What is a giclee?
The French word "giclée" (zhee-klay) is defined as a spray of liquid. It refers to the latest and most sophisticated printing technology. Tiny dots of rich color are infused into the canvas or paper substrate. Contrary to mass quantity printing processes, giclées are slowly produced one by one, with better color accuracy, richness, detail and depth than offset lithography or most other means of reproduction The giclée printing process provides a superb quality of fine art reproduction, true to the original, and if printed on Canvas, has the look and feel of an original oil painting. Giclées are now commonly found in museums & art galleries.*
Under typical home or office lighting, and depending on the papers or canvas used, giclées made with quality pigmented inks are estimated to last between 70 & 130 years without noticeable fade.
We produce our own giclées with the highest quality archival inks on all-natural COTTON/poly canvas, & the best acid-free fine art and photographic papers.
Canvas giclées are tougher and far more durable than paper prints & do not need to be framed. However, framing is often an excellent complement for any picture, including giclées on canvas. We offer several framing options.
For durability, giclées printed on canvas should be treated with a "clear coat" acrylic protection. We coat all our canvas giclee prints with a double rolled layer of anti-fading, anti scratch, waterproof, UV protective clear satin glaze. They do not need glass or plexiglass protection.
IMPORTANT: Don't mistake a "giclee" with an ordinary paper print pasted (glued) to a canvas.
*Numerous examples of giclee prints can be found in New York City at the Metropolitan Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Chelsea Galleries. Recent auctions of giclee prints have fetched $10,800 for Annie Leibovitz, $9,600 for Chuck Close, and $22,800 for Wolfgang Tillmans (April 23/24 2004, Photographs, New York, Phillips de Pury & Company.)