The word Giclée (jhee-clay), is derived from the French verb gicler meaning "to squirt", Giclée, is used to describe a fine art digital printing process. The prints are created using a high-resolution inkjet printer and a computer imaging application like Photoshop. Images or paintings are carefully scanned or digitally photographed and reproduced. Giclée prints are digital reproductions of original artwork.Giclée printing offers one of the highest degrees of accuracy and richness of colour available in any reproductions technique. The prints provide a luminosity and brilliance that represents the artist's original work better than any fine art reproduction technique available today.
The printing process involves squirting or spraying microscopic dots of pigment-based ink onto fine quality paper or canvas. The image is digitised and colour corrected to attain the closest possible match to the original work. This digital information is fine tuned to the type of paper or surface on which the image is to be printed, further ensuring fidelity to the original. All of this information is stored and used for each individual print, which will retain the same quality from the first print in an edition, to the very last. On paper, the inks are actually absorbed slightly and blend to create fine art reproductions that are often indistinguishable from the originals. On canvas, the process yields prints of excellent vibrancy and realism.


Giclée's are printed on a variety of substrates or mediums, the most common being watercolour paper or canvas. Image permanence is a concern to artists and collectors. Estimates are based on laboratory simulations of aging to give a fade & colour shift resistance of 200 years, in ideal conditions.Tests developed and conducted by Epson.

Printing in this way is of an advantage to artists who find it unfeasible to mass-produce their work, but want to reproduce their art as needed. Another advantage to Giclée printing is that artwork can be reproduced to almost any size and on various media.

Information provided from www.tantra.co.uk