WHAT IS A GICLÉE:

 Giclée (jhee-clay) - Derived from the french verb gicler meaning to squirt. The term giclee print typically connotes a certain elevation in printmaking technology. Images are high resolution digital scans printed with archival quality inks onto various substrates. The giclee process provides better color accuracy than other means of reproduction.

A Giclée (pronounced Zhee-clay) is an individually produced, high-resolution fine art print now considered to be the most accurate technique for reproducing an artist's original works of art. The new high definition printing technique was developed in the United States during the 1990s, and is now the high end standard of the arts world.

The Giclée is unsurpassed in terms of matching the original artwork and also in terms of conservation. Thanks to new archival inks, conservation has been greatly improved from the offset lithography.

Giclées are superior to traditional lithography in several ways. The gamut of color and resolution for Giclées is far beyond that of lithography or serigraphy. The colors are richer, brighter, last longer, and are so high-resolution that they are virtually continuous tone, rather than tiny dots. Giclées can be printed on a number of media, from canvas to watercolor paper. This renders an amazingly smooth and consistent image, a Museum Quality Fine Art Reproduction.

Since the digital image includes every subtlety and nuance of the original -- including the smallest details of light and shadows such as the textures of the paint and canvas or paper -- the fine art Giclée is often indistinguishable from the original work of art.

The process consists of a very sophisticated printer (with nozzles tinier than a human hair) that sprays millions of micro-droplets a second onto the media (paper or canvas). The Giclée is printed one line at a time and it may take an hour to complete a single 30" x 30" sheet.

Because Giclée printmaking is digital throughout the entire production process, there is much control of color and greater opportunity for artist interaction. Once completed, each art piece is inspected and goes through several quality control checks before the artist provides the final approval and signs the Certificate of Authenticity.

Giclées are priced midway between original art and regular limited edition lithographs. Limited edition lithograph prints are usually produced in editions of 500-1,000 or more, but Giclées rarely exceed 50-100 reproductions. Typically, limited edition Giclées are hand-signed by the artist indicating their personal approval of each work of art, and then individually numbered to identify each work of art as a part of the total edition.

Each print is inspected by me and once it has passed the quality control checks, I sign, date, and place my seal on the Certificate of Authenticity. I then hand sign and number each piece individually.