Giclee Printmaking - Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Giclee print?

Nowadays, the term Giclee print means a digital fine art print. Giclee is French for "squirt" and the term describes the printing process of a drop of ink being vaporised by an electrical charge and squirted on to the paper or other print medium.

I want to produce a limited edition print run, do I have to print all of the prints in one go?

No, digital printing means print on demand. You can order the prints as you sell them, so there is no risk of being left with unsold stock.

What advantage does Giclee printing offer over other fine art print processes?

The main advantage is PRINT ON DEMAND. Unlike offset litho or silk screen printing, there are no print set up costs. You do not have to have all the prints made in one print run. The minimum print order is just one print. Unless the original artwork has been digitally created on a computer, there will always be a requirement for the original to be photographed or scanned first, whichever print process is used.

How long will the prints last?

The inks and papers used are made by the top manufacturers. The inks are pigment, not dye based, the papers are of the required archival standard as tested by an independent UKAS laboratory. Accelerated UV testing, by the ink manufacturers, indicates that our pigmented inks should have a life span of up to 200 years if displayed under normal lighting conditions.

Can the prints be displayed anywhere?

Yes they can, although as mentioned, normal precautions should be taken. Any dye, whether it be in an original painting, fine art print, photo print, paint, fabric etc. will fade more quickly if exposed to direct UV radiation i.e. sunlight.

Are the prints waterproof or smudge proof?

As our prints are not varnished or sprayed, they should only be considered water or smudge resistant. Treat them the same as you would an original water colour or pastel. There are proprietary varnishes and UV protective sprays on the market which may be used to enhance the durability of your prints. Be sure to check that the product is compatible, follow the instructions carefully and we would always recommend a test first, just to ensure that everything is working properly.

What is the difference between a Gallery Wrap and Image Flush to Edge?

An image that is flush to edge is flush to the front face, although due to the rolled edge of the stretcher bar, the image will in fact wrap around the edge by about 2mm or so. A gallery wrap takes the image right round the edge of the stretcher bars. Please note that the image will be "cropped" by the depth of the stretcher bar, so consider this when making your choice. The 18mm bars require about 1" extra on each edge and the 45mm bars about 2". If you are unsure about the suitability of your image or the choice of stretcher bars, take advantage of our Free Image Report Service. We will check your image and advise accordingly.

Are your canvas prints waterproof?

Our canvas prints are laminated with a UV resistant laminate and may be considered waterproof on the image side. Use a damp cloth for cleaning purposes. Do not use cleaning products. Canvas prints may be supplied unlaminated if required, however the above mentioned caveats would apply.

How do I get my original painting or artwork printed?

The first step is to digitise your original artwork. If your artwork is flat, such as a water colour or pastel, and less than A3 in size, it can be scanned. If it is larger than A3 or if the surface is textured, such as an oil painted artwork, it will need to be photographed digitally.

How long will scanning or photography take?

Allow 3 working days and 5 working days for digital photography.

Can you scan my transparencies or negatives?

Yes we can scan your transparencies or negatives. 35mm originals are not generally suitable for making prints much larger than A3. Large format transparencies should produce excellent results. Please contact us for advice if you wish to undertake your own photography.

How much will the scans or photography cost?

Scans cost from £50.00 ex vat and digital photography costs £125.00 ex vat. Digital photography requires considerable photographic knowledge and takes longer than scanning, which is why it costs more. The cost includes adjusting the files to get a good colour match and the making of proof prints.

Why should I choose Redcliffe Imaging to make my prints?

Our technicians have many years experience of print making and Redcliffe Imaging is a member of the Fine Art Trade Guild. We will always strive to make the best prints we can for you.

What is the recommended file size for printing?

Files should be a minimum of 100 ppi at 1:1 (100%) of out put or print size. As a general rule bigger is better in terms of file size, however do not simply resize (interpolate or resample) an original file size upwards as this may not improve the print quality. We have have sophisticated software that will resize exactly for out put. If in doubt about your file size or suitability for printing, please contact us first.Take advantage of our Free Image Report Service. We will check your image and advise accordingly.

How should files be supplied?

Save files as tifs or jpgs. If saving as jpgs, use the maximum quality setting. Providing that the opened file is not being enlarged too much, it is unlikely that you will see any difference in quality when printing from a jpg. Upload image files to direct to our FTP server, or send files to us on CD or DVD.

If you are not sure if your digital file is suitable for printing, then we offer a free service where we check your file and email you back a report on your image file's suitability to print to the size you require and to highlight any other issues that may effect the quality of your fine art print.

Many self-publishing artists and photographers are not familiar with using colour management in Photoshop and are put off by the steep learning curve required to understand all the colour management features. That’s OK, just upload your file and let Redcliffe do all the work. For digital files you have prepared we recommend that Redcliffe print you a set of proof prints on your chosen media and send them back to you for approval. You will receive two 178mm x 127mm proof prints:

• One proof print is a scaled down version of the whole composition so that you can check the overall colour.
• The other proof print is a section of your image printed at 100% of the desired final print size so that you can inspect the detail.

For customers who wish to supply “colour managed, ready to print” files, we recommend that your image files should be supplied in RGB mode as Adobe 98 or sRGB. An embedded profile will enable the image to be fully colour managed through our print system. Unprofiled images are printed using generic settings, which may result in less accurate colour reproduction. Profiles can be compared to dictionaries in that they translate colour between one device and another. Please contact us if you require more information on embedded image profiles.

How much will the printing cost?

All print prices and quantity discounts are displayed on our fine art media pages. Generally print prices vary according to size and paper type. The cost of Fine Art papers varies considerably and this is reflected in the print prices.

How long will the printing take?

A. Fine Art prints usually take 2-3 working days, depending on quantities. Stretched canvas prints usually take 7-10 working days.

How faithful will the colour reproduction be?

Adjustments to files in terms of density, contrast and colour can be made using imaging software, such as Photoshop. Test prints or proofs will need to be printed during this process. Once a satisfactory result has been achieved, the file can be archived.

Will the colours on the print match exactly to those on my computer screen?

This is unlikely. There are several reasons for this. Unless your computer screen has been properly calibrated with a hard ware device (a spectrophotometer or colorimeter) you will not know if the image is accurately represented on the screen and you would also need controlled lighting to view the print with.

For example: visit your local electrical retailer that sells TV screens and look at the in store display. That bank of TV sets on the back wall, all showing the same programme, the images all look slightly different in terms of colour balance, saturation, contrast etc. Ok, so which one is correct? Get the picture?

Technically, a monitor displays colours in RGB, known as additive colour (add Red, Green, Blue together and you get white light) and prints are made with Cyan, Magenta and Yellow inks (plus Black). The difference between these two colour modes in terms of gamut (range of colours that can be rendered) is considerable. RGB (monitor) gamuts are typically between four and five times larger than CMYK (print) gamuts. In practice this means that compared to the screen, some colours cannot be printed accurately i.e. they will be out of gamut. We use sophisticated printer software to remap out of gamut colours to print as close as possible to the original artwork. Finally, consider that as an image on a screen is viewed by transmitted light and a print is viewed by reflected light they will never be able to look exactly the same.

The most commonly asked question about Fine Art colour printing is "why doesn't the colour of my print match that on my screen"?

The short answer is that unless you have calibrated your screen properly, you do not know whether the image is being represented accurately.

A hardware device, such as a colorimeter or spectrophotometer should be used to measure the output from the screen and the accompanying software will then create an ICC colour profile automatically. Imaging software such as Photo Shop will use the screen profile together with the working space profile and any embedded profile in the image file to represent the image as accurately as possible on the screen. Use the soft proof facility in Photo Shop to select an output or printer profile to display a more accurate representation of your image on screen. If you have opened an image in Photo Shop and just looked at it on screen you will have used at least two profiles, even if you didn't realise it.

At this point you should consider controlled lighting to view the print when comparing it to a screen image, as this will affect the apparent colour balance of the print. For example: view a print by a table lamp and it ill appear warm (reddish), view a print by florescent light and it will appear greenish. The colour temperature of different light sources is measure in degrees Kelvin, and their colour will vary according to which part of the visible spectrum they originate from. Mean average daylight is about 5000k.

What is a Certificate of Authenticity?

A Redcliffe Certificate of Authenticity is not only a great marketing tool but also a useful benefit for your purchaser. They carry our signature as the print maker, you add your signature as the artist and the number of the edition. Your buyer will have confidence that their print was made with care and dedication by skilled technicians using the highest quality materials, whose archival properties comply with museum quality standards.

Can I reproduce an artwork if I have sold the original?

Copyright ownership is separate from ownership of of an original artwork. If the work is uncommissioned, then the artist owns the copyright automatically even if the original is sold. The copyright may be sold or assigned as a separate undertaking. You should scan or photograph the original before it is sold as the new owner is under no obligation to allow access once the sale is complete. Only the copyright holder has the right reproduce the work. If you have any doubt, seek professional legal advice.
Remember, it is only polite to inform a purchaser if you intend to reproduce an original that they have just purchased.

How are the prints packed?

We want your order to arrive in pristine condition. Small fine art prints are packed flat whenever possible. Bigger prints are rolled in large diameter tubes. Stretched canvas prints are shipped in strong boxes.

How are prints shipped?

Fine art prints and smaller stretched canvas prints are normally shipped by Royal Mail Special Delivery. Larger stretched canvas prints are shipped by UPS. These are both tracked delivery services and require a signature on receipt.

 

For more information or advice on Giclee Printing call Tim Sale or Adrian Chambers on 0117 952 0105 or use the contact form to tell us your requirements, we can suggest the most appropriate solution for your fine art printing needs.