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Giclee Printing
Giclee Printing and Giclee Prints, (pronounced Zhee-Clay), is a term used mostly by artists, referring to a special print, of a particular painting. It is relatively a new term, coined by artist Jack Duganne, in 1991. Giclee is actually a french term, meaning "to squirt, spurt, or spray," which is exactly what an ink-jet printer will do, just not the ink-jet printer you have with your home computer. Fine art giclee prints are sometimes mistaken as iris prints, which, although are similar to Giclee, use smaller printers and are not nearly as versatile. However, without the invention of the iris prints, giclees would not be around today.
The ink-jet printer used for Giclee Printing is much larger than a standard printer, and resembles a knitting machine. More often than not, professional 8-color to 12-color ink-printers will be used. The manufacturers are companies most people recognize- Hewlett Packard, and Epson, to name a few. The ink they use, especially for Giclee Prints, is usually a special fade-resistant ink. If the final canvas print is not exposed to sun much, they could hold their original color for 25 years! Artists use Giclee to reproduce their artwork. It is obviously similar to printing, but of a much higher quality. Fine Art Giclee Prints can be printed on inkjet giclee canvas, or on most other inkjet paper, and the printer will usually have several specific types to choose from. Commonly, photo and watercolor paper, vinyl, and canvas are used. Artists can replicate original artwork, photographs (such as photos on canvas and canvas photo prints), and computer generated artwork, with a beautiful finished product, looking almost identical to the original.
The Value of Giclee Prints
Obviously, the original piece of artwork is the most valuable. But until canvas Giclee Printing became more known and popular, the only other choice was a simple copy, which are easily distinguished as such. In fact, when just a copy of the piece is bought, most of the value is in the frame. Personalized Giclee Prints are unique because, unlike a regular giclee print, they will not have that visible dot pattern that is found on common screen prints, since the ink-jet printers do not use a screen. For artists, Giclee printing provides them a way to distribute their artwork, in limited editions or not, and still make a handsome profit as Giclee Prints can be sold for much more (sometimes up to ten times more) than the cost of giclee canvas printing a Giclee. |
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