What is Giclée?

What is Giclée?
At Archival Arts, Giclée,(zhee-clay) is
a specific process that renders a high
quality art reproduction suitable for sale in
the world art market.
The Scan: The first and most important
part of the giclée process is the scan or
“capture”. Archival Arts uses a TTI large
format copy system that scans your
art direct to digital with extremely high
resolution.
(200-300mb
depending
on size of
original).
Direct to
digital gives
you the best
match to
your original
without extensive color correction.
Color Correction and Cropping: The
next step involves manipulating the raw
scan to get it ready for printing. Archival
Arts uses expert abilities in Photoshop
to balance the whites and greys and
eliminate any unwanted color casts.
Color
Management:
The second
most important
step is
attaching a
color profile to
the file. This
is a custom made profile that enables
the printer to produce accurate colors. A
separate profile is made for each type of
paper or media.
that is pleasing to the eye. Watercolor
prints do not require any type of spray
but we recommend matting and framing
under UV glass.
The Proof: The corrected file is used to
print an 8x10 proof
on watercolor
paper or canvas.
The proof is
analyzed by the
artist to ensure
an acceptable
match to the
original. Color
corrections are
made and
additional proofs
are printed if
needed.
The Final Touch: Archival Arts provides
a free certificate of authenticity with each
print. The certificate includes information
about the inks, media and equipment
used to produce the print, (invaluable
information for an appraiser in the future!)
Certificates provide a guarantee to your
buyer that they are getting a quality
reproduction that will last a lifetime.
The Final Print: After the proof is
approved by the artist, the final file is
burned to a cd for the artists archive and is
also backed up on Archival Arts’ on server.
Prints are then printed using archival
pigment inks and archival watercolor paper
or canvas. Our giclee’s are printed on an
Epson 9800 large format inkjet printer - a
standard in
any serious
giclee lab!
So now
we have a
print. Is it a
giclee? NO!
Steps must
be taken
to guarantee the print will last and hold its
value...
Finishing: Canvas prints are stretched
or mounted and varnished for protection
against UV rays and the elements.
Archival Arts uses a very even satin varnish
Add More
Value:
Some
artists
take their
giclée’s to
the next
level with
embellishments. Lets face it, pigment
inks cannot always reproduce some of the
rich colors you get with pure acrylics and
oils. Embellishing with paints can add a
personal touch to your giclee’s as well as
some extra texture and value!
Now it’s a Giclée!