Iris-Giclee« prints have an impressive exhibition record. They have been shown in museums and galleries throughout the world. A few examples are...

What is a Giclee?

A certain category of fine art print is known in the art world as a Giclee«. "Giclee" (zhee-clay) is a French term, in this case meaning, "spray of ink".

What is the process?

The cornerstone of this process is enhanced Iris digital ink jet printers which have been specifically modified for the rigorous and precise criteria of fine art collectors and connoisseurs of museum quality, limited edition prints. The printers use continuous tone technology in which infinitely small pixels of color are capable of rendering an amazingly smooth and consistent image, to faithfully mirror the artists original oil painting, watercolor, photograph, or digital art. The substrate (material, paper, or canvas) is affixed to a drum, and as the drum rotates at a very high speed, individual droplets of color are sprayed on to the surface at a rate of 4-5 million droplets per second. Once completed, a 34" x 46" image is comprised of almost 20 billion droplets of ink. In this process, we use the most archival, water based organic inks available in the world. We then complete the print by applying UV light resistant and light stabilizer post-coatings. The results are highly prized museum quality prints, in a limited edition.

Why is Giclee printing the way of the future?

The apparent resolution of the digital print is 1,800 dots per inch, which is higher than a traditional lithographic print and has a wider range of color than serigraphy. Giclee« prints render deep saturated colors and have a beautiful painterly quality that retains minute detail, subtle tints and blends.

A variety of substrates can be used.

A variety of substrates can be used. These include archival watercolor paper (such as Arches, Somerset, Laguna) glossy paper and cotton duck canvas. The prints may be hand embellished by the artist, to substantially increase the value, using any of a variety of media such as paint, ink, or gold leaf stamping for a mixed media effect. It is cost effective. The highest quality printing made affordable because the edition can be printed on a "as needed" basis, eliminating a substantial up front investment. Artist/Publishers can control inventory by printing only what is needed to display or sell. There is now no need to print the whole costly edition. This opens up new possibilities for artists to be their own publishers. There is a large maximum paper size of 35" x 47". We can gang up multiple images on one sheet of substrate, so for example, a final print image up to 15" x 16" would cost only $25.00 per print, as one sheet could have six prints on it..

A Sample of Museum Galleries Currently Using Gicleés