A certain category of fine art print is known in the art world as a Giclee´. "Giclee" (zhee-clay) is a French term">

	What is a Giclee´. A certain category of fine art print is known in the art world as a Giclee´. "Giclee" (zhee-clay) is a French term, in this case meaning, "spray of ink". What is the process? The cornerstone of this process is enhanced Iris digital ink jet printers which have been specifically modified for the rigorous and precise criteria of fine art collectors and connoisseurs of museum quality, limited edition prints. The printers use continuous tone technology in which infinitely small pixels of color are capable of rendering an amazingly smooth and consistent image, to faithfully mirror the artists original oil painting, watercolor, photograph, or digital art. The substrate (material, paper, or canvas) is affixed to a drum, and as the drum rotates at a very high speed, individual droplets of color are sprayed on to the surface at a rate of 4-5 million droplets per second. Once completed, a 34" x 46" image is comprised of almost 20 billion droplets of ink. In this process, we use the most archival, water based organic inks available in the world. We then complete the print by applying UV light resistant and light stabilizer post-coatings. The results are highly prized museum quality prints, in a limited edition. Why is Giclee´ printing the way of the future? The apparent resolution of the digital print is 1,800 dots per inch, which is higher than a traditional lithographic print and has a wider range of color than serigraphy. Giclee´ prints render deep saturated colors and have a beautiful painterly quality that retains minute detail, subtle tints and blends. A variety of substrates can be used. These include archival watercolor paper (such as Arches, Somerset, Laguna) glossy paper and cotton duck canvas. The prints may be hand embellished by the artist, to substantially increase the value, using any of a variety of media such as paint, ink, or gold leaf stamping for mixed media effect.
Rose currently has two Giclee prints for sale. If you are interested, please e-mail her for more information. rose@roseedin.com
Giclée prints of the original are available on Summerset Velvet watercolor paper.   Price: $300
Giclée prints of the original are available on Summerset Velvet watercolor paper. Price: $300
With the advent of the Giclée, the art of fine art printing has become even more precise. Because no screens are used, the prints have a higher apparent resolution than lithographs. The dynamic color range is like a serigraph. In the Giclée process, a fine stream of ink more than four million droplets per second is sprayed onto canvas. Each piece is hand mounted onto a drum , which rotates during printing. Exact calculations of hue, value and density direct the ink of four nozzles. This produces a combination of 512 chromatic changes, (with over 3 million colors possible ) of highly saturated, nontoxic water based ink. The artist’s color approval and input are essential for creating the final custom setting for the edition. The latest advancements in the Giclée process are the work of a sophisticated fine art production facility that utilizes the highest resolution digital printers. This edition of art prints is a collaboration between the artist and a specially trained printing craftsman. They have extended the boundaries of current technology by customizing their equipment, designing new programs, and offering protective coatings to ensure quality standards for the collector. Displaying a full color spectrum, Giclée prints capture every nuance of an original painting,  be it watercolor, oil or acrylic and have gained wide acceptance from many artists along with major institutions like the Chicago Art Institute and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.