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The
word giclée (pronounced jhee-clay) comes from the french verb gicler
(also pronounced jhee-clay) meaning to squirt or to spout. Used in the
digital imaging field, giglée refers to the process whereby a high
resolution image is created using ink which has been sprayed on to a
suitable surface by a high quality inkjet printer. The first inkjet
printers used for this purpose were manufactured by Iris and came to be
known as Iris prints.
Inkjet technology has
continued to evolve and now high quality printers are manufactured by a
large number of companies at reasonable prices. When fine art prints
are created from digital computer files using these machines, they are
commonly refered to as giclée prints. Digital prints present certain
advantages to the artist. Unlike traditional fine art printmaking
methods such as lithography or serigraphy which require the artist to
create an entire edition at once, incurring the total cost of
production up front, digital prints cn be made on demand (ie. one at a
time). An artist can create the digital image as a computer file and
create prints as they are ordered. This enables the artist to
concentrate on the creative process instead of the financing required
to produce and store several large editions.
 Preparing a digital image for print |
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 Checking detail in a giclée print |
A distinction should be made here between giclée prints that might be
called digital reproductions and those that are better termed original
digital prints. We use the term digital reproduction to refer to a high
quality inkjet print which is a reproduction – either in full or
reduced size – of an original work of art (usually a painting or
drawing). In this case, a high resolution scan is usually made from a
photograph of the original work of art and converted to a computer
file. This file can be corrected to enhance colour values and then
printed using the inkjet method. The objective here is to reproduce the
original as faithfully as possible.
In contrast, we use the term original digital print to refer to a high
quality inkjet print which does not have an original, other than the
computer file from which it has been produced. In making this type of
print, the artist uses the computer as a creative tool in the same way
that brush and paint might be used. In fact, many original digital
prints begin with images that have been creatied through more
conventional techniques. These images are combined with other digital
techniques to produce the final digital image.
I do not judge one type of digital print as more valuable than the
other. Both reproduction and original digital prints present the work
of the artist in a form which can be acquired and enjoyed by most
everyone.
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About Giclée Prints 
