The Process
What are Giclées?
Giclée, pronounced ghee-clay, is a term coined in 1991 and was derived from the French verb gicler–meaning “to squirt, spurt, or spray.” While that may sound a bit crude, the giclée process is utilized for the finest digital art reproduction know to man.
The entire process starts my capturing a high-resolution image of the original artwork. The artwork is setup using perfectly balanced lighting and then photographed using a high-resolution digital camera. The images are then reviewed on a color calibrated monitor and analyzed for correct balance. A hardcopy proof is then generated using the same printer and material that will be used for the final piece. This proof is compared to the original artwork and any necessary adjustments are made to make the reproduction match as close as possible.
The giclée printing process is a relatively simple one: the media advances into printer, while infinitely small pixels of rich, vibrant archival inks are sprayed at a rate of millions of droplets per second, rendering a fine art continuous toned lifelike image.
How lifelike one might ask–consider that giclée reproductions of famous works of art hang in arts facilities around the world, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art (NY), the Guggenheim (NY), the Louvre Museum (Paris), the Smithsonian Institution Libraries, and the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts (Washington, DC).
For those familiar with the lithography process, giclée printing offers similar results, but without the requisite large print runs and large initial setup fees. Additionally, the giclée print can be fine tuned between individual prints, a very expensive procedure in the world of lithography.
Every giclée print from SpotOn Art Gallery is produced in-house on one of our 60” Canon 12-color printers on premium US made substrates. Each image is carefully analyzed on our color calibrated equipment where quality control is of utmost importance. All prints are archival quality and varnished for added durability and appearance. Images are printed on demand, not mass produced, and every image subsequently produced will match spot-on.
Wrap around on 3/4" bars
Your Giclée reproduction will be printed to the size you choose and stretched on a 3/4" wood frame made from top-quality kiln dried fir stretcher bars. Wrap around stretching is when the canvas is stapled on the back of the stretcher frame and there are no staples showing on the sides. Wrapped canvases are also printed on the sides and therefore do not require framing. You can hang your artwork without any frame.
Wrap around on 1.5" bars
Your Giclée reproduction will be printed to the size you choose and stretched on a 1.5" wood frame made from top-quality kiln dried fir stretcher bars. Wrap around stretching is when the canvas is stapled on the back of the stretcher frame and there are no staples showing on the sides. Wrapped canvases are also printed on the sides and therefore do not require framing. You can hang your artwork without any frame.
Regular stretching
Your Giclée reproduction will be printed to the size you choose and stretched on a 3/4" wood frame made from top-quality kiln dried fir stretcher bars. The canvas will be stapled to the frame on the sides. This type of stretching is a very cost effective solution if you plan to frame your Giclée in the future.
Unstretched
Your Giclée reproduction will be printed to the size you choose with a 2" white border for future stretching–varnished, rolled and shipped to you in a tube. This is the most cost effective way for shipping if you have a local framer that does good quality stretching at a reasonable price. If you don’t have a relationship with a local framer, no problem, leave it to our experts and you will not be disappointed.