GICLÉE FINE ART PRINTING

Giclée (pronunced as in Gigi) is a French term, in this case, meaning "spray of ink." A digital ink jet print made with an IRIS printer on watercolor paper or canvas is known as an Iris Giclée (also: Iris Fine Art Print or Digital Fine Art Print).

Advantages of Giclée Fine Art Prints:

Quality:
Intensive, rich colors high resolution with extremely fine details, supported by a new continuous tone print process The most accurate reproduction of the original a variety of substrates can be used. A wide range of fine art printing- and watercolor papers up to 500gsm, 89 x 119 cm / 35" x 47" as well as archival grade canvas and other substrates. The prints may be hand embellished by the artist using paint, ink and gold foil stamping for a mixed media effect.

Technical: The Giclée process is based on a sophisticated inkjet printer. The substrate to be printed is affixed to a drum. As the drum rotates at high speed the individual inks ( Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black) are sprayed onto the surface at the rate of 4 million, 15-micron droplets per second. Each droplet is about the size of a red blood cell. The printers extremely high resolution appears to the eye as approximately 1800dpi resulting in very detailed and vibrant prints. Computer technology is a tool in the hands of the talented master printers and craftsmen whose experience is the key to the most beautiful prints available. Only substrates and special inks tested for archival permanence and lightfastness are used.

The production of a giclée print is not an automatic process. The human touch is critical in several phases of the giclée process. First giclée prints begin as original art, photography or computer art. Second the work is scanned and processed in the computer. Critical color correction requires an experienced eye and touch in making the proper adjustments in tone, contrast, sharpness, and other factors to produce a print that faithfully reproduces the artists intention. Third, in matching the computer image with the final print, a practiced eye must make adjustments for the best results. And last, the printer itself needs steady attention to produce consistent, quality results. In short the human hand is part of every step of the giclée process. Indeed the difference between a quality print and one that is not, lies almost entirely in the human involvement and craftmanship.