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What is a Giclée?
The Giclée (pronounced "gee clay") process has revolutionized the reproduction of fine, commercial and photographic art. It recreates high resolution, true to life replicas of original art, inexpensively, quickly and in numbers of one to as many as you choose. Lithography, otherwise known as offset printing, has been the reproduction process of choice when it comes to large quantities of prints at a time, however, it may not be practical or cost effective unless the client has a distribution and marketing system in place. Moreover, lithography does not have anywhere near the archival life of a well made Giclée. The type of inks available for large format printers vary, and it is important to know whether they are UV, pigment, solvent, or dye based when making a choice as to the archival value of the Giclée print. One should always ask what the archival life of a particular printer, ink, and media combination is before proceeding. Technologies are forever changing, making it a practical question to ask. The bottom line is that unlike other reproduction processes, Giclée making is by far the most versatile method to date with its choice of quantity, quality, and media options. THE ONLY ISSUE LEFT IS TRUST! WE ARE ASKING FOR YOURS !
THE GICLÉE PROCESS
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YOU NEED A HIGH RESOLUTION SCAN OF YOUR ORIGINAL WORK.
Nothing beats scanning the original art with commercial digital cameras or other "optical" scanning devises. We do that here, or we can instruct your local pre press company how to make the scans for you. WE LIKE 60 TO 100 MB FILE SIZES, which will result if you scan your art at minimum of 150 dpi. or higher depending on the size of the original. We find that this range of file size will satisfy most printing requirements. Our printer's maximum printing width is 43", so again, the file sizes mentioned above will accommodate those parameters. DO NOT INBED ANY COLOR PROFILES IN THE SCAN AND USE RGB COLOR SPACE. Also, we will need some point of reference such as a photo print of your original art, or color swatch to match color correctness. IF WE DO THE SCANS IT COSTS $1.00 PER MB FILE SIZE, OR $60 MINIMUM WHICH EVER IS GREATER.
The next best thing to scanning the original, is filming the original with a camera, and then scanning the film. You will need a professional camera and studio light set up. You'll will need to make 4x5 transparencies. It is prudent to make 3 transparencies: One with the exposure set correctly, one 1/2 stop over exposed, and one 1/2 stop under exposed. Again, we can do that here, or can instruct a professional photographer in your area. Once we receive the film, we will scan the film using the same parameters as mentioned in the "Scanning the Original" section above. It should be apparent that this film & scan method is more costly than optically scanning the original as mentioned in the beginning. We only mention this second alternative, because some clients do not have a source near them that can give them an optical scan from their original art.
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SEND US THE DIGITAL FILE ON A CD BY MAIL, OR COMPRESSED OVER THE WEB.
The file(s) should be saved as PC or Mac Tiff , or in some cases another format predetermined by the client and us.
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THE NEXT STEP IS THE COLOR CORRECTION OF THE DIGITAL IMAGE (FILE).
We will color correct your digital image (file) using your match print or swatch and make 3 artist's proofs for your review. These 8"x10-12 proofs are the full rendition of your original art, on the media of your choice, and are yours to keep or sell. (Most artsist keep one and sell the other proofs for $40 to $60 each.) WE CHARGE $60 PER DIGITAL IMAGE (FILE) FOR THIS STEP.
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THEN THERE'S THE PRINT MAKING!
Once you decide on which artist proof you like, we can proceed to make giclée prints for you. Call or email us the choice of artist proof, sizes (based on the proportions of your original) and quantities (discounts apply to quantities). WE GUARANTEE OUR WORK, OR RETURN THE PRINT AT NO CHARGE. (On quantities over 6, we will send the first one for your approval, before printing the rest).
Above, we explained the steps taken when making a giclée. If you don't care to get involved in tech talk, simply put YOUR TRUST IN US, and we will attempt to locate and provide clear instructions to your local sources, keeping you informed all the way.
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