Giclee Information

Many artists and photographers are busy creating and marketing their artwork. The time and money involved in learning and making giclee prints are most often the reason why most visual artists decide to outsource.

Criteria for selecting a skilled giclee printer

Although pretty much anyone these days boasts the capability to make giclee prints, there are few questions you can ask in order to select the right company.

Specialization

One red flag to look for is non specialized printers. An example? Sign shops. Some sign shops have already some of the equipment to produce giclees. For example they may have Canon, Epson, Roland or HP printers. They see the growing giclee market and jump in. It takes year of color correction skill development, an in depth knowledge of the proper materials to make archival prints. Sign shop do not have neither one of these skills. I will put this in reverse: I own a giclee printing company and I have the equipment to make signs and posters tomorrow if I wanted. I don't because I lack the knowledge to correctly rasterize complex vector files, select the right lamination and materials for outdoor signs. Could I learn it? Of course, but that is another field. Everyone at my company lives and breaths giclee printing, nothing else. Would you go to a family doctor or a gastroenterologist if you had an ulcer? I hope you see my point.

Location

The temptation of going with a local company instead of someone far away is always great. Unless you are lucky enough to live next to a specialist, you are better off dealing with the shipping costs and remote proofing. I can probably count ten to fifteen companies around the country who really know what they are doing.

The equipment and papers

Ask about what printers, cameras, and scanners are used. Ask if the inks are pigmented. Last but not least, insist of knowing which brand papers and canvas are used.