Giclee
DEFINITION
Giclee is a French word pronounced 'zheeclay,' and it is is derived from the verb gicler meaning to splash. Giclee is the process of making fine art prints from a digital source. This blend of art and technology produces copies with a higher resolution and broader color range than such other copy methods such as lithography or serigraphy.<br><br>Today, giclee is typically produced on an IRIS ink-jet printer, capable of producing millions of colors using continuous-tone technology. Giclees are often made from photographic images of paintings in order to produce high quality, permanent reproductions of them. The extra-fine image resolution possible in this printing process permits retention of a high degree of fine detail from the original image, rendering deeply saturated colors having a broad range of tonal values. A giclee should be printed either on a fine fabric or archival quality white paper using bio-degradable water-soluble inks. <br><br>After the process of printing it, a giclee specialist examines the painting with special materials to make any necessary corrections, and apply a final, thin, transparent coating for maximum permanence.<br>