What is a Giclee Print?
… and why do I use them?
The term “giclee” is derived from the French for “spray”. Pronounced “zhee-clay”, the term refers to how an inkjet printer works and how these prints are made. These inkjet printers use devices that can spray microscopic dots of pigment-based ink and can match colours with precision. A professional fine art printing company will use large format, specialised high resolution printers that produce images that stand way ahead of other standard printers.
Giclee fine art prints are usually made using high-quality, archival-grade inks and papers to produce images that will last for up to 200 years before they start to fade. One of the reasons that these prints are more expensive is due to the cost of these materials, as well as the specialised equipment that is being used.
Giclee is essentially the best choice that there is for producing high quality fine art prints.
High Resolution Images - Creating Digital Assets
A print is only as good as the image that is provided for the printers! It is crucial that the image of your work is produced to a professional standard. This can be done by taking a high resolution photograph of the painting, or by getting the painting scanned, again at a professional standard. The goal is to produce a digital file, or a digital asset as it is often referred to, that can be used in all sorts of ways whenever it is required. Producing a good quality digital asset (file) is extremely useful and once you have done this you will be able to produce prints, or other merchandise, over and over again.
I choose to photograph my own paintings. This gives me more control and is cheaper than paying for the paintings to be scanned or photographed by someone else (once you have purchased the necessary equipment!) There is a variety of technical knowledge and skills required to produce a good image - but none of which are too difficult to master. I will be giving a step by step guide on how to do this in a future blog.
I also use Adobe Photoshop to edit the image and to prepare it for sending to the printing company that I use. This involves preparing the file to the required size and the correct image resolution, adding a border if required, ensuring the settings are all correct and saving the file in an appropriate format for the printers. Again I will be going through this step by step in a future blog.
Fine Art paper
Most printing companies provide a range of fine art paper that you can chose from, depending on the sort of finish that you require. These range from Matt paper, which reduce reflections, to glossy finishes, which can add a bright appearance to a print. Fine art printing companies often have sample packs available, which include a range of the papers that they have to choose from. I’ve found that these are provided at excellent prices and give you the opportunity to see what the paper will look and feel like to help you make an informed choice.
For my prints I use Hahnemuhle Museum Etching paper, which is a heavyweight textured paper. The tactile textures of the paper gives the images depth and a three-dimensional quality with outstanding detail. It is a good weight (350 gsm), which enables the paper to hold more ink and gives the print a handcrafted feel.
A sample pack of fine art papers can be bought from most printers - giving you the opportunity to try out various options.
Pricing a Giclee
This can be quite a difficult decision to make. Essentially you need to add the cost of producing the print along with postage costs, and then decide upon the mark up that you want to add - which would then be your profit. Or is it that simple? There are of course many other things to consider - the cost of the materials used for doing the painting, the equipment needed to make a high resolution digital asset, the time taken to produce the painting and the digital file, other overheads involved such as the cost of a website, marketing costs, not to mention the time that you have taken to develop your skills over the years! How unique is your work and what might people be prepared to pay for it?
If you don’t price your work high enough, you may not be able to survive as a business. On the other hand, if you price too high, you won’t make so many sales. It is important to consider the prices that other artists are charging for similar work to give some direction with this. I have found it useful to look at the prices that others artists are charging on various on-line print shops to get an idea of a suitable price range.
Investment Value
It is worth being aware that Giclee prints, because of their high quality and archival durability, can often increase in value over time. This will depend on the career of the artist to a certain degree, and if the print is part of a limited edition or not, but Giclee prints can be considered as being an excellent investment. These prints closely match the original artwork and can make them important additions to any art collection. Increasing numbers of art collectors are now turning to this market as a more inexpensive way to collect artwork that also has a monetary value.
Unwrapping a giclee print
This video shows how a giclee print is usually packaged when sent by post. The print will be carefully wrapped to protect the work from any damage during transit. The video also shows the quality of a giclee print, and the vivid colours that are achieved when this using printing method.
If you’d like to see more of the giclee prints that I have available please come and have a look around:
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