What is a Giclée?
From the French verb "to spray",
the word Giclée (zhee-clay) is used to describe
a digital fine art printmaking process. Giclée
prints are created using a high-resolution inkjet printer.
Photographic mages or paintings are carefully scanned
and reproduced using stable pigment-based inks.
Giclées are printed on a variety
of substrates or mediums, the most common being watercolor
paper or canvas. Image permanence is a concern to artists
and collectors, the giclée process gives fade &
color shift resistance of better than 125 years.
What is digital printmaking?
Digital printmaking utilizes computers
to precisely control specialized digital printers. The
digital printmaking process is capable of producing exceptional
results for both original printmakers and for the reproduction
of original works of art; because of its extended color
gamut and continuous tone characteristics, digital printmaking
is considered a superior technology for printing all forms
of art including photography.
How do I care for my Giclée print?
You can extend the life expectancy of
a giclée art prints by not hanging them in direct
sunlight or in rooms with excessive moisture. Care for
them as you would any fine artwork on paper and they will
reward you with many years of pleasure. Infinite Edition’s
giclées are coated with a UV lacquer spray which
increases protection against harmful UV radiation. Additional
protection can be achieved by using glass incorporating
a UV filtering layer.
How do giclée prints differ from
lithographs and serigraphs?
Offset lithographs are created by taking
a continuous tone image and processing it through a screen.
The result is an image created with a series of dots,
each one proportional in size to the density of the original
at the location of that dot. The human eye is consequently
"tricked" into seeing something that approximates
a continuous tone image. Most printed material such as
newspapers and magazines are printed with this process.
Serigraphs are really screen prints.
These prints are made by creating a set of screens, each
representing one color. Ink is then squeezed through the
screen and onto the media. For fine art reproduction purposes,
the number of screens required to approximate the tonal
qualities of the original are typically from 20 to more
than 100. The larger the number of screens, the closer
a serigraph can appear to be continuous tone and the more
expensive it is to produce.
Giclée prints have many advantages
over both the offset lithograph and the serigraph. The
color available for giclée processing is limited
only by the color gamut of the inks themselves. Therefore,
literally millions of colors are available and the limitation
imposed by the screening process does not exist.
The giclée process uses such small
dots and so many of them that they are not discernible
to the eye. A giclée print is essentially a continuous
tone print showing every color and tonal nuance.
Commonly used printmaking terms:
Edition Size: The total number of giclées
printed of one particular image. Separate edition sizes
are recorded for the signed and numbered giclée,
artist's proofs and printer's proofs.
Limited-Edition: A reproduction of an
original work of art that is signed and sequentially numbered
by the artist. The total number of giclées is fixed
or limited by the artist or the publisher.
Open-Edition: A reproduction of an original
work of art that is sometimes signed by the artist. The
number of giclées published is not predetermined.
Signed and Numbered: Limited-edition
giclées that have been signed and sequentially
numbered by the artist. The artist's signature is usually
found in one of the lower corners of the giclée
and is accompanied by a number that looks like a fraction;
the top number indicates the number of the giclée
and the bottom number indicates the total number of giclée
in the edition.
