What is a giclée?

The word giclée (pronounced zhee-clay) originates from a French term meaning “to spray.”  This alludes to the technology used for giclée printing, in which special inks are “sprayed” on a substrate.  A “giclée” may be defined as follows:

High fidelity, archival quality digital reproduction of a two-dimensional artwork, generally consisting of a limited quantity of copies numbered and signed by the artist.

Is this for you?

A giclée print is generally the closest reproduction that can be made of an original two-dimensional artwork.  Furthermore, giclées can be reproduced on a variety of art papers with different textures and tonalities, as well as different types of canvas.  The artist may then choose to individually hand-embellish each print.  

Giclées enable artists to obtain significantly higher income from their artworks –

• Because of the additional income from giclées, artists are able to spend more time and effort on creating original artworks – there is no rush to finish and sell.

• Artists can charge more for their original artworks – giclées provide a lower priced alternative for customers who are not willing or able to pay for the original.

• Artists may decide to keep the originals – sell only giclées.

• Unlike lithographs, the initial investment to produce a giclée is very moderate – sometimes less than $100! And giclées can be printed as needed, just a few at a time.