What is a giclee print?

WHAT IS A GICLEE PRINT?

Giclee (She-clay) prints are reproduced onto watercolor paper, making a print almost indistinguishable from an original watercolor. In my limited edition Giclee prints, I have never gone beyond a production of 100, and sometimes the edition is 50. This makes a fine art collector print to be proud of. These prints will need the same care and protection as an original watercolor and should never be hung where direct sunlight or moisture can affect the quality.

With the advent of the Giclee, the art of fine printing has become even more precise. Because no screens are used, the prints have a higher apparent resolution than lithographs. The dynamic color range is like serigraphy. In the Giclee process, a fine stream of ink -- more than four million droplets per second -- is sprayed onto archival watercolor paper. The effect is similar to an airbrush technique but much finer. Each piece is carefully hand mounted onto a drum which rotates during printing. Exact calculations of hue, value and density direct the ink of four nozzles to produce a combination of 512 chromatic changes (with over 3 million colors possible) of highly saturated, nontoxic water based ink. The artist's color approval and input are essential for creating the final custom setting for the edition.

The latest advancements in the Giclee process are the work of a sophisticated fine art production facility that utilizes the highest resolution digital printers. This edition of fine art prints is a collaboration between the artist and a specially trained craftsman. They have extended the boundaries of current technology by customizing their equipment, designing new programs, and offering protective coatings to ensure quality standards for the collector.

Displaying a full color spectrum, Giclee prints capture every nuance of an original watercolor painting and have gained wide acceptance from artists as well as such institutions as the Chicago Art Institute and Los Angeles County Museum.