What is a Giclée Print?
All of our prints are Giclée (pronounced: jee-clay), simply because it’s the best printing technique around.
It’s the highest quality you can get when it comes to art prints. Any prints you see in a fancy museum or art gallery are probably Giclée. Aside from the fancy French name that everyone is embarrassed to say correctly, most people have no idea what this term means. They just know it’s good.
Once you hold a Giclée print and see it up close, you’ll never go back to regular old prints. The colors on a Giclée are rich and vibrant. The lines are crisp. It looks like an original work of art. Many people mistake our prints for the original painting. While Giclée prints are much more costly than regular printing, they’re so worth it. They will last for generations to come. They make great family heirlooms, because the colors won’t fade as much and the paper will withstand the test of time.
So, what does this term really mean? Well, “Giclée” is a French printing technique, invented in the 1980’s. It became popular in 1991 by printmaker Jack DuganneIt. While this technique sounds quite fancy, it’s very simple. It boils down to three things:
High Quality Art File
Special Printer
Special Paper
High Quality Art File
All art prints should originate from a high quality file, but when it comes to Giclée printing, this is a must. The expensive inks and papers will do nothing if your image is blurry. To create a high quality file, original art should be scanned in and photographed at 300dpi or higher. Having a high quality art file is the best way to get a crisp image at any size.
Think of a photo you open on your desktop. If you zoom in enough, you will see little pixels or squares. The higher the dpi (dots per inch), the tinier the pixels. This means better image quality. This means bigger files to store, but it’s worth it for the end result. That’s why a file storage system like Dropbox is a must for art suppliers.
Using a Special Printer
This is where the cost comes in. You can’t just use a regular printer to produce Giclée prints. You need a printer with more than the traditional four CMYK inks. When looking for a Giclée printer, you’re looking for a 12-pigment ink printer. You get a wide range of colors, like bright reds, neon pinks, and rich blacks, because there are simply more inks to pull from. Keeping all the ink tanks full can be quite the task, but you can’t beat the colors they produce. Canon and Epson are the leaders in Giclée printing.
Using Special Paper
This factor also adds to the cost of Giclée prints. You’ll want to use an acid-free, archival 100% cotton rag paper. We like 250 gsm or higher in thickness. For this type of paper, you’re looking at a cost of several dollars per sheet. This type of paper ensures that the inks stick properly and produce a vibrant color quality. Your Giclée printer must be specially calibrated for your paper, so it knows exactly how to apply the ink. The acid-free and archival properties of the paper will keep it from yellowing/showing signs of age over time.
As you can see, extra costs and efforts go into Giclée printing. However, the process that makes up a Gicée print is actually quite simple. We produce most of our prints in-house to ensure the upmost quality, but sometimes it can be easier to send your Giclée prints out if you are new to the printing space.