From a practical standpoint, Giclée printing is faster and more cost-effective than traditional fine art printing methods. Prints can be produced in small quantities and stored electronically, which means you can re-order whenever you need them and be assured of a consistent product. So rather than waste resources and space carrying a large inventory, you can order a few prints on demand, when you need them. And with nine large format printers running full time, you can get the prints you need, in the size you want, when you need them. There can be slight color shifts over time so if you want exact color matching we recommend printing the entire editions at one time.
The Five Basic Steps of Giclée Printing
1 It begins with talking - about your artistic goals, sales goals and budget. Together we determine the quantity, size, paper, and “feel” that make the best aesthetic and economic sense for your art.
2 In the pre-press stage, we acquire a digital image of your work either via high quality digital photography (recommended for the highest quality reproductions) or high resolution scanning of transparencies, slides, negatives or prints. For art reproduction we recommend 4x5” transparencies for the best results. We take your direction on how to crop, size, and color correct so that the final print is exactly what you want.
3 A series of up to three proofs helps us fine-tune the image in preparation for printing. Once satisfied you sign and return the Bon-A Tirer (final proof or BAT) signifying that the file is ready to print. We will not print a job without the signed BAT.
4 In the Iris GIclée printing process, the medium(usually paper sheet sizes up to 34x46”) is mounted onto a drum which rotates at a high speed as it is sprayed with four million microscopic droplets per second by four calibrated color streams of archival inks. It takes about one hour to print a full sheet. In the Roland Giclée process, the media (usually canvas) is fed into the machine from rolls about 50 inches wide and 40 feet long. As the media is slowly fed through the machine, six special heads precisely place drops of pigmented inks on the media. The process takes about one minute to print an inch.
5 Once the printing is complete the prints are coated if necessary and then they move into the curation process. During the curation process the prints are separated to specification and examined carefully for any flaws. Only perfect prints are then packed for shipment to the customer.
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