What is Giclée?

It’s such a blessing to be able to offer giclée fine art reproductions in my print shop. You might be wondering, however, what exactly IS giclée?

Giclée, which is pronounced jee-clay, is a French word meaning to squirt or spray. This is the method that an inkjet printer uses to disperse ink onto paper. The main difference between a giclée printer and your standard inkjet printer is the ink. Giclée printers use pigment-based, archival inks, which are light-fast. These will last much longer than the dye-based inks of a standard printer. Giclée printers also use 8-10+ ink cartridges, which allow for a wider range of colours, the highest resolution, and a broader range of shades.

I also have the option of a variety of surfaces on which to print. For my reproductions, I choose to print my watercolour pieces on a heavy-weight cold-press (read: texture!) paper, which is the same kind of that I paint my original watercolours on. For the reproductions of my canvas paintings, I can print on a primed cotton canvas, which allows the reproductions to look almost identical to the originals.

It’s really exciting to be able to offer reproductions that are so similar to the originals. I know that original art isn’t always in everyone’s budget, so being able to offer quality reproductions to still get fine art into your home to enjoy is such a pleasure.

Can you believe this a print?

A reminder that the print shop is open the last weekend of every month. For July 2022, it will open July 29th at 9am EDT and close Sunday the 31st at 11:59pm EDT.