We live in an incredible era, where significant revolutions have been taking place in recent years in both the industrial and even artistic fields. It used to be that once an art piece was sold, that was it. The buyer had the one and only version, and that’s all the world would get. With giclée printing, that is no longer the case. Fine art is now readily available for the masses.
So What is a Giclée?
Giclée is a French term for “to spray” or “to squirt”. It refers to the process that an inkjet printer uses to reproduce fine art or photography to create individual copies of the original piece. It is important to note that not all inkjet prints are giclée prints. With giclée printing, you can expect a higher quality product that lasts a lifetime, much longer than your run-of-the-mill inkjet prints.
There are certain criteria that must be met for a print to be considered a giclée: To uphold the quality of a true giclée, the resolution must be at least 300 dots per inch (DPI). Think about when you zoom in on a photograph. The more you zoom in, the more distorted the image becomes. To maintain the integrity of the work, you must increase the DPI because the more dots there are in a small space, the more detailed the final product becomes.
The next aspect to consider is what printer is used to print your giclée. The type of printer used to produce a giclée print will impact the quality of the end product of your chosen piece of art . Technical skills and stable equipment can make or break the giclée. The ink used for a giclée printer should be pigment-based, while a lower grade inkjet printer will use dye-based ink.
Giclee Print Types:
You can choose the medium for your giclée to be printed on: rolled canvas, stretched canvas, or archival paper.
There are three factors to consider when choosing between archival paper and canvas for giclée's: price, matting/framing requirements, and embellishment.
1. Archival Paper: The paper must be archival quality to ensure the longevity of the artwork.
In terms of price, printing on paper is generally about half the price of printing on canvas. As to be expected, the thicker, fabric-type material of high-quality canvas is more expensive than that of high-quality paper. The process necessary to create giclée prints on paper is less intensive and therefore more budget-friendly. In addition, you must take into account the cost of protecting and framing the artwork. To maintain the integrity of a giclée print on paper, it is important to protect the work behind glass. An acid-free mat and quality-frame are recommended as well, which oftentimes are more expensive than the giclée itself.
2. Canvases: Canvas is essentially a fabric that has been specially prepared to handle and retain high-quality pigmented inks. It is sturdy and has archival properties, like archival paper, which means it is acid-free and will hold up to the standards set for a giclée.
With a canvas print, it is not necessary to have a protective pane or frame to hang it. Depending on your aesthetic preference, you have the choice to hang the canvas free of frame or with a traditional frame. The stretched canvas is printed on a box canvas 4 cm deep, the deep edges are painted so no frame is needed. It is ready to hang. The rolled canvases will need to be stretched once you receive it.
Embellished Giclée
There is the option to have your giclée embellished. Once it is printed, the artsit might choose to customize the piece. This will highlight depth and three-dimensionality, thicken textures, and make it beautiful and dynamic.
Only canvas prints can be embellished, and because of this, canvas prints tend to resemble an original painting more closely than a giclée print on archival paper.
Unique Art Increased Value
One of the biggest reasons to embellish a giclée is that it increases the value of the print. Each embellishment, whether heavy or light, creates a unique piece of art that breathes authenticity and originality. Because embellishments make the piece unique it becomes more valuable and rare. The high quality and long lifespans of giclées ensure that the prints appreciate in value. As an artist becomes more popular and their work becomes more in demand, their limited edition prints will increase in value.
Check out the embellished giclée's offered here.