What is a Giclee Print?

Giclee is a digital method of fine art printing that was originally developed in 1989. The word Giclee is French for spray of ink. The image to be printed is scanned and digitally stored in a computer then sent to a high-resolution inkjet printer. Giclee is recognized as a category of fine art print such as lithographs.

Giclee is currently considered to be the premier method of reproducing original art. Color is much richer and truer to the original than in other types of reproduction. A Giclee print features a continuous tone color instead of a screen pattern of dots. It is often difficult to distinguish between the Giclee and the original piece of art.

High quality artist's material, such as archival watercolor paper and canvas are used for print production. Unlike other printing methods, each image is sent to the printer individually. Because of this, Giclee prints are often offered in smaller editions than lithographs. Although the inks and paper used offer a high degree of permanence, Giclee prints should be treated as fine art and be protected from moisture and harsh sunlight.