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What is a Giclee and Giclee Printing?
Giclee (pronounced zhee-clay) refers to both a category of collectible
fine art, as well as a type of digitally created fine art print.
Not any digital print is a Giclee. Only digital prints that are
created using special high-resolution printers, archival inks, media
and strict printmaking standards can be truly marketed as Giclee
prints. These fine art reproductions are laboratory rated to provide
several decades, if not a century or more of lasting print quality.
Giclee fine art can be found on display in the world's finest museums
and art galleries.
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Why is Giclee printing an attractive alternative for artists
and photographers?
The opportunity to do limited runs, the variety of final print media,
and the quality of the final prints are a few good reasons to try
the Giclee process. Galleries and museums have recognized the Giclee
print as a superior method for obtaining the detail and richness
of original artwork. Digital printmaking is fast becoming popular
with artists and professional photographers alike. Giclee printing
offers high quality, affordable reproduction of fine artwork and
photos in various sizes and mediums. This allows the artist the
opportunity to produce high quality, limited runs of selected pieces,
thus reducing costs and eliminating expensive large inventories.
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When should I choose Giclee over photographic printing?
Giclee images will provide an artistic look to your images that
would be unattainable with photo printing.
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What is the expected life of our Giclee prints?
Remember that all colors will fade when exposed to light and Giclee
reproductions often vary. Independent tests are performed, under
controlled conditions, using our papers, canvas and inks simulating
lighting typical of the common home display. These third party tests
have shown Giclee prints stand the test of time for atleast 50-75
years and often longer. Extreme environmental factors such as moisture,
heat, ozone, and intense lights may alter these tests, and produce
different results.
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Are the colors accurate or similar to the original colors?
Giclee colors are brilliant, and far surpass the old methods of
art reproduction. The printing equipment used at The Printmaker.
Net produce results as close to the original as you have ever seen.
Occasionally the color range used in watercolors, acrylic paints,
photography and computer graphics may be different from the colors
available in the printing inks and outside the color spectrum of
the ink. During the proofing process we will fine tune the color
spectrum as we work together to produce your final prints.
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Are Giclee prints extremely fragile?
Giclee prints should be given the same care as any other piece of
fine art. Protect the art from moisture and water. Display it in
a location away from direct sunlight.
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Do I have to send you my original artwork?
We prefer to work from an original whenever possible so we can produce
the closest match. Viewing the original when doing color correction
is the most accurate way to get the best results. We can accept
your work on CD if you prefer-just have your artwork professionally
scanned and send us the digital file on CD as an RGB TIFF @ 300
dpi. The file size should be a minimum of 50 Megs. If you are not
sending us your original artwork, please include a good color photograph
to assist us in final color matching.
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Do I have control over the way my painting or drawing looks
on the final print?
Yes, Unlike the offset-lithographic process, Giclee printing gives
you, the artist, and your color technician more options as you work
toward final printing. There is little in your images, in their
digital state, that cannot be changed or fine-tuned to your satisfaction.
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What are the copyright issues?
The Printmaker.Net keeps your images strictly confidential and refuses
to print any images without the artist's explicit authorization.
We archive a copy of your image exclusively for the production of
your edition, as directed by you. All digital files of an artist's
images can be destroyed with his/her written request.
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Should I print on paper or canvas?
It depends on your client base and what you, the artist, prefers.
Canvas prints often have a perceived higher value that paper prints.
Customers will pay on average 30% more for prints on canvas than
on paper. Consider printing the canvas print a bit larger (20%)
than the paper print or offer the same image in varying sizes, either
on the same and/or different media. Keep your first limited editions
small in number. You want to be able to sellout the edition in less
than a year.
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What types of paper and ink do you use?
We use archival dye-based inks on watercolor paper and fine art
matte canvas. We use dye-based HP Vivera inks for their brilliant
color and consistent color balance, as opposed to pigmented inks,
which have less brilliance and exhibit a strong color shift between
media. Our papers and canvas are specific for the ink and printers
we utilize. The best result are can be seen using the smooth and
heavy Hahnemuhle Paper, Fredrix matte canvas.
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What Equipment do you use?
ThePrintmaker.Net is your source for high quality image output.
We specialize in reproductive printing of fine art and photographs
utilizing the HP 6100 (6 color) and the HP 3100 (12 color) printers.
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Is Giclee printmaking expensive?
True Giclee prints require expensive scanning, computing, and printing
hardware and take much more time to produce. Our printing prices
are the lowest in the business and are designed to help the artist
and The Printmaker.Net cover costs. We believe that all-inclusive
pricing is the most convenient for our customers. Again, Giclee
printing offers affordable reproduction of fine artwork and photos
that allows the artist the opportunity to produce high quality,
limited runs of selected pieces and in the long run reduces costs
by eliminating expensive large inventories.
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How do I get started?
Call or e-mail for an appointment to bring or send your original
artwork or CD to The Printmaker.Net. At that time we can give you
a better idea of what your project will take to accomplish and provide
firm timelines we all can work with. By doing this we can safely
say we will have your work done when it is promised.
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How long does it take to get my order back?
Giclee printing is a craft requiring time to get the proof as close
to the original as possible. From set up of the digital shoot, color
correction, proofing and printing we recommend allowing 10-14 working
days depending on the complexity and number of digital shoots and
prints ordered. We strive to provide the first proof print within
7 working days from the start of the job.
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What about the proofing process?
Images that are color matched for printing on one paper or canvas
may look differently on another. We suggest you decide ahead of
time what substrate (paper or canvas) you want to use for your finalized
print. Our proofs are printed on the same paper or canvas you choose
to print your final prints on.
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What do I do when I need a reprint?
You can call or e-mail us. Your images are kept on file and easily
accessed. Please specify image name, size, necessary borders and
the number of sheets requested. We will immediately schedule your
print into production. Reorder turnaround time is usually 5-7working
days.
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How many prints do I have to order?
Or minimum order is one sheet, however, there are discounts available
for volume printing. We don't encourage artists to print more then
they can sell in a reasonably short period of time. The whole idea
is to print what you need when you need it.
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How does the cost breakdown?
Jobs are priced per sheet. Multi-sheet discount prices are for same
sheet layout only. You can gang up to four different images on a
single sheet with an additional charge (see
pricing schedule). Be sure to consider image borders. Please
allow at least 1/2" around each image for cutting.
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How do I market my art to collectors?
A customer who has purchased two or more of your pieces is a collector
of your work. Your goal is to increase the number of collectors
of your art. Collecting art is very personal thing. Collectors want
a connection to the artist and in turn to their work. Artists who
spend time getting to know their customers often develop a core
group of collectors faster than those who don't.
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