All around, this is an excellent site.
123posters.com is a fairly thorough site for inexpensive, popular posters. With easy-to-understand categories like “People” and “Sports,” you won’t spend long searching. One standout feature is a tab especially for posters that would interest children. In fact, I could not think of a kids’ television program for which they didn’t have a poster. The site’s terms of service and shipping information are all easy to locate and understand. Prices struck me as very reasonable, with an abundance of posters priced under $7. They’ve been around since 1997, so the store has gained a reputation over time for pop culture posters. The only noticeable flaw is the lack of art print selection, as they only stock a handful of commonplace prints by obvious artists (Van Gogh, Dali, etc.).
www.allposters.com
Probably the closest competitor to art.com, allposters.com claims to be “the world’s largest poster, print, and frame store.” Though the website has fewer bells and whistles than art.com, I was still able to locate everything by using their extensive, expandable navigation menu, and I did enjoy the “wall color” option that lets you simulate how a print will look against your painted wall. A number of the art prints are overpriced and available at other sites for less (I checked). So before you buy one here, be sure to shop around. Allposters.com touts a broad selection of ready-to-hang art that is already neatly framed, just in case you’re too indecisive to select accoutrements for your art.
www.prints.com
At first blush, I expected prints.com to be a letdown, but I compared prices with allposters.com and art.com, and I found that many art prints were discounted here by at least a few dollars. The drawback was that browsing and searching was more difficult, as the site is slightly less intuitively organized. I recommend the “clearance” section for some awesome deals on both common and uncommon prints.
The focus here is definitely art prints, as the conventional poster selection is lacking. Framing options are similar to those at art.com.
www.movieposter.com
As its name suggests, this site specializes in cinematic posters. They easy-to-navigate website has a terrific search feature that allows queries by cast member, genre, date, price, and size. If you want a common, cheap poster from a popular movie, take a look at the “Essentials” collection. With over 20 pages of choices, this menu alone is extensive, taking you from 12 Angry Men to Young Frankenstein. There is also a rare posters section, but unless you want to drop almost $6000 on a linen-backed Breakfast at Tiffany’s original, I’d advise you to stick with the regular collection. You’ll find everything from old-school films to movies currently at the box office. The website also has a paltry collection of non-movie posters, but this is meant to be a specialty store for cinema buffs. Movieposter.com has three framing options available, from cheap hangers to plax mounting, but your best bet may be to buy a frame yourself at Target.
www.wolfgangsvault.com
Wolfgangsvault.com is to music what movieposter.com is to cinema, except even more thorough. With around 6000 music posters and a selection of postcards, handbills, tickets, and serigraphs to boot, this is the place to hunt for printed matter and even wearable items, especially as they relate to concerts. You’ll find a plethora of frame-friendly things here that a generalist site would never have, and it’s all searchable by venue in case you’re looking for something from a particular show. Some items are even signed by the artists themselves. Prices are a little high, but this is due to the store’s unique inventory: you won’t find most of these concert posters anywhere else, except maybe eBay.
