Art print|HTS Code

Art print harmonized system code

Product Overview Art print classified under HTS 4911.91 denotes reproducible printed pictures and photographs produced on paper or paperboard substrates intended as reproductions of works of art, decorative images, or photographic prints. Key characteristics include substrate specification (uncoated or coated paper, 180–350 g/m2 typical), printing process (offset lithography, digital inkjet/giclée, screen printing), ink chemistry (pigment or dye-based inks, UV‑curable), resolution (≥300 dpi for fine reproduction), and finishing level (unmounted, mounted, matted, laminated, or framed). Quality attributes documented for customs entries include color fidelity, lightfastness testing standards, absence of original artist marks, and archival‑grade materials where applicable. Commercial classifications commonly recorded under the 4911.91 practice differentiate reproducible art prints (giclée reproductions), photographic prints, art posters, and mass‑produced decorative prints; further invoice-level subcategories capture substrate, finish, and retail versus industrial end‑use. Primary commercial applications are retail art sales, interior décor supply for hospitality and real estate staging, stock photography distribution, and inputs to framing and art‑reproduction services. HTS Code Classification & Trade Specifications Complete 6‑digit HTS structure for this commodity is 491191 — Chapter 49 / Heading 4911 / Subheading 4911.91 (Chapter 49: Printed books, newspapers, pictures and other products of the printing industry; Heading 4911: Other printed matter; Subheading 4911.91: pictures, designs and photographs — printed reproductions). Classification rationale: items are mechanically or photomechanically produced reproductions on paper or paperboard lacking the originality required for Chapter 97 artwork headings, and are not periodicals or advertising matter classified elsewhere. Trade considerations for customs entries and logistics include typical packaging (flat‑pack between corrugated boards with polyethylene or kraft moisture barrier, acid‑free interleaving, rigid corner protection; or rolled prints in protective tubes for large formats), palletization and strapping, and use of desiccants for long sea transit. Declarable measurable attributes required for entry and compliance: substrate weight (g/m2), finished dimensions, print resolution (dpi), ink type, presence of framing/glazing, and declared unit value. Referenced quality standards: ISO 9706 for permanence of paper and relevant ISO/AATCC/ASTM lightfastness and archival specification tests.

Art print Chapter Note

1.- This Chapter does not cover : (a) Photographic negatives or positives on transparent bases (Chapter 37); (b) Maps, plans or globes, in relief, whether or not printed (heading 90.23); (c) Playing cards or other goods of Chapter 95; or (d) Original engravings, prints or lithographs (heading 97.02), postage or revenue stamps, stamppostmarks, first-day covers, postal stationery or the like of heading 97.04, antiques of an age exceeding one hundred years or other articles of Chapter 97. 2.- For the purposes of Chapter 49, the term “printed” also means reproduced by means of a duplicating machine, produced under the control of an automatic data processing machine, embossed, photographed, photocopied, thermocopied or typewritten. 3.- Newspapers, journals and periodicals which are bound otherwise than in paper, and sets of newspapers, journals or periodicals comprising more than one number under a single cover are to be classified in heading 49.01, whether or not containing advertising material. 4.- Heading 49.01 also covers : (a) A collection of printed reproductions of, for example, works of art or drawings, with a relative text, put up with numbered pages in a form suitable for binding into one or more volumes; (b) A pictorial supplement accompanying, and subsidiary to, a bound volume; and (c) Printed parts of books or booklets, in the form of assembled or separate sheets or signatures, constituting the whole or a part of a complete work and designed for binding. However, printed pictures or illustrations not bearing a text, whether in the form of signatures or separate sheets, fall in heading 49.11. 5.- Subject to Note 3 to this Chapter , heading 49.01 does not cover publications which are essentially devoted to advertising (for example, brochures, pamphlets, leaflets, trade catalogues, year books published by trade associations, tourist propaganda). Such publications are to be classified in heading 49.11. 6.- For the purposes of heading 49.03, the expression “children's picture books” means books for children in which the pictures form the principal interest and the text is subsidiary.