What is a Giclée Print?
Possibly the question I get asked most is “What is a Giclée Print?”
Lots of artists sell Giclée prints but not many people know what they are and that is quite simply because the term “Giclée” (pronounced g clay) only came into use about thirty-odd years ago.
There is no industry standard for a Giclée print. A Giclée could be archival, printed on acid-free, fine art papers in a professional studio with fade-resistant inks on a high range printer but it doesn’t have to be. One artist may describe their prints as giclée another as digital and yet the two may be produced in exactly the same way with exactly the same materials. Without being scrupulous of small print both artists and consumers are often in the dark as to what any of this even means let alone exactly what they are getting.
If you are buying a giclée print from an artist ask them to describe the production process and materials to you, if they want you to pay the quoted price they should be able to explain what makes their giclée worth paying for.
So, what exactly do you get when you purchase a Giclée print from Sarah Duffield?
You get a print produced in a professional laboratory using a ten colour top of the range printer (your average household printer will use a mixture of four coloured inks) The fade resistant inks used will look the same under a range of different lighting conditions and create beautiful, softly blended colours which last much longer than your average digital print.
You get a print produced on award-winning Hahnemühle (No idea how to pronounce that!) fine art, acid free, archival paper – which basically means really good quality, fibrous paper that looks a bit like watercolour paper. Hahnemühle paper will last for years without yellowing or fading if displayed properly.
You get a print that has been looked after. Oil from skin can damage fragile papers and inks so no one at my printers will touch your print without gloves on, I only touch the outer white edge to number and sign before very carefully passing it back to a professional to be rolled, packaged and sent out to you.
How should you display your giclée print?
Giclée prints are easily damaged (I know I’ve ruined several over the years) If you need to pick up your print only touch the white edging so as not to ruin any of the beautiful inked areas. Your framer will know how to handle a giclée and once safely behind glass, your print should last for years.
Finally, although great quality giclée prints like mine will last for nearly a hundred years if stored flat and kept in the dark please do not do this, it would make me sad. Hang your beautiful print somewhere out of direct daylight, let the image bring joy to your home and enjoy your art.
S x
Want to see more?
You can shop all the prints I have available online, right here.