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| © 2007 Jesse Crouch |
FINE ART PRINTING ONLY $6.50 PER SQUARE FOOT |
Giclee printing is the technical term for fine art printing using archival, pigment inks. Giclee, pronounced Gee clay, is rapidly becoming an everyday word in the modern artist’s vocabulary. Giclée is defined as “to spray” in French, the term was originally coined in the art world by the makers of the IRIS printers in order to describe their new art production method. The meaning has not changed since but the quality has progressed dramatically. While early prints from inkjet printers lasted less than three years, current prints have the capacity to last hundreds of years.
One of the most interesting apects of giclee printing is that it can be used for both original art production as well as art reproduction. When the finished art work in its original form exists digitally, giclees can serve as originals of extremely high value. Giclees are considered valid works of art by museums, galleries, and private collections around the world. |  |
The key advantage giclee prints have over lithographs are the minimum quantity. Lithographs often have to be produced in the thousands and stored by the artist until they are sold. If the artist sells out, there is no effecient way of producing another short series. Giclees make short runs both easily available and affordable. Instead of having to produce thousands of prints, editions of anywhere from ten to one hundred are extremely common. Editions of ten command a much greater price than editions of one thousand.
