If you are an artist or a photographer, you should familiarize yourself with the idea of  Giclée printing. It’s one of the best printing methods for fine art, for multiple reasons. 

What exactly is Giclée printing? 

Giclée is a technique of printing which helps create prints that hold close fidelity to the original artwork. The term is French, and it means to spray. That refers to the method by which the printer works- by spraying ink onto the paper. 

What differentiates it from regular art print? 

For one thing, art prints are typically mass produced, creating cheap replicas of the original work. But Giclée prints are usually created on demand. Giclée prints have a  higher resolution compared with regular art prints. 

What are the elements in Giclée printing? 

Pigment based ink: Giclée printing uses pigment based ink. These inks are special- they could last without fading for more than fifty years.

12 colour printer: Like the ink, the printer used for Giclée printing is also special- able to handle up to twelve different colours. That’s not possible with regular inkjet printers. The 12 colour printer helps produce images of significantly higher quality, with colours true to the original. 

Archival paper: For Giclée printing to produce the best results, print them on archival quality papers. These are acid-free and the images printed on them last without fading for more than 50 years. 

When is Giclée printing used the most? 

Giclée printing is not just done on demand, it is also more expensive than regular printing. This means it is not used for just any purpose. Here are the typical instances in which it is used: 

When your original artwork is sold but there is still a demand for it: You can create high quality Giclée prints which could then be sold to more customers at a price lesser than the original. 

When you want to showcase an artwork but don’t want to display the original: Perhaps, you wish to showcase an artwork in a public venue. But due to security issues  or concerns about the artwork getting spoiled, you don’t wish to display the original. You can instead use a Giclée print that will have almost all the charms of the original. 

Now that you have seen what’s special about Giclée prints, the next time you create a print of your artwork, you may want to consider it. It’s the print that your work deserves.