The word Gicleé (pronounced (gee-clay) is a French term that loosely translated means “the spray” referring to the fact that a Gicleé print is created on an ink jet printer that sprays microscopic drops of ink on to the paper or canvas.
Classic Fish art uses Gicleé specific UV inks for our fine-art prints. The average life is 70-100 years under average household conditions. The term “durable” in the print world refers to resistance to both fading and color shifting.
Gicleé prints offer the artist numerous advantages over offset lithographic prints. Lithographs in the offset printing process are produced with four inks. High quality Gicleé prints use eight or more unique ink colors. This provides a wider gamut or range of color output for a more natural, true to life rendering. Traditional lithographs were printed approximately 175 dots per inch (dpi) while Gicleé are 1440-2880 dpi or higher. This gives remarkable detail and color density and if archived at a high resolution they can be greatly enlarged without any pixilation, distortion or loss of color. Lithographs had to be printed all at the same time and the same size. Gicleé prints are printed on demand and one by one at any size chosen and on paper or canvas. This feature frees the us from storing, moving and protecting them from damage. As each prints is sold it is a brand new print, not one that may have sat on a shelf in a stack for many years.
One of the greatest benefits to the collector is the ability to produce prints that are custom fit to the space where the art is to be hung. In addition the prints can be printed on canvas and like an original on canvas they need no glass or matting. The varnishes are 100% UV protected and 100% waterproof requiring little care from the owner. In addition canvas prints can be “embellished” which means the artist paints on the canvas applying extra color and brush work. enhancing them to mimic the original art.
Under average household conditions Gicleé prints should last a lifetime. The collector must still avoid obvious practices that damage art like hanging in direct sunlight, above candles, or in very humid conditions such as would be found in a bathroom that had a shower.