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GICLEE is pronounced "GEE-CLAY"
which is derived from the french verb meaning "to
squirt" or "to spray" (ink). The
term Giclee print typically connotes a certain elevation
of print making technology. Images are high
resolution digital scans printed with archival quality
inks onto various substraits. The Giclee process
provides better color accuracy than other means
of reproduction. Giclee prints have the same
look, texture and feel of original oil paintings.
Giclee prints (also known as Iris prints) are also
used by artists who don't find it feasible to mass
produce their works, but want to reproduce
their art as needed. A giclee (zhee-CLAY) is
an individually produced, high-resolution, high-fidelity
reproduction done on a special large format printer.
Giclees are produced from digital scans of existing
artwork. Also, since many artists now produce only
digital art, there is no "original" that
can be hung on a wall. Giclees solve that problem,
while creating a whole new vibrant medium for art.
Giclees can be printed on any number of media, from
canvas to watercolor paper to transparent acetates.
Giclees
are superior to traditional lithography in several
ways. 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.
Lithography uses tiny dots of four colors--cyan,
magenta, yellow and black--to fool the eye into
seeing various hues and shades. Giclees use inkjet
technology, but far more sophisticated than your
desktop printer, with lightfast inks and toner,
more numerous, replaceable printheads, a wider color
gamut, and the ability to use various media to print
on. They are priced midway between original art
and regular limited edition lithographs. Limited
edition litho prints are usually produced in editions
of 500-1000 or more, but giclees rarely exceed 50-100
reproductions. Giclees were originally developed
as a proofing system for lithograph printing presses,
but it became apparent that the presses were having
a hard time matching the quality and color of the
giclee proofs. They evolved into the new darlings
of the art world. They are coveted by collectors,
and desired by galleries because they don't have
to be produced in huge quantities with their large
layout of capital and storage.
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