The original is photographed with an ultra-high-resolution digital camera system and the image is stored on digital media.
High quality giclée (gee-clay) prints are virtual copies of an original piece of artwork, but sell for a fraction of the cost, making fine artwork available to more people. Giclée prints are on display in fine art galleries all over the world because of their incredible detail and brilliance. There are several methods of printing artwork, but’s giclée process has become the standard, and most popular, for high quality prints in any medium.
The original artwork is carefully photographed with an ultra-high resolution camera, yielding a huge (usually 150 MB or more) digital file that is saved onto computer. That digital image is compared to the original and checked for color balance, and most important, focus. After some fine adjusting, the image is saved to disc.
The digital image is compared to the original and adjusted in Photoshop if necessary, then saved to a file.
The printer digitally fine-tunes the image once again in Photo Shop on his (predictable) computer. A series of proofs are then printed to match color hue, value, and brilliance to the original artwork. Once the artist and the printer agree that the proof is as close as possible to the original, it is printed with a special, high resolution digital ink jet printer (the word giclée is French for “squirt” – hence the ink jet.) It is printed onto fine art paper or canvas with beautiful archival inks. That paper or canvas image is then coated for protection from ultraviolet, which can cause fading. If on canvas, the image is stretched onto a wood “stretcher” frame that is suitable for framing, or may be hung directly onto the wall. We offer two basic canvas frame types … a 5/8” thick frame that typically goes into an “open” frame, or a 1.5” thick “gallery” frame that can be hung on the wall as is, or can also go into an open frame.
The image is printed on canvas and compared to the original. It is adjusted in Photoshop and printed again until it matches the original as closely as possible, then saved permanently to a file.
Whether the work is acrylic, oil, watercolor, pencil, pastel, mixed media, or any other medium, the giclée process offers a product that captures every mood, subtlety, and nuance of the original.
I strictly limit the number of giclée prints of every piece of my artwork. Each fine art print is signed, numbered, and accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. Nothing is compromised during the process, from photography to printing—all work is performed by true craftsmen. Together we painstakingly scrutinize every step and every print to ensure you get the finest quality product possible—one that you will enjoy for many years.
