ANDYPARSONSGALLERY

Giclee (pronounced Gee clay) is a French term meaning to squirt which is how an inkjet printer works, however the equipment used is far more sophisticated than a standard desktop inkjet printer. Giclee has come to be associated with prints using fade resistant archival inks.

Giclees were originally developed as a proofing system for the traditional lithographic printing process but it soon became apparent that the presses were having a hard time delivering the quality and brilliant color of the giclee proofs. This is mostly due to the use of up to 12 colors in comparison to 4 colors (cyan, magenta, yellow and black) used in traditional printing. Fade resistant "archival" pigmented inks will keep the colors true for years under normal conditions. The expanded range of colors is the main reason why giclee can render the contrast and brilliance of a digital image. The colors are brighter, last longer, and are so high resolution that they are virtually continuous tone rather than tiny dots.

Another advantage is the wide choice of quality substrates. I recommend using canvas for large scale prints and smooth archival 100% cotton papers for framed and smaller pieces. The beauty of giclee applied to canvas, watercolor or other substrates make these images jump out with deep blacks, saturation and gradation hard to achieve with other media.

These prints are available at almost any size to cater to different budgets. Custom orders are available upon request and the processing time is around 10 days.