The word Giclee (pronounced jee-clay) is French for "fine spray." It is a form of inkjet printing where microscopic droplets of ink are propelled at the paper.
Each of our giclee prints is made using Epson ultrachrome archival pigmented inks on Epson archival paper or canvas, with an Epson 7600/9600 wide format printer. The spray dots are so fine that the grain is comparable to film. The Ultrachrome inks' longevity surpasses conventional photographic materials and are rated at 150 years. Kodak C Paper is rated as 16 years, Ilfochrome at 29 years, Fuji Crystal Archive C Paper at 60 years, and Iris at 32 years.
In other words, the process that we use, sets a new standard for color print longevity.
Digitize: The image needs to be digitized.
This is done by taking a photo of the original work on a medium format
transparency film (4x5”), and then scanning it.
Edit: Once scanned, the image file is
corrected for color balance, contrast, brightness and many
other criteria.
If scratches or dust specks are found, they are removed at this stage
Proof: Proofing is simply a way of
running test strips or small samples of the print to determine if the
setup phase needs tweaking. When satisfied with the proof, it is presented
to the client. If approved, we move on to the final phase.
Now, the final print is sized and printed. It is important to note that the giclée can be reprinted any number of times and always appears the same as the first, and that the setup process (scanning/editing) has to be made only once for a given size of the giclee (sometimes the original scanning resolution does not allow for enlarging. In that case, it is necessary to begin the process by scanning again in order to preserve the quality).
Delivery: Finally, the giclées, and CD with
digitized image are delivered to you.
Protection: This step could be optionally done by the artist. The printed
layer on the printing medium is only a few mils thick. Therefore, it
is too easy to scratch the suface of the printing. In order to protect the printed
surface and pigmented inks from
the environment, it is necessary to apply a layer of a special protecting varnish.The varnish has to provide UV protection
as well as mechanical protection, and could by applied by spraying or brushing (additionally the varnish
can provide some extra texture).
The printing process begins with the scan, followed by the image editing on a computer, and ends with the final printout.
Every step of this process has to be controlled in order to guarantee the best color match with the original. We use ICC color management that begins with a scanner calibration/profiling for the type of film to scan , PC monitor calibration and profiling using a photocolorimeter device, and ends with printer linearization and profiling, using a special spectrophotometer, for each ink /paper combination.
The whole process takes a long time to do and has to be repeated weekly for the scanner and monitor. It must also be repeated each time the printer’s roll of paper and print cartridges are changed. This is called Custom Profiling and is the only way we can guarantee your giclee’s quality.
For more information, contact us.