About Giclée Printing

The Definition : Giclee (zhee-klay) - The French word "Giclée" is a feminine noun that means a spray or a spurt of liquid.
 

Our Specs : Our Giclées measure 17x22 inches and are printed on Hahnemühle Fine Art Photo Rag Satin (310 gsm). The print resolution is 2800 dots per inch. We use pigmented inks on archival grade papers. Our digital source images are achieved with a Nikon D300 (12.3 Megapixel sensor) and a fixed focal length 50mm lens.

The Term : The term  "giclee print" connotes an elevation in printmaking technology. Images are generated from high resolution digital scans and printed with archival quality pigment inks onto heavyweight fine art paper. The giclee printing process provides better color accuracy than other means of reproduction.

The Advantages : Archived files will not deteriorate in quality as negatives and film inherently do. Another tremendous advantage of giclee printing is that digital images can be reproduced to almost any size and onto various media, giving the artist the ability to customize prints for a specific client. The term "pigment print" is used generally for any type of printed image that uses strictly pigments. Pigment printing processes have been utilized since the middle of the 19th century. The image stability of pigment printing is superior to that of any other method of printing, including traditional silver-halide or metal-based. Where archival dye-based ink sets exhibit excellent color gamut, pigment inks excel in permanence. A dye is molecularly soluble in its vehicle, but pigment is not. Pigment particles tend to be large enough to embed into the receiving substrate making them water-resistant. The particulate nature of pigment inks ensures their archival superiority. A particle of pigment is less susceptible to destructive environmental elements than a dye molecule. Numerous examples of giclee prints can be found in the New York Metropolitan Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Chelsea Galleries.

The Quality : The quality of the giclee print rivals traditional silver-halide and gelatin printing processes and is commonly found in museums, art galleries, and photographic galleries.