WHAT IS A GICLEE PRINT?
The term Giclee (pronounced
zhee-clay) was coined in 1991, to refer to the product of an
ink spray (gicler, in French) process. Art Printmaker's were developing the methods for the preparation of
high quality reproductions and the use of the word was intended to distinguish
fine art prints from other commercial printing processes.
A giclee begins with a high
resolution digital file of the artwork. The image can be photographed or
scanned directly. It can also be scanned
from a high resolution photograph. The image is then adjusted, using computer
software, to insure that the color balance and tonality closely match the
original. The giclee is prepared directly from the
digital file.
Not all digital prints are
Giclees. Only digital prints that are
created using special high-resolution printers, archival inks which meet 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.
A PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINT
A Photographic Print is a high resolution capture from a camera or even a newer phone. From the original photo, we edit the image for resolution or dots per inch (dpi) or pixels per inch (ppi) and do minor adjustments for level, sharpness etc.
Many individuals are under the misconception that an image from a digital camera does not need to be edited. The instances of this happening are rare. Most images need to have some adjustments made.
A photographic print is most frequently printed on higher quality photo or metallic paper. These prints are also transferable to aluminum, wood and canvas. The rule of thumb is that the larger the image (most number of pixels) and the higher the resolution, the better the image will be on any of the media above.
