Giclee Printing
What is Giclee Printing?
Giclée printing (pronounced “zhee-clay”) is a high-quality fine art printing technique that uses inkjet printers to reproduce art, photographs, and other images. The term “giclée” is derived from the French word “gicler,” which means “to spray” or “to squirt,” and it refers to the way ink is applied in the printing process. Giclée printing is known for its ability to produce high-resolution, detailed, and vibrant prints that closely match the original artwork or photograph.
One of the advantages of giclée printing is the cost effectiveness of producing smaller runs and the variety of media that can be used. Before giclée printing had reached a quality standard, it was common for publishers to use litho and silkscreen printing to produce limited edition art. Both types of printing had high set up costs, making them unsuitable for low production runs. Giclée printing has no set up costs and can be used effectively for print on demand production, making it an ideal form of printing for self-published artists and publishers alike.
The quality of giclée printing has some variables according to the provider and the equipment they are using:
– Not all large-format printers have the same number of ink colours. The larger the number, the wider the colour gamut that is possible to print. Some fast commercial printers for example will only contain 4 ink colours – cyan, magenta, yellow and black. But giclée printing is not about speed, it is about quality and at Ultimat, we favour the latest Canon printers for the task, which employ a bank of 12 different ink colours for the widest possible colour gamut.
– The type of ink that is used is paramount to quality. Third party inks lack the consistency and technology of branded inks which can lead to variation in colours throughout a print run which means for a limited-edition release that is printed at different times, according to demand, that the quality cannot be assured. We only use Canon LUCIA PRO pigment inks which are tailored precisely to imagePROGRAF PRO printers so that the quality is never compromised in favour of cost reductions.
– Lastly the type of paper used will also have a bearing on the output quality. There are times where a lower cost paper is suitable where the lifespan of the product is shorter, such as trade exhibitions. However, for fine art printing paper quality will make an immediate impact on the look and feel of the prints. For limited editions, look to use paper which is around 300gsm or more and ideally archival. For those that have sustainability in mind, there are high quality papers available made from fast growing bamboo and hemp which have a significantly lower environmental impact. At Ultimat, we are able to offer many different types of papers, from 100% cotton rag, ultra-smooth, water-colour textured, to metallic.
Case Studies
Book a Consultation
To book a consultation please use the book now button and one of our in-house experts will be in contact with you.