What is a giclée reproduction?

The contemporary Giclée has become a valuable part of the limited edition fine art world. "Giclée" is a French term which means to spray ink. The pronunciation of giclée is “zhee-clay.”

Essentially, a giclée print is the reproduction of an original work of art (created by conventional means, such as painting, drawing, etc.) using a highly specialized inkjet printer.

Giclées have a higher resolution than offset lithographs and the dynamic color range is greater than that of a serigraph. Giclées are created by a method of printing in which the image is scanned and digitally enhanced on a computer to match the original fine art. The image is then sent to a high-resolution inkjet printer, which sprays millions of microscopic droplets of ink onto various substrates to create an image with smooth tonal gradation. These unique jets are able to vary the width of the ink stream to as small as 1/100th the width of human hair. In the art world this is generally regarded as the highest quality reproduction available.