What Make-Ready does

Make-Ready is a London-based bespoke silkscreen print studio that produces original limited-edition prints for contemporary artists and art publishers. Founded by Thomas Murphy in 2016, the studio has grown from a garage operation into what it describes as the world's largest silkscreen print studio dedicated to fine art, operating with a small team of skilled printmakers.

The studio's core offering is silkscreen printing combined with modern finishing techniques, including multi-colour silkscreen prints of up to 57 colours, mixed-media integration with inkjet, UV pigment printing, hand finishing, embossing, metal leaf, glitter, varnishes, and sculptural elements. It produces works on archival materials such as Somerset paper and Hahnemühle, and its portfolio includes prints for blue-chip contemporary artists such as Ai Weiwei, Anish Kapoor, George Condo, Alex Katz, Mark Bradford, and Ed Ruscha, alongside commissions for cultural institutions including Tate Limited Editions, Hauser & Wirth, Dia Art Foundation, National Portrait Gallery, Design Museum, and Christie's.

The business model is a B2B commissioned production service: artists and publishers commission prints from Make-Ready, which then produces them; the publishers (notably Avant Arte, Tate Limited Editions, Hauser & Wirth, and Bonner Kunstverein) distribute finished editions to collectors through their own sales channels. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is set through the commissioning publishers and galleries. The company is privately held, founder-owned, bootstrapped, and has not raised external funding.

Name

Make-Ready

Legal name

Make-Ready

Website

https://make-ready.co

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Make-Ready is a London-based bespoke silkscreen print studio producing original limited-edition prints for contemporary artists and art publishers such as Avant Arte, Tate Limited Editions, and Hauser & Wirth.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fine Art Printmaking

NAICS

Commercial Screen Printing (323113), Support Activities for Printing (323120)

SIC

Commercial Printing (2750)

akta.pro primary industry

Large-Format & Specialty Printing (Signage, Posters, Displays) (MPAJALAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Prepress & Composition Services (Typesetting, Layout, Color Management, Proofing) (MPAJALAA)

Keywords

• Fine art printing
• Silkscreen printing
• Limited edition prints
• Art printmaking
• Custom silkscreen studio

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Print Production Services: Make-Ready generates revenue by producing original silkscreen prints for artists and art publishers. They work on commissioned basis, creating bespoke prints for museums, galleries, and publishers who then sell or distribute the prints to collectors. The studio's scale as 'the world's largest silkscreen print studio dedicated to fine art' indicates significant production volume across multiple high-profile commissions.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Make-Ready is a bespoke London-based silkscreen printing studio that produces original limited edition fine art prints for contemporary artists and art publishers. The studio specializes in complex multi-colour silkscreen printing (up to 57 colours per print) and integrates mixed media techniques including inkjet, embossing, metal leaf, varnishes, glitter, and hand finishing. Finished prints are distributed through publishers such as Avant Arte, Tate Limited Editions, and Hauser & Wirth to the collector market.

Product overview

Make-Ready operates as a single-service fine art silkscreen printing studio, offering bespoke printmaking services to contemporary artists and cultural institutions. The company does not offer a platform or multiple modules; its sole offering is high-quality silkscreen printing, working hand-in-hand with artists to translate their vision into limited edition prints. The studio collaborates with publishers including Avant Arte, Tate Limited Editions, Hauser & Wirth, and others to produce prints for a new generation of collectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Silkscreen Printing Services Bespoke silkscreen printing services for fine art limited edition prints, working directly with contemporary artists and publishers to produce original prints of outstanding quality. The studio specialises in multi-colour silkscreen (up to 57 colours) and combines traditional methods with mixed media integration including inkjet, embossing, metal leaf, varnishes, glitter, and hand finishing.

Named customers12 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Crown Point Press: San Francisco-based fine art press working with major contemporary artists on etchings, lithographs, and woodcuts. Comparable as a high-end fine art print studio serving blue-chip artists and museums.
• Graphicstudio (University of South Florida): USF-affiliated fine art printmaking workshop producing editions with leading contemporary artists. Comparable in producing archival, museum-quality editions for major artists.
• Pace Prints: Fine art print publisher associated with Pace Gallery, producing editions with major contemporary artists. Overlaps with Make-Ready's publisher-side role and artist roster.
• Heni Editions: Publisher of limited edition prints and editions by leading contemporary artists. Comparable as a publisher commissioning fine art prints from production studios like Make-Ready.
• Jealous Print Studio: London-based screen printing studio and gallery producing limited edition prints for contemporary artists. Closest like-for-like competitor to Make-Ready in fine-art silkscreen production in the UK.
• Counter Editions: London-based publisher of limited edition prints by contemporary artists, working with established print workshops. Comparable to Make-Ready on the publisher side of the same market.
• Paragon Press: London-based fine art print publishing studio producing editions with leading contemporary artists. Directly comparable bespoke fine art printmaker operating in the same UK contemporary-art ecosystem.

Others

• Artsy: Online marketplace for primary and secondary art, including limited edition prints. Adjacent enabling platform that can route demand toward print publishers and studios like Make-Ready.

Emerging players

• Brand X Editions: Brooklyn-based fine art print publishing studio working with contemporary artists. Comparable production model but smaller scale and US-centric versus Make-Ready's London base.

Broad incumbents

• Christie's (Editions department): Global auction house that publishes and sells limited edition prints, including work produced with studios like Make-Ready. Comparable buyer/customer channel rather than a production peer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/make__ready
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/make-ready-fine-art-printing-ltd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Make-Ready