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What is a giclee

Pete Hellmann

Blog #73 of 137

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June 11th, 2010 - 11:04 AM

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What is a giclee

Technically a giclee, pronounced zhee-CLAY, is a high-resolution, high-fidelity, high tech art print done on a special large format printer. Giclees can be produced from digital scans of existing artwork; however, since many artists now paint digitally, there is no original to scan. Giclees have basically created a whole new vibrant medium for art.

Giclees can be printed on any number of media including watercolor paper, vinyl, or canvas. At first giclees were used as a quick way to proof prints that were going to be produced as lithographs. Since the giclee process was cheaper than the lithography process, a proof could be created cheaply before spending money on creating individual lithographs for proofing. Over time people started to realize the giclees were as good as, and today, even better than lithographs.

With today's modern printers giclees are superior to traditional lithography. The colors are brighter, last longer, and are so high-resolution that they are virtually continuous tone, rather than tiny dots. Also the gamut of color for giclees has gone far beyond that of lithography, and the details are crisper. Since giclee printers can use media in rolls large print sizes are available, limited only by the size of the roll, and prints the size of a billboard are possible. Companies that produce giclees typically sell by the square inch or square foot.

Giclees use inkjet technology, but far more sophisticated than the average desktop printer. The process employs six colors--light cyan, cyan, light magenta, magenta, yellow and usually two blacks. The inks are fade resistant and finer quality than the average desktop printer. The ink is sprayed onto the page, actually mixing the color on the page creating truer shades and hues.

Giclees have begun to be accepted in the art world and have a real foothold in fine art photography. Art collectors love them for their quality, and they are desired by galleries and artists alike because they don't have to be produced in huge quantities with their large layout of capital and storage.

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Melissa A Benson

16 Years Ago

Stratford, CT

Thanks so much for the info! Especially how to pronounce it...