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What does the word giclée mean?
The contemporary Giclée has become a valuable part of the limited edition fine art world. "Giclée" is a French term which means to spray ink. The pronunciation of giclée is “zhee-clay.”
Essentially, a giclée print is the reproduction of an original work of art (created by conventional means, such as painting, drawing, etc.) using a highly specialized inkjet printer.
Giclées have a higher resolution than offset lithographs and the dynamic color range is greater than that of a serigraph. Giclées are created by a method of printing in which the image is scanned and digitally enhanced on a computer to match the original fine art. The image is then sent to a high-resolution inkjet printer, which sprays millions of microscopic droplets of ink onto various substrates to create an image with smooth tonal gradation. These unique jets are able to vary the width of the ink stream to as small as 1/100th the width of human hair. In the art world this is generally regarded as the highest quality reproduction available.
Despite the fact that artists were experimenting with this medium as far back as the late 1970s, fine art inkjet printing emerged as an art form in the early 1990s. The term giclée was originally only applied to a very specific form of printing: the output from the Iris inkjet printer (more specifically the Iris 3024, 3047, or 3047G).Today, giclée can refer to any digital fine art canvas print output on a quality inkjet printer. Such well-known brands as Epson, MacDermid Colorspan and Hewlett Packard have high end 6 – 12 color printers that are used to make fine art giclées.
The entire process of production to achieve the final fine art giclée is an artistic endeavor within itself, requiring a great deal of patience and skill. A professional quality giclée starts with a high resolution digital photograph. This file must then be color corrected and adjusted to match the original artwork.
Matching the final print to the original painting is a demanding process, because the digital colors of an image (which are composed of three colors: red, green and blue) must be adjusted to look true once printed on canvas with the printer (which uses four colors: cyan, magenta, yellow and black). This requires the use of a colorist and is overseen by the artist. The file preparation and proofing can take anywhere from a couple of hours to weeks, depending on the challenges posed by each image.
Printing is an integral part of the giclée process, and care must be taken to ensure the best result possible. It is essential to use a high quality printer with professional grade nozzles. These nozzles are able to apply ink dots as small as 1/100th the width of human hair. Giclées are printed on specially treated canvas using archival inks and then lacquered to increase their colorfastness and longevity.
Artevo uses all of these techniques and materials to ensure the quality of our giclées. We employ a team of experts in the field of scanning, color matching and printing. The end result is the finest quality product available. Our production department is dedicated to keeping our giclée production standards and materials of the highest quality. We strive to use the most current giclée technology and keep up with the latest industry developments.
Artevo produces its fine art giclée on high quality canvas, thereby creating an exquisite product that has all the characteristics of the original painting and does not need to be framed under glass.
Today, images reproduced using the Giclée Process are of such a high quality that they can be found on display at museums around the world, including The Louvre, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Guggenheim.
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What makes a giclée valuable?
As far as artistic processes are concerned, the giclée process is very new, and subsequently consumers may have questions about how valuable giclées are. Here are some of the reasons why an art buyer should seriously consider purchasing a giclée.
 When the production quality and the materials used are of excellent standards, the giclée can last a long time. If produced with the very best ink and canvas available, it is estimated that a giclée can remain colorfast for 75 years or more.
The giclée printing process now provides better color accuracy than almost any other means of reproduction. Made from high resolution photographs, giclées offer impressive vibrancy and clarity.
Limited editions of below 400 have proven to have excellent resale value in the art market. Once the edition is sold out, most giclées will continue to increase in value as the image will be unavailable anywhere else.
If an artist’s original work is marketable, there is no reason why high quality giclées of his or her work will not be the same. Giclées are a wonderful cost effective alternative and are often indistinguishable from the original painting.
With the technology gaining a strong base in the art world, giclées will become an increasingly popular option for artists. Fine art giclée works are already in museums and this trend is set to continue as our digital culture becomes even more advanced.
When considering an investment in art, it is preferable to invest in and own a quality limited edition giclée form a credentialed artist than an original work of lesser quality. Also, there are many situations in which a limited edition giclée could be the first choice. These include: vacation homes; gifts, or display in executive offices, or any other environment in which you wish to maintain a certain quality standard, but in which an original work would not be practical, secure or cost effective.
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