1. What is Giclee, And Why Is It The Next Best Thing to Owning the Original?
Giclée (zhee-clay) is an advanced printmaking process for creating high quality fine art
reproductions. The attainable quality that Giclée printmaking affords makes the reproduction
virtually indistinguishable from the original artwork. The result is wide acceptance of high quality
Giclées by galleries, museums, and private collectors.
2. How does a Giclee differ from a traditional print (a lithograph)?
Giclée printmaking derives its quality from its seemingly “dotless” imaging technology which
contrasts with traditional fine art prints which typically relies on printing screen pattern dots to
reproduce full-range color. Because traditional offset printing dot patterns are detectable to the
unaided eye, it is less desirable than Giclée fine art prints for fine art reproduction. Traditional
offset prints are typically restricted to papers that widely vary from what the original artwork was
created on — especially when reproducing oil on canvas. The Giclée process enables
reproduction on virtually the same media as the original artwork whether it is on canvas,
textured watercolor paper, or specialty fine art papers. The result is a reproduction that is
virtually indistinguishable from the original artwork.
3. I have heard that reproductions fade over time, what about Giclee?
Museum-quality Giclée reproductions are recognized as "the next best thing” to owning the
original and can be found in the world's finest museums and art galleries. Based on
independent research and testing, there are various image permanence ratings for each
combination of ink and media used in Giclée printmaking. Wilhelm Imaging Research's image
permanence ratings have been provided to the public about expected display-life for various ink
and media combinations used in Giclée printmaking today. My printmaking company's Giclée
reproductions offer an image stability rating of greater than 80 years due to the archival-grade
pigment inks and acid-free media they use exclusively.
|
