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Doesn't this kind of print detract from other types of art prints? How does the giclée process lend itself to permanence?
What is a Giclée? Giclée prints are digital prints created from electronic files utilizing modern high resolution ink-jet technology. The printer outputs near continuous tone images with an increased perceived resolution of approximately 2000 dpi on virtually any substrate (up to 44" x 90"). The printer sprays (giclée loosely means to spray or squirt in French) inks from separate ink nozzles at the rate of one million droplets of ink per second on paper, canvas or other material. The droplets, which are no larger than a red blood cell, are sprayed in a precisely controlled manner to form different colored dots of varying sizes. A 35" x 47" sheet of watercolor paper takes approximately 60 minutes to print.
Doesn't
this kind of print detract Not at all. Four-color offset lithography, which artists have used in the manufacture of posters and other art reproductions, produces a useful but relatively cheap product both in terms of price and quality. The inks which are employed lack the permanency of the pigmented inks we use in producing our giclées. Neither are the papers which are typically used in offset lithography of the caliber we use in making our prints. Because of the superior quality of the materials and technology used, their visual excellence, their greater longevity, and their higher labor cost (they are not mass-produced), the giclée is a more expensive product that targets a different marget than traditional offset lithography. At the other end of the spectrum are original fine art prints. These prints are most often executed by the artist on a printing plate for a particular printing process and medium, and then printed in extremely limited quantities either by the artist's own hand or by a master printer under the artist's supervision.Typically, giclées and four-color offset lithography are reproductions of works done in other mediums.
Even if Giclées fill a niche between cheap and very expensive printing processes, doesn't this new technology fly in the face of artistic tradition? Again, not at all. Throughout history, artists have experimented with new technology. Albrecht Dürer's use of the printing process to produce etchings was highly controversial in 1500. Although artists have been creating photographs since 1840, there is still discussion of whether photographic prints are "art". More recently, pop artists such as Warhol, Lichtenstein, Rosenquist and Rauschenberg used screen printing and other commercial printing processes to produce artwork. The use of a digital printer, developed originally as a proofing device for the desktop publishing business, for fine art printing is one of the latest manifestations of this trend. Digital printmaking is still in its infancy. It offers the highest quality reproduction of artwork done in other mediums and is rapidly becoming a substitute for the silver print for many fine art photographers. The possibilities for the creation of artwork using the digital darkroom and unrestricted printing ability of the medium are still being explored. It is the collaboration of master digital printers and creative artists that will show us the possibilities this new printing medium represents. Artists have been appropriating commercial printing technology since it was first developed. When Durer produced etchings of his images and used the prints as individual works of art, it was as outrageous as Warhol or Lichtenstein appropriating color lithograph to produce Pop Art in the early 1960's. Digital technology was first developed as a proofing process for pre-press applications and remains the ultimate soft proof in the print production work flow. The high quality of the process was noticed in the mid 1980's by the pioneers of the Giclée printing like Graham Nash and Jon Cone, who then developed inks that expanded the color gamut and longevity of the print. Digital printmaking became a viable fine arts medium because of their seminal work. The list of artists using giclée technology is diverse. It includes artists who have always pioneered in the use of new printing technologies like Robert Rauschenburg, who produced Iris prints for his Guggenheim, New York show in 1997; artists associated with painting such as Chuck Close, traditional printmakers like Vija Celmins, Joel Meyerowitz, and Lee Friedlander. The attraction of a new medium that permits experimentation in the digital realm without compromising the quality of the resulting print is a powerful draw for artists of our time.
How does the giclée lend itself to permanence? The ink set used by digital printers determines both the color gamut, or color range, of which the printer is capable, and the permanency or longevity of the resulting image. Some ink sets are dye based and are capable of wider print gamut however, dye based ink sets have a reduced stable lifetime compared to pigment based inks.
We come from a pre-press background with strict demands for high quality. We understand nuance and subtlety. If you are ever dissatisfied in any way, we want to know. We have a reputation for excellence and sustaining that reputation drives us more than the need for short-term profit.
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