The art of fine art printing has become even more
precise with the advent of the revolutionary Giclée (zhee-clay)
printing process. The original artwork is first preserved in digital
format by the scanning or digitization process. Once stored in 16
million colors or more,
the image can then be reproduced on various
substrate. In the Giclée process, a fine stream of ink (more
than four million droplets per second) is sprayed onto archival art
paper or canvas. Exact calculation of hue, value and density direct the
ink from hundreds of tiny nozzles. This produces combinations capable
of reproducing millions of colors using highly saturated, non-toxic
pigment-based ink. Since no screens or other mechanical devices are
used in Giclée printing, the prints have a higher resolution
than lithographs and the dynamic color range is greater than
serigraphy.
Giclées are appearing in the finest
galleries and museums. Understanding the process is fast becoming a
necessity for everyone who wants to be up-to-date on the current
state-of-the-art world for limited editions. Among some of the museums
exhibiting giclée are: The Boston Museum of Fine Arts, The
British Museum, The Getty Museum, The Guggenheim Museum, The Museum of
Modern Art, The Smithsonian Institution Libraries, and many other
prestigious organizations. There is no finer print available for
collectors than the giclée process for fine art signed and
numbered prints.
