What is Giclee

Giclée Printing refers to a printmaking method that involves using a digitised image outputted from a computer to a large format inkjet printer. The term "giclee" is derived from the French for "spray" and was first coined by Jack Duganne, a printmaker, to represent an inkjet-based digital print used as fine art.

To qualify for the title of a "fine art giclée print" it should be made on archival quality coated paper, and printed with pigment based archival inks, which are UV stable. The Fine Art Trade Guild has set minimum standards for a giclee print - it must score 6 or more on the Blue Wool Scale for light fastness, with an acidity level of between pH7 and pH9, to minimise discolouring.

The quality of the paper or canvas used in a giclee print is very important. Fine art paper mills such as Hahnemuhle, who have been producing mould made artist papers for over 435 years, have an extensive range of fine art papers used in giclee printing. The final result will be a superb giclee print, often on the same media as the original artwork.

To achieve a very high standard of colour reproduction with neutral greys, a typical giclee printer will use a twelve colour pigment based ink set, comprising of red, blue, green, grey, photo grey, cyan, photo cyan, magenta, photo magenta, yellow, regular black, and matte black.

A giclee print made using pigment inks can be lightfast for up to 100+ years, but this depends on factors such as paper type and storage conditions. By using pigment based archival inks, the archival properties of a giclee print are significantly higher than traditional silkscreen or litho prints.

- RedcliffePrint.co.uk