Sadie’s Tulips – a giclee print from an iPad drawing

Giclee (or giclée) printing is a popular method among artists and galleries to produce something that looks just like an expensive piece of fine art, but doesn’t cost anything near as much to produce. With reproduction prints becoming more and more popular, giclee enables artists to reach a wider audience who may not be able to afford the real thing.

Giclee prints are printed on demand, so avoid the expense of mass-production using Litho, also giving the artist the option of experimenting with different papers and finishes. For exquisite, high-quality reproductions, giclee really is the best way to go.

The name derives from the French word for ‘nozzle’ and is pronounced ‘Zhee-Clay’. It is an unregulated word, so has come to be used for any fine art that’s printed by an inkjet printer, usually archival. However there are four basic criteria that must be met in order for a print to be considered giclee, and these involve the print’s resolution, and the paper, printer and ink used.