What is a Giclée?
Giclée ( JEE-clay ) printmaking comprises a set of breakthrough digital, media and ink technologies for reproducing fine art. The image quality is so high, the color and detail, the look and feel of each reproduction are often seen to be identical to the artist's original, even by the artist! Accepted by museums, galleries and fine art collectors around the world, owning a Giclée is the next best thing to owning the original.

What makes it archival?
Giclée technologies afford extreme longevity. According to independent testing laboratories, Wilhelm Imaging Research for example, you can expect your fine art Giclée prints to last for generations. This printmaking method uses brilliantly colored, stable, UV-resistant, pigmented inks and archival, lignin free, pH neutral, 100% rag, watercolor paper or, in the case of canvas, high quality, archival fabrics and coatings.

What size can I make my Giclée?
Once your painting has been scanned into digital form, it's like a rubber sheet. We can shrink it for you to something small like a 6"x8" Giclée or magnify it into a 42"x56" Giclée, for example. To magnify your image, you need to ensure the digital file contains sufficient detail. We generally print your Giclées at 300 dots per inch. This means that a 30"x20" image, for instance, requires 9000x 6000 pixels. These need to be non-interpolated pixels, not scaled up from smaller digital files. With our scanning services, you can rest assured that the detail is there. We get truly amazing resolution so you can resize your Giclées from small to large with confidence. Scaling your images up by 200% to 300% is not at all unusual.

If I want one side of my Giclée to be a particular size, how do I figure how big to make the other other side?
Multiply the second side by the same factor you changed the first side. For example, if you have a 30"x20" painting and you want it to be 40" along the bigger side, you magnified it by 40/30. So, the 20" side needs to grow by the same magnification. Multiply 20" by 40/30 or 4/3. You get about 26.7". The Giclée will then be about "40"x26.7". This method works if you shrink your Giclée, too.

How do I get started?
1) Give us a call and set up an appointment. If you can, bring your original so we can scan it at very high fidelity.
2) When we meet, we can discuss what you'd like to do, what your cost goals are, whether you want watercolor paper or canvas or want to decide later and any other questions you might have.
3) Then, we typically scan your painting (or slide or transparency) and produce a proof for your review.
4) Once you feel good about the colors and detail and approve the proof, we "go to press" and produce your Giclées for you. It's fun.