Giclee

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armouredbear
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Giclee

Post by armouredbear »

What does Giclee mean?

And how do you pronounce it?

Also, how does one obtain limited edition prints for framing and resale?

Bear.
markw

Re: Giclee

Post by markw »

Well I pronounce it gee clee but I have heard many variations on the theme. Giclee prints are produced on an inkjet printer. In its simplest form that description could apply to almost any inkjet printer that you have at home - in reality it normally means a very high quality professional inkjet printer using high quality pigment or dye based inks on high quality paper.

The resulting print should have very superior reproduction qualities when compared to the way that many prints were produced using lithographic printing. The main difference being that Giclee prints have no visible dot structure - as litho prints do. This lack of dot structure is achieved because ink droplets are sprayed onto the paper giving a smoother tonality and theoretically better reproduction of the original. Modern Giclee printers also use many more colours than conventional litho to achieve the subtle tones necessary to get really great reproduction of the original.
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Jonny2morsos
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Re: Giclee

Post by Jonny2morsos »

I pronounce it "zhee-clay" but there may be regional variations.

Plenty of info. if you google the word.

Locally my customers all use these folks:

http://www.artworksrepro.co.uk/
armouredbear
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Re: Giclee

Post by armouredbear »

Thank You :wink:

Bear.
stcstc

Re: Giclee

Post by stcstc »

its comes from the french "to spray", promounced gee clay, well its how i pronouce it

basically it kinda doesnt mean anything anymore

a better term is pigment prints,

generally prints should be on firbre based paper without lots of OBA's in it, and printed with pigment inks (i use epson K3 inks)


if you want to see info about papers and ink combinations a good place to start is whilhelm research


as for editions. for photo editions they tend to be self managed in the majority. although for example the FATG have a database where print members can enter editioned prints.

the scary thing about a lot of photo editions i have seem people sell say editions of 50, but then sell the image to a book and a postcard printer!!!!!!
guzzijim
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Re: Giclee

Post by guzzijim »

markw wrote:inkjet printer using high quality pigment or dye based inks on high quality paper.

.
I think pigment inks are excluded, they do not have the resistance to fade as with pigment inks.
stcstc

Re: Giclee

Post by stcstc »

No dye based inks do have the same light vastness although they do tend to have a wider colour gamut
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JamesC
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Re: Giclee

Post by JamesC »

Usually it is pronounced jee-clay or jee-shlay.

I researched it quite deeply 5 or 6 years ago, and have been a digital printer since then, so some of this is from the depths of my mind but I think it's quite accurate.

It does mean squirt and is now used liberally. However - the original giclee printers were called "Iris" printers and these were pretty expensive and very high quality +the best thing for doing limited editions. Roland also did some drum machines which were good also and although not technically high dpi, due to the method produced very good results.

Originally digital inkjet prints did not measure up but over the last 7-10 years companies like Epson initially and then Canon and HP have really moved the technology on for the fine art and photography market. Due to the low machine cost and now excellent consistent prints these have overtaken the market for short run work and are today what are mainly used to produce "giclee prints". The HP z3100 is a good example and prints 12 colours at 1200 dpi (or 2400 "optimised" which involves a bit of trickery I think).

I would say that modern offset litho printing is still comparable in terms of resolution (it's the equivalent of 2000 to 3000 dpi I was told when I worked at a company that did it) and will be vastly cheaper on large runs or editions of 500-750.

The big advantage of giclee is there are much fewer set-up costs so editions can be run off as demand arises - less initial investment required. Also the longevity of the inks which can now be up to 200 years in the right conditions.

Some other points - think there was a typo but dye inks are not suitable for limited editions - though the colours can be brighter initially. Also some limited editions are not "strict limited editions" so it does not stop the seller releasing in other formats - the 50 could apply to one size only.
IslandViewJake
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Re: Giclee

Post by IslandViewJake »

The modern 'fine art' capable ink-jet printer was invented (or at least perfected) by Graham Nash, ex-Hollies pop group/Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and his then road manager, Mac Holbert. They got hold of a couple of 'Iris' printers, then costing about $35,000 each, and, realising the potential for fine art printing with these machines, proceeded to dismantle them, muck around with them, re-assemble them and eventually adapt them to do just that; produce 'fine-art' prints. Personally, I hate the term giclee, it seems quite pretentious these days, but that's just my opinion. Anyway, Nash and Holbert run a printing service (very 'high-end' in California). So the modern capability of the best ink-jet printers is really down to a rock star with a hammer and a hacksaw!

Nash Editions live here:
http://www.nasheditions.com/
markw

Re: Giclee

Post by markw »

Iris ink jet printers were developed by a company called Scitex. I used one of the first ones in the uk some 20 plus years ago. They had to have a temperature and humidity controlled room and be attached to some very expensive hardware - even then the jets would block frequently and getting reliable prints was a bit hit and miss. The machine was mainly used for proofing repro work - The word Giclee wasn't used - they were just called ink jet prints. I dont think at that time we saw them as having such a brilliant future.

I am a bit old fashioned about what represents a limited edition - The definition used to be that the number of prints was defined plus a percentage of artists proofs. The plates were destroyed so that no further copies could be pulled. It was frowned upon to use the same image for any other purpose. The reality of this is that limited editions are sold on the basis of exclusivity - the lower the edition number the better. When your customer realises that you can get another size - or a card, mug etc with the same image then that bubble is burst and the perception of something exclusive that has value is gone. The changes in this protocol by the Fine Art Trade Guild was a major reason why I personally felt they had undervalued they're authority as a trade organisation.
kevinpat
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Re: Giclee

Post by kevinpat »

I pronounce it "zhee-clay" but there may be other variations for multiple accents.

Learn more stuff about giclee printing here: https://printerdeets.com
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prospero
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Re: Giclee

Post by prospero »

I think the main reason for the name is because it's (derived from) French and it sounds arty. :lol: 8)
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Steve N
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Re: Giclee

Post by Steve N »

Why answer a thread that is over 11 years old
the OP has not visted the Forum for 10 years
2 or more of the members have not visted for over 5 years...............
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Re: Giclee

Post by Richard Photofusion »

To push people towards a website full of useless misinformation.
Giclee*, sure I can do that for you, but it'll cost you extra.

*AKA squirt prints.
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Steve N
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Re: Giclee

Post by Steve N »

French for 'Squirt'
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