What is a Giclée print?
If you’ve ever been interested in buying one of my prints you must have seen or heard the word Giclée, and very probably you thought-what is it?
Giclée (zhee-KLAY) is a neologism used the first time by printmaker Jack Duganne for fine art digital prints made on inkjet printers. Yes, you read it right- digital print- not hand made, but still awesome. This technique is getting more and more popular among artists for printing photos, graphics as well as reproductions of original paintings. So what makes it so special?
Archival inks- they are pigment based and need waaaay more time to loose the color intensity than ordinary inks when exposed to sunlight. Remember some old faded reproductions hanging at your grandparents for decades? Guess what, it won’t happen to giclée. What is more- there are 12 cartridges in the printer, including colors you don’t usually use in different printing techniques- light magenta and light cyan. It allows smoother gradient transitions and just adds new shades you can see in the prints.
Archival paper- acid free paper created for fine art prints. Using it helps remain the colors bright for the next 250 years. There is a variety of selected papers used for giclee prints. My favourite is matt and textured.
It’s also possible to print on canvas, but at least for now I stick to paper.
Thanks to their extraordinary long due date and high resolution, giclee prints are accepted by museums, galleries and art collectors.
It’s great, but can you see the difference?
Yes, you can! The prints just look very different- colors pop, they look velvety. Nothing can describe how beautiful and deep the black color is. And when you combine it with the watercolor-like paper I use, you really want to touch the prints and check how they’re done- yes, I’ve been asked a lot about it.
For the even more premium experience- all of my prints are hand signed.
Feeling intrigued? Go straight to my shop to get a print or check the event section and visit one of the exhibitions I take part in.
Do you find it useful? Become my patron and help me create more!