Purchasing artwork is an investment, especially when purchasing originals. If you are looking at pieces by famous and successful artists, your chances of obtaining an original are slim. Poster reprints lack the fidelity to the original and quality that are present in giclee prints. Technological advancements have allowed artists and printers to create high quality reprints of artwork suitable for display in your home and fine museums worldwide.
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The term "giclee print" is based on the French verb "gicler," meaning "to spray," and relates to the use of professional - grade inkjet printers in the production process. Giclee prints are created from high - resolution digital scans and printed onto the chosen substrate using archival - quality inks. Giclee prints can be printed on canvas, as well as fine art - and photo - base paper. Professional 8 - Color to 12 - Color ink - jet printers created by innovative companies including Epson, MacDermid Colorspan, and Hewlett - Packard are capable of producing detailed giclee prints for both fine art and photographic art. Giclee prints are able to maintain all the nuances and tonalities of the original work and rival the quality of traditional silver - halide and gelatin prints that are commonly found in museums and fine art galleries. |
While giclee prints are ideal for private use because of the cost - prohibitive nature of owning original artwork, museums including New York's Metropolitan Museum, Museum of Modern Art, and the Chelsea Galleries all have giclee prints on display. Giclee prints are also advantageous for contemporary artists, since the digital scans can be archived and reprinted on an as - needed basis. This eliminates the cost of mass - production reprints and allows the artist to exercise a degree of control over the number of prints created and the substrate used. Since digitally archived files do not deteriorate and can be resized, you can buy the print that is the appropriate size for your space. Artists can also choose to use different substrates according to specific pieces or client request.
Giclee prints have a number of advantages over their less expensive counterparts. Unlike giclee prints, these lower quality reprints do not use archival - quality, color - fast inks or quality canvas or paper substrates. Creating these reprints typically involves a screen that leaves an unsightly visible dot pattern in the finished product that makes it unsuitable for expensive framing. Giclee prints, on the other hand, do not require a screen or other mechanical device in production and there is no dot pattern present. Thanks to the process of giclee printing, you can bring reproductions of beloved famous artwork into your home that is the same quality as seen in museum reprints.
