What are giclee prints?

A lot of people aren't exactly sure what giclee prints are. Here are a few facts...

To start, giclee (pronounced zhee-klay) is a french word that means a spray or spurt of liquid. An average ink-jet printer uses 4 colors to print, giclee prints are created using professional ink-jet printers that use 8 to 12 colors. This provides EXCELLENT color accuracy!, Giclee prints are generated from high resolution digital scans, (which do not fade like film negatives), and printed with archival quality inks on archival quality paper or canvas. Achival inks and paper are designed to resist fading and weathering. The giclee printing process gives shade and color fading resistance of more than 125 years. Also, the quality of a giclee print rivals traditional silver-halide and gelatin printing processes. Sounds good right? But just how good are giclee prints, and how seriously are they taken in the art market? Giclee prints are commonly found in museums and galleries such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and Chelsea Galleries in New York City. Good enough for the Met, good enough for us! I hope this takes some of the mystery out of giclee prints and how they are valued in the art market. As you can see, giclee prints are an excellent, high quality, and affordable method of collectiong art!