The
term Giclée (pronounced zhee-clay) was coined in 1991, to refer to
the product of an ink spray (gicler, in French) process of developing the
methods for the preparation of high quality reproductions and the use of the
word was intended to distinguish fine art prints from other commercial printing
processes.
A
giclée begins with a high resolution digital file of the artwork. The
image can be photographed or scanned directly. The image is then adjusted,
using computer software, to insure that the color balance and tonality closely
match the original. The giclée is prepared directly from the digital file.
Not all
digital prints are giclées. Only digital prints that are created using
special high-resolution printers, archival inks which meet strict printmaking
standards can be truly marketed as giclée prints. These fine art
reproductions are laboratory rated to provide several decades, if not a century
or more, of lasting print quality.
