Faville Photo - What is Giclée Printing?

What is Giclée Printing?

Pronounced "jhee-clay", giclée is a sophisticated inkjet printing method.
The word "giclée" is derived from the French language word "le gicleur" meaning
"nozzle", or more specifically "gicler" meaning "to squirt, spurt, or spray". It has
to do with the fact that papers are being sprayed on with pigments by nozzles
with an approximate diameter of one millionth of the diameter of a hair.

Faville Photo offers a variety of media papers for giclée printing. High resolution
giclée ink-jet printing is an excellent choice for photographers wanting to create single
or multi-sized reproductions from digital files. The most photorealistic choice is to use our
photo gloss or satin papers. However, photographs take on a new personality when printed
on watercolor or canvas media. We offer an extensive inventory of printing substrates,
contact us and we'll recommend a paper for your project.

Contrary to a popular belief, there are some major differences
between a home desktop printer and a giclée inkjet printer.

1) The biggest difference is the addition of colors. A home printer has four colors:
Cyan, Majenta, Yellow, and Black (CMYK). A giclée printer has 6 or 7, even up
to 12 colors, giving the print a much higher color gamut. The ink is sprayed
onto the page, actually mixing the color on the page to create truer shades
and hues.

2) These printers have an extremely large format that can print from 44" to 72" wide.
There is no limit on the length.

3) The number of materials and fine art paper that a giclée can be printed on range
from canvas to watercolor paper to vinyl.

4) Most home printers print at 300 DPI, while giclée printers can print up to 2800 DPI.

What are the benefits of Giclée Printing?

Fine Artists

Giclée Printing is ideal for Fine Artists who wish to produce limited edition prints of their work. It enables artists to print on
demand without selling their original, and offer their work to a larger audience. Not only can artists offer signed, limited edition
prints to patrons who may not be able to afford high-priced originals, but the increased visibility can increase the value of the
original, and help attract more gallery interest and revenue. Some artists also mix digital printing with hand
painting for fantastic results.

Photographers

Fine Art Photographs look fantastic as giclée prints, and top galleries that sell fine art photographs, especially large format photography, utilize giclée printing. We are able to produce large prints of outstanding quality. Our special acid-free papers and coatings will ensure fade resistant results with rich color and continuous tones that rival traditional photo lab results.

We also offer advantages to photographers over traditional photo labs, including personal attention to detail, true profiling and
color matching, a wide array of substrates, and quick turnaround time. Professional photographers wishing to offer large format
prints and canvas to their clients should ask about our photo packages and repeat pricing discounts.

Digital Artists

Digital Art is rapidly emerging as a valid and popular medium. Giclée printing is the perfect medium for unlocking the
potential of digital art, offering a wide array of choices in paper and canvas.

Special Moments

Take that heart warming photo from your special event and have it printed on canvas. There's nothing like a larger than life
canvas print, elegantly stretched and framed to say how much you care.