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A giclee (shee-CLAY) is an individually
produced, high-resolution, high-fidelity artwork reproduction created
on a professional grade large format ink jet printer. This French
term literally means to "spurt or "spray". Giclee
artworks can be printed on Canvas, Photo Paper or Water Color paper.
Compared to traditional lithography or offset printing Giclees are
far superior in several ways. Giclee printing employs a minimum
of Six different colors compared to just four in offset printing.
Colors are therefore brighter and blend together with such high-resolution that they
are virtually continuous tone - like a photograph, rather than tiny
printed dots. The color range, or "gamut" for giclee artworks
is also far beyond that of lithography. Image details are crisper
and more colorful.
Giclees were originally developed
as a proofing system for commercial lithograph printing presses
in the mid 1980s but it became apparent that the presses could not
reproduce the quality and color of the giclee proofs. Because of
their quality, Giclee artworks have evolved into the new darlings
of the art world. They are coveted by collectors for their fidelity
and quality and often featured in museums and art galleries.
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