Inspiration, Tips and Advice

What is a Giclée Art Print?

If you want to reproduce your artwork, photography or illustrations to museum-quality standard, a Giclée Fine Art Print is the product for you.

But what is a Giclée Art Print, exactly?

At Printed.com, we offer a range of print solutions to suit your needs and budget. Our standard digital printing options use a four-colour process, and we print products like Postcards and Posters based on these four colours.

Moving over to a different machine, we print your Giclée Art Prints on a printer that uses a twelve-colour process. This way we can match your artwork or photography colours exactly (with no loss of vibrancy). Meaning we can reproduce your designs and illustrations so perfectly, you’ll be second-guessing yourself on which one is the OG.

giclée art printer

What’s the difference between Giclée Prints and regular prints?

A standard digital print will be produced on an inkjet printer using the four-colour method we mentioned above. Cyan, magenta, yellow and black (CMYK) are utilised in the form of tiny dots, to build your artwork.

When you print using a Giclée method, more ink colours are used, which means that you can get greater colour accuracy. Giclée Prints are often printed onto specialist paper stocks which avoid degradation and yellowing, ensuring that they stay crisp and bright for years to come.

At Printed.com, we source our Giclée Print paper stocks from experts, Hahnemühle. You can choose from their Fine Art Pearl, Photo Rag Pearl, Baryta FB and German Etching paper for your print.

Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl

Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl paper is a heavy-weight paper with a semi-gloss finish. It has a triple-coated surface which provides excellent resistance to aging. This paper works well with both black and white, and colour photographic prints.

Hahnemühle Photo Rag Pearl

This is a smooth, natural white photo paper. It has a unique pearl-coating for a low surface shine and is 100% cotton, giving it excellent age resistance. If you’re printing black and white photography, make this your paper of choice.

art print papers

Hahnemühle German Etching

Hahnemühle German Etching paper is a natural white, uncoated paper with a texture much like Tintoretto Gesso (if you know, you know). Its tactile surface means it’s a popular option for illustrative Art Prints.

Hahnemühle Baryta FB

Hahnemühle Baryta FB is a robust, thick paper with a super smooth, glossy finish. It is a fibre-based paper coated with baryta (a mineral that’s similar to clay) for increased image definition. So choose this paper if you’re a lover of bright colours!

Why not get a feel for our Giclée Fine Art Print papers yourself? Order a free Photography Sample Pack below!

Order a Sample Pack

 

About the author

When she’s not perusing the factory or planning our next product launch, you’ll find Emma doing some form of exercise. Whether it’s her favourite gym class or a walk around Northumberland with friends, she loves keeping fit!

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