Giclee is a fine art reproduction process based on digital technology.  The word giclee is French and means "to squirt or to spurt".  A giclee print is a print that is produced by the giclee reproduction process.

 

The giclee process begins by making a high-resolution copy of the original artwork.  The Giclee Salon uses exclusively a photographic process to capture the high-resolution image.  This allows us to manually correct the image for any flaws and to correct the color so that the reproduced image will have precisely the same colors as the original work.  The photographic process also allows us to reproduce works that are both small and large.  The alternative process used by some other giclee production shops involves the use of a scanner.  This limits the type of artwork that can be reproduced and also places limitations on size.

 

Once the high-resolution image is captured the image is carefully examined to ensure its fidelity with the original artwork.  Corrections are made where necessary.  At this point the image may be "scaled" so that several different sizes of the original artwork can be reproduced.  The final product from this process is one or more high-resolution digital files that will then be used to render the image.

 

Prior to rendering the digital files are once again examined to ensure that the colors represented within the file are compatible with those generated by the printer.  A special ink-jet printer designed specifically for art reproduction is then used to render the images on paper or on canvas.  The printer uses pigment-based, archival ink that contain no dyes.

 

Paper or canvas is used for the giclee print.  The Giclee Salon uses both media depending on the particular work.  Only the highest grade archival paper is used for our prints.  Our canvas products are of similar quality to the paper products.

 

Victory Garden by Eric Westbrook