Giclee printsGiclee (zhee-klay) - The French word "giclée" means a spray or a spurt of liquid.Giclee prints are an advantage to artists who want to produce their art as needed, or on-demand. Once an image is digitally archived, additional reproductions can be made with minimal effort and reasonable cost. The prohibitive upfront cost of mass production for an edition is eliminated. Archived files will not deteriorate in quality as negatives and film will. Another tremendous advantage of giclee printing is that digital images can be reproduced to any size. What makes giclee printing a superior method of reproduction? Giclée are printed on a variety of paper types from canvas to watercolor or satin papers. prints on canvas, watercolor or other substrates will make photos and paintings jump out with deep blacks, saturation and gradations not possible with other media. What makes a great giclee? The concept is not new: artists made etchings on copper (plates) and would make limited editions on paper centuries ago. Some artists never even sell their originals: they only market limited editions. Others enhance the print with brush strokes, giving each piece a unique feel. If you are an artist or a photographer, a digital artist or manipulate your images, giclee prints are for you. Canvas PrintingProper coating can help eliminate scratches. Color gamut: the major issues with canvas is a reduced color gamut.Water resistance:A good canvas should not run when touched or when a little droplet of water falls on it.Giclee WatercolorYou will be surprised how great watercolor giclees can look. Because pure cotton textured papers similar or identical to the traditional papers. Gamut rendition is very goodInkjet canvas for giclee What makes a great giclee Make sure your files are color balanced there is no clipping in highlights and shadows. You can easily see any issues by running a histogram in Photoshop make it sharp. A giclee must be made with a high quality printer. Right now I would not consider anything else but a pro Epson. Inks and substratesAs for inks, it goes without saying that pigments should be used.The papers archival, acid free substrates. Are giclee prints worth printing?Some think that originals are the only way to go. But over the centuries artists have painted paintings that would crack, yellow, or even rott. This has never stopped a good work of art not to be appreciated and valued, after all how many times have the museums repaired famous paintings worth millions. But it is not the medium that matters, it is the rarity and desirability of a piece that will command value. Accelerated tests for giclee prints have been conducted in many fields with extremely high amounts of UV light, humidity etc are applied to simulate what will happen in a long period of time. and all reports are very promising. The giclee technique is becoming so popular because an artist can actually make a decent income in addition to selling the original art. If the artist wishes, the original does not even have to be sold.Digital artists as myself create giclees as their original medium. Photographers can offer their work on fine art papers and canvas. And some artists including myself use painting techniques that are very time consuming. If we were to depend on just the originals, we could not make it, in some cases making less than $1.00/hr.. Giclee printing offers a great outlet. Canvas printing prices Photographers can have thier photographic art printed as a digital enlargement, quality photo enlargements at lower prices if digital files are all set up for final print. |
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