What are Giclée Prints?

If you’re in the market to buy art prints, you’ve probably come across the term giclée. But if you’ve tried to do research about what the word means, you might face some confusion: everyone seems to have a slightly different definition, and there is variation to what kind of products are labeled as “giclée.” In this article, I’m going to address why the term is used in different ways, what most people understand a giclée print to be, and why we at AnnaPrintsCo call our prints giclée.

The Origins of the Term:

Coined by printer Jack Duganne in 1991, the word giclée derives from the French word “gicler,” which means “to spray” or “to squirt.” This references the inkjet process of spraying ink on paper. At this time, digital printing was in its infancy, and inkjet prints did not have a good reputation in the art world. Most artists and collectors still preferred the old manual methods of printmaking like etching and lithography, as the early digital inkjet printers often produced subpar, pixelated prints. However, Jack Duganne started using a new kind of inkjet technology called an Iris printer to create high-quality fine art prints on archival papers. He wanted a term that would distinguish his museum-quality inkjet prints from the low-grade digital copies common at the time, so he named them giclée. Other print companies began to adopt the word to describe their inkjet prints using the same process as Duganne. Eventually, the Iris printer paved the way for other companies like Canon, Epson, and HP that were able to replicate the high-quality inkjet technology, and soon the term became associated with high-quality inkjet printing in general, not just those done on Iris printers. 

Why do people use the term differently?

Giclée has become shorthand for “high-quality art print.” Just as if you asked what the criteria for what makes a high-quality article of clothing, you’ll get varying answers on what is required for a print to be considered “high-quality” or “giclée”. Because there is not a strict definition of the word, some companies with varying production standards assert their prints as giclée. For instance, the popular printing company MPIX sells “giclée” prints that are made with a 7-ink dye-based printer, despite most print professionals not considering that as giclée quality.

Does that make it a useless term? I don’t believe so, as I’ve found the majority of people agree on a set of fundamental qualifications for a print to be considered giclée. I’ve listed these criteria below, along with how our prints here at AnnaPrintsCo stack up.

Giclée Criteria:

Must be done on an inkjet printer (absolutely essential)

This is the most non-negotiable of the criteria. How can you have a giclée without the spraying of an inkjet printer? While laser printers are superior for high-volume document printing, inkjet printers are far better for producing complex imagery, including art and photos.

Does AnnaPrintsCo meet this standard: Yes

Made with archival, pigment-based inks

One of the most important elements of a giclée print is that it must be designed to last. Standard paper and inks will fade, yellow, and degrade over time due to acid contents in their makeup. As such, the second most important criteria for giclée prints is that they are made with archival-grade pigment-based inks rather than dye-based inks. While dye-based inks can produce beautiful colors, they lack the durability of pigment-based inks and will fade quickly, while pigment-based inks will maintain their colors for decades, if not longer.

Does AnnaPrintsCo meet this standard: Yes, we use genuine Canon archival pigment-based inks.

Printed on high-quality, archival materials

Giclée prints can be made on paper or canvas, as long as the substrate is archival (acid-free). Flimsy, thin material can also potentially ruin the integrity of a print, so if a giclée is made on paper it must be heavyweight specialty fine art paper. Different finishes are used depending on what type of image is printed. Matte papers and canvases are often used for reproductions of paintings, while glossier finishes are often used for photographs. 

Does AnnaPrintsCo meet this standard: Yes, both of the papers we offer are heavyweight, archival-grade matte papers.

Made with a printer with a wide color gamut and a high number of ink cartridges (generally over 8)

Another important element of giclée prints is that they are made on a printer capable of producing a wide variety of colors (this is known as having a wide color gamut). No printer is able to fully reproduce the complete spectrum of color, and unfortunately none can match the vibrance of colors that monitors and screens can produce, but some printers are far superior to others at doing so. How adept a printer is at producing colors is largely determined by how many ink cartridges it has. More ink cartridges mean more color combinations and more colors produced. Giclée printers, therefore, must have far more cartridges than the standard CMYK, usually 8 or more.

Does AnnaPrintsCo meet this standard: Yes, our printer has 12 ink cartridges.

Using high-resolution files and a high-resolution print head

What good would all the above criteria be if a print was pixelated or fuzzy? This is why it is important that giclée prints are very high resolution. There are two facets of this: first, the files sent to the printer must be high-resolution, at least 300 ppi (pixels per square inch). Second, the print head on the printer must be capable of printing in high-resolution, which means it is able to lay down as many ink dots as possible in a square inch of space so no image ever appears fuzzy or imprecise. Generally, anything above 1200 dpi (dots per square inch) is considered high-resolution.

Does AnnaPrintsCo meet this standard: Yes, all of our printing files are at least 300 ppi and our printer has a high-resolution print head. 

Slightly more contested criteria, but still often considered:

Following processes to make prints as color accurate as possible

Reproducing colors on paper or canvas in a consistent way is often tricky. For specialized fine art printers, it’s not as easy as opening up a file and clicking print. Because ink interacts differently with the coating of different papers, to get consistent colors when printing it is best to use specialized settings called ICC profiles for each substrate type that are able to “translate” the colors onto paper or canvas accurately. 

Does AnnaPrintsCo meet this standard: Yes, we have specialized settings for both our papers to ensure the best color accuracy.

                                                                                                                                                        

Handling prints in such a way to encourage their longevity

In my mind, this is an often overlooked consideration. It seems silly to make a print acid-free and then introduce acid by packaging it or framing it with materials that aren’t archival. Proper framing is the best way to protect a print, so if a giclée print is sold framed, it should use best practices: acid-free mats, backing boards, and adhesives, and glass that protects from ultraviolet rays, humidity, and dust. (Canvas prints, however, don’t generally require glass).

Does AnnaPrintsCo meet this standard: We don’t sell framed prints, but we package our prints using acid-free materials.

Conclusion:

When you see the term giclée, you can generally trust that it will be a high-quality print, but it's probably a good idea to check further production details to make sure the item meets the specific printing quality standards you are looking for. Thankfully, you can have full confidence that our prints here at AnnaPrintsCo meet all the criteria for the highest quality fine art print reproductions.