What is a Giclee?
A giclee (zhee-CLAY), is an individually produced, high-resolution, high-fidelity, high tech reproduction done on a special large format printer.
Giclees are produced from digital scans of existing artwork.
Giclees can be printed on any number of media, from canvas to watercolor paper to vinyl, to transparent acetates. Giclees are superior to traditional
lithography in nearly every way. The colors are brighter, last longer, and are so high-resolution that they are virtually "continuous tone", rather than
tiny dots. The range, or "gamut" of color for giclees is far beyond that of lithography, and details are crisper.
Lithography uses tiny dots of four colors - can, magenta, yellow and black - to fool the eye into seeing various hues and shades. Colors are
"created" by printing different size dots of these four colors.
Giclees use inkjet technology, but far more sophisticated than your desktop printer. The process employs six colors - light cyan, cyan, light
magenta, magenta, yellow and black (sometimes, TWO blacks) - of lightfast (fade resistant,) pigmented inks and finer, more numerous, replaceable
print heads resulting in a wider color gamut, and the ability to use various media to print on. The ink is sprayed onto the page, actually mixing the
color on the page to create truer shades and hues.
Giclees were originally developed as a proofing system for traditional lithographic printing presses, but it soon became apparent that the presses
were having a hard time delivering the quality and brilliant color of the giclee proofs. Giclees evolved into the new darlings of the art world. They are
coveted by collectors for their fidelity and quality, and desired by galleries and artists alike.
In addition, Giclees are produced directly from a digital file, saving generations of detail-robbing negatives and printing plates used with traditional
litho printing.
A giclee (zhee-CLAY), is an individually produced, high-resolution, high-fidelity, high tech reproduction done on a special large format printer.
Giclees are produced from digital scans of existing artwork.
Giclees can be printed on any number of media, from canvas to watercolor paper to vinyl, to transparent acetates. Giclees are superior to traditional
lithography in nearly every way. The colors are brighter, last longer, and are so high-resolution that they are virtually "continuous tone", rather than
tiny dots. The range, or "gamut" of color for giclees is far beyond that of lithography, and details are crisper.
Lithography uses tiny dots of four colors - can, magenta, yellow and black - to fool the eye into seeing various hues and shades. Colors are
"created" by printing different size dots of these four colors.
Giclees use inkjet technology, but far more sophisticated than your desktop printer. The process employs six colors - light cyan, cyan, light
magenta, magenta, yellow and black (sometimes, TWO blacks) - of lightfast (fade resistant,) pigmented inks and finer, more numerous, replaceable
print heads resulting in a wider color gamut, and the ability to use various media to print on. The ink is sprayed onto the page, actually mixing the
color on the page to create truer shades and hues.
Giclees were originally developed as a proofing system for traditional lithographic printing presses, but it soon became apparent that the presses
were having a hard time delivering the quality and brilliant color of the giclee proofs. Giclees evolved into the new darlings of the art world. They are
coveted by collectors for their fidelity and quality, and desired by galleries and artists alike.
In addition, Giclees are produced directly from a digital file, saving generations of detail-robbing negatives and printing plates used with traditional
litho printing.
Prints
| Dee Lessard -115 Brennan St. Manchester, NH 03109- 603-668-7532 All Art work and images are © Dee Lessard All rights reserved |
| Below are samples of prints available through my ETSY store: www.deelessard.etsy.com |