Fine Art Giclee Printing

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Are you interested in selling prints of your original artwork?

Have you heard the term giclee printing, but are you confused about fine art giclee printing?

If so, you are not alone. In this post, you will discover what fine art giclee printing is and your options so you can make a better decision for your art business.

What Is Fine Art Giclee Printing?

Giclee Printing is defined by Wikipedia as:

“A neologism coined in 1991 by printmaker Jack Duganne for fine art digital prints made on inkjet printers. The name originally applied to fine art prints created on Iris printers in a process invented in the late 1980’s but has since come to mean any inkjet print. It is often used by artists, galleries, and print shops.”

Giclee originally referred to art prints created on IRIS printers but is now commonly used to describe fine art prints made using an inkjet printer.

Professional giclee printers produce a higher-quality print because they have up to 12 inkjets that allow the printer to reproduce the original painting’s colors.

The ink used for giclee prints is “archival inks.”

Archival inks are higher-quality inks that will last up to 90 years without fading.

Giclee printing is normally done on high-quality, acid-free paper, greeting cards, canvas, metal, and wood.

What Is A Giclee Print

Giclee is high-quality prints made with an inkjet using acid-free paper or other surfaces and archival inks.

Printmaker Jack Duganne coined the term Giclee (french verb to spray) in 1991 to differentiate traditional fine art prints from giclee prints. Jack wanted a way to describe his reproductions as gallery quality.

Inkjet printers became popular in the 1980s, but just because a print is produced with an inkjet printer does not mean that it is a giclee print.

Painting Repeat Patterns by Hand: A Daily Practice by Cleo Papanikolas on Creativebug!

The ink, paper, resolution, and printer separate an inkjet print from a giclee print.

To read more, visit, What Are Giclee Prints.

Fine art prints are also high-quality but can be created with different methods, including woodblock printing, screen printing, and lithography.

How To Reproduce Artwork

The quality of your prints will determine the value of your reproductions.

Fine art giclee prints will have more value to an art collector than a poster print.

To create a high-quality print, you need a high-resolution digital image of your painting with a DPI greater than three hundred. DPI is dots per inch. The more dots per inch make it possible for the inkjet printer to add more detail in a smaller area, making it close to the original.

Most digital photos are saved as 72 DPI, so you must invest in a digital camera that can produce high-resolution images.

To read more about the best cameras for artists, visit 4 Best Digital Cameras For Photographing Artwork.

Giclee printers have 12 inkjets making it possible to duplicate the original artwork. The ink is an archival ink that lasts between 75 and 400 years before fading. The paper used for giclee is an acid-free archival paper that has a lifespan of over 100 years.

Supplement Your Income With Giclee Art Prints

Fine Art Giclee Printing has been around for over twenty years and helps artists reach a broader audience and generate extra income while waiting for their original artwork to sell.

Few artists can make a living by selling their original paintings or artwork. With the help of technology, artists have many opportunities to supplement their income, and selling reproductions of their original work is at the top.

The internet has made it easy for artists to promote their art worldwide.

Videos have helped artists to produce tutorials for learning artists.

Giclee printing has allowed artists to sell high-quality prints of their original work.

For more ways to supplement your income, visit 20 Ways, An Artist Can Supplement Their Income.

Limited Edition Giclee Prints

Some artists sell a limited edition of their originals to generate extra income from original artwork.

Not too long ago, artists would hire a printing company to print a specific number of prints of their original paintings or drawings. The artist would then offer them as a limited edition.

The prints would include the artist’s signature, date, and a number of prints that would look something like 45/100.

Many collectors collect limited editions because they know a limited amount will be circulated. In some cases, limited edition prints will increase value after being sold.

Offering a limited edition will usually increase your prints’ value, which will allow you to charge more. However, once all the prints have been sold, no more revenue can be generated from the original piece.

You will want to consider that when you decide to offer a limited edition.

If you choose to sell limited editions, never offer more prints than initially reported. You will tarnish your reputation and lose your audience if you do so.

Weigh the pros and cons to determine if selling limited editions is best for you.

To read more about limited edition prints, visit How To Sell Limited Edition Art Prints.

Open-Edition Giclee Prints

Open-edition prints mean no limit to how many prints you can sell of a particular painting.

The value of open-edition prints is lower than limited edition prints because there is an unlimited supply.

Most open-edition prints are priced lower. However, an artist can generate an enormous profit over time if the prints are high in demand.

Pricing Your Giclee

As with your original paintings or drawings, your art’s price will be determined by how well known you are as an artist, how long you have been in business, the size of the art prints, and the costs of doing business.

To read more about pricing art, visit, How To Price Art – Ultimate Guide For Selling Art.

Where To Get Giclee Prints Made

Most local printing services offer giclee printing, but you will want to ask them how many inkjets their printers have, what type of ink they use, and what kind of paper they use.

Online print-on-demand services are another option. POD services allow you to sell reproductions of your art with no upfront costs. The POD service will fulfill the order and ship it to the buyer when a print sells.

Popular POD Sites:

Fine Art America

Fine Art America claims to be the world’s largest marketplace and Print-On-Demand company and has been around since 2006.

When I started using Fine Art America, they focused on giclee prints, canvas prints, and greeting cards. Over the past year, they have introduced prints on apparel and home decor.

Fine Art America’s software makes it easy to upload an image and have it live for sale. Like most POD services, Fine Art America will take the order, process it, and ship it to the buyer.

Printful

Printful is a print-on-demand order fulfillment center that fulfills and ships high-quality prints on fine art paper, canvas, and other merchandise.

Printful launched in July 2013 and has become popular among artists and photographers. They have six locations with over 1,000 employees, making it possible to ship products worldwide.

For more print-on-demand services, visit Print On Demand Sites For Artists.

Reproducing Watercolor Paintings

Watercolor paintings are delicate works of art, and as such, they can be difficult to reproduce.

However, a few different methods can be used to make prints of watercolor paintings.

The first method is to use a press. This method requires special equipment, but it produces high-quality prints.

Another method is scanning the painting and printing it on a printer. This method is less labor-intensive but can result in lower-quality prints unless you outsource the printing job to a reputable watercolor printing service.

Whichever method you choose, making prints of your watercolor paintings can be a great way to share your artwork with others.

Sell Prints On Metal

While some artists may feel that prints devalue their work, selling your art prints can be a great way to earn extra income and reach a wider audience.

When selling prints of your art on metal, you’ll have the advantage of a durable, high-quality product that is easy to ship and display.

Metal prints also have a high perceived value, which can help you to command a higher price point than other print types.

In addition, metal prints offer a unique look that can make your work stand out from the crowd.

Metal prints are worth considering if you’re looking for an impressive, eye-catching way to display your art.

Final Thoughts On Fine Art Giclee Printing

Selling reproductions of your original artwork is excellent to generate passive income from art that has already been sold.

You have the choice of:

Selling a limited edition or selling unlimited prints
Using a POD service or printing your own prints
Selling giclee prints on paper, canvas prints, or giclee prints on metal or wood

If interested in selling prints, visit How To Sell Art Prints Online.

Visit How To Price Art to learn how to develop a pricing strategy for your art business.

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Fine Art Giclee Printing – What Artists Need to Know