Gicleé

Gicleé, you may have heard the term Gicleé mentioned in the art-world. Usually in connection with buying high-end art prints. Wikipedia refers to Gicleé as a neologism. Neologism is a relatively recent or isolated term. A word, in the process of entering common use, but that has not yet been fully accepted into mainstream language.

The word Gicleé comes from French and means a spray or a spurt of liquid. It was coined in 1991 by famed print-maker Jack Duganne of Nash Editions to denote fine art digital prints made on high-end inkjet printers.

What is a Gicleé art print?

The simplest definition: a high end archival ink-jet print on canvas. It is a production method used by artists to print high-end artworks. This could be a single print or multiples. Usually, the prints are limited editions or open edition.

What about “Gicleé painting”?

Some sellers call these “Giclée painting”. Simply put, this is false information. A Giclée is a high quality digitally reproduced ink-jet print. It can be a poster reproduction, a print of a photograph or a print of an artist’s digital art. And because it can be printed many times while an original painting is only one of a kind, this item cannot be called a “Giclée painting”.

If you come across this type of offering don’t fall for it, a painting it is not.

Artist applications

Artists nowadays use ink-jet printing to make reproductions of their original artwork, photographs, or digital computer generated art.

“…Professionally produced ink-jet prints (Gicleés) are much more expensive on a per-print basis than the four-color offset lithography process traditionally used for such reproductions…four-color offset lithographic presses have the disadvantage of the full job having to be set up and produced all at once in a mass edition.

With inkjet printing, the artist does not have to pay for the expensive printing plate setup or the marketing and storage needed for large four-color offset print runs.

This allows the artist to follow a just-in-time business model in which inkjet printing can be an economical option since art can be printed and sold individually in accordance with demand. Inkjet printing has the added advantage of allowing artists to take total control of the production of their images, including the final color correction and the substrates being used, and it is even feasible for individual artists to own and operate their own printers.” (paraphrased from Wikipedia)

So when you buy a Gicleé you are buying a high-end art print produced with archival inks on canvas.

Suggested reading

Art and prints article on the Blog