What is Giclée?

“Giclée” means ‘spray with ink” in French. Giclée prints are created by scanning original artwork digitally and printing them using a color printer that sprays tiny, precisely controlled drops of ink onto paper or canvas. The process guarantees a highly faithful reproduction of the original work in nearly continuous tones at a very high resolution. Giclée is digital printmaking technology with great advantages in beauty, quality and durability. The process can be used to print art that has been digitalized from the original, a transparency, or photograph or from original digital artwork. The digital files are tweaked using sophisticated graphics software to fine tune the images. They are then translated into a format usable by digital printers in preparation for the print files.

Unlike traditional printing media such as stone, wood, metal, and screen, there is no noticeable difference between the 250th art print and the first one because the digital image and printing process do not degrade with use.

Dozens of museums have mounted exhibitions or purchased Giclée Prints for their permanent collections. These include The Metropolitan Museum (New York), the Guggenheim (New York), the Museum of Fine Arts (Boston), the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts (DC), and the Smithsonian Institution Libraries, among others.

How to care for your Giclée print
You can extend the life expectancy of a Giclée art prints by not hanging them in direct sunlight or in rooms with excessive moisture. Care for them as you would any fine artwork on paper and they will reward you with many years of pleasure.