Limited Editions

I have finally found a place that I can get quality prints made without going broke. I have been trying to decide whether to offer up my work as limited edition prints or just to keep them open edition.

I know limited editions came about because of the plate used to produce the prints would degrade with each printing. There would be a great difference from print #1 quality to print #200 quality. This is why the smaller the number the higher you could charge, because they were the closest representation of the original. The plates would also be shattered after reaching the final number, ensuring another batch of prints could not be made again at a later date.

Modern technology and digitizing has made this all obsolete. There is no longer any degradation after each consecutive print, #1 looks exactly like #1000. The only value in limited editions now is the promise of the artist not to print more than the total number of the run, which could make it harder to find in later years.

Does anyone here have an opinion? I would be interested to hear the artists point of view as well as the consumer. Is it better to create a limited edition run and charge more for each print and know that once it sells out, that's it forever? Or is it better to keep it open, charge less and be able to sell it forever?