The image has all the tonalities and hues of the original painting. In giclée printing, no screen or other mechanical devices are used and therefore there is no visible dot screen pattern. Archival quality ensures that the prints are light-fast and non water soluble.

The Giclée printing process provides better colour accuracy than other means of reproduction. Images are generated from high resolution digital scans and printed with archival quality inks onto various substrates including canvas, fine art, and photo-base paper. The term “Giclée print” connotes an elevation in printmaking technology. Giclée prints are a revolutionary new way of reproducing accurately paintings, drawings and other artwork to an archival standard surpassing even fine art offset lithography, and have became very popular with artists wishing to sell their art to a wider audience. Most people own a PC, an inkjet printer and a digital camera – so What is a Giclée print? The term ‘printmaker’ is accepted as referring to an artist producing prints by traditional “hand pulled” methods and for many traditional printmakers the term ‘limited edition giclee print’ is seen as a direct assault on their skills and, for the general public (who it must be said, are only just starting to accept photography as “Art”) it is all extremely bewildering. Giclée prints require not lengthy set-up and a single print is no more expensive than a longer run. Most forms of printing require a separate set-up stage involving plates or screens and this means they are only really viable for long print runs. With a relatively inexpensive giclée printer, scanner and computer the artist is now able for the first time to produce accurate “reproduction prints” without any outside intervention, limiting the edition at his or her discretion.

So What is giclée and what are its advantages and disadvantages? The recent arrival of digital technology has confused the issue even further and now even the artists sometimes get it wrong. Prints have always been seen as the poor relations of paintings and drawings, and the terms original print, reproduction print, artist’s proof, limited and open editioned prints, printmaking as opposed to just printing and of course the various different types of prints and the plethora of technical terms (many in Italian or French!) haven’t helped. The 21st Century printing innovation explained What is giclée? – archival quality ink jet printing

Giclee