Giclees
Giclee - The word giclee comes from a french word meaning "sprayed ink". The original giclees were produced in France on an "Iris Printer", on canvas. So, most people have come to think of a giclee as being a high quality reproduction on canvas. But, the term giclee actually refers to method of reproduction and not the media used. So a giclee can be on canvas, paper, or other media. When the term giclee is used, it implies that the work is of the highest quality in both workmanship and materials. Unfortuunately, the term is often abused, by some in the art business, and the word might be attached to prints of lesser quality. When we use the term giclee, it means the piece has been reproduced, using the finest materials and workmanship available, to give you a quality print that closely resembles the original work of art. We use the word "Giclee" to refer to a reproduction on Canvas. But, we also use the giclee method of printing on other media. When we use a media other than canvas we will clearify the description by calling it a giclee on paper or a giclee on fine art paper.
Offset Lithograph: This is a method of reproducing large numbers of prints. Generally the quality of an offset litho print is very good. Until recently all quality reproductions were reproduced this way.
We refer to offset lithos as prints. Originally lithographs were printed one at a time using heavy plates known as stone plates. From this we get the term "Stone Lithograph". The plates were reinked by hand, and it was necessary to pull one of the the prints a regular basis to assure the artist that they were consistent in quality. These prints were given the title "Artist Proofs" (A/P), and were considered to be more valauble, as they had been individually inspected an approved by the artist. Another
proof you might find is "Printer's Proof" (P/P). This simply refers to one of the early prints that has been inspected by the printer during the early stages of getting a reproduction to the approved for printing point.
Limited Edition (or signed and numbered) means that the artist has agreed to produce a limited number of prints. Once the number of prints have been sold, they will generally be available only on the secondary market. Generally each piece is signed and numbered by the artist. The term "Limited Edition" refers to the number of pieces that will be reproduced. It does not mean that it is a high quality reproduction. In a limited edition production, The first proofs are called "Printer's Proofs".
The next set of proofs will be called "Artist Proofs", after that you get into the numbered prints.
Open Edition Prints. The artist has the choice of reprinting these prints as long as they are selling.
During the start of each new edition there could be a few proofs, such as printers or artist proofs.
Fine Art Print: This term generally refers to a piece that has been printed on heavy weight paper that closely resembles watercolor paper in weight and texture. The term generally refers to the quality of the media (paper) and not the method of reproduction. We refer to our Fine Art Prints as Giclees on Fine Art Paper and the method of reproduction is the same as a giclee.
Offset Lithograph: This is a method of reproducing large numbers of prints. Generally the quality of an offset litho print is very good. Until recently all quality reproductions were reproduced this way.
We refer to offset lithos as prints. Originally lithographs were printed one at a time using heavy plates known as stone plates. From this we get the term "Stone Lithograph". The plates were reinked by hand, and it was necessary to pull one of the the prints a regular basis to assure the artist that they were consistent in quality. These prints were given the title "Artist Proofs" (A/P), and were considered to be more valauble, as they had been individually inspected an approved by the artist. Another
proof you might find is "Printer's Proof" (P/P). This simply refers to one of the early prints that has been inspected by the printer during the early stages of getting a reproduction to the approved for printing point.
Limited Edition (or signed and numbered) means that the artist has agreed to produce a limited number of prints. Once the number of prints have been sold, they will generally be available only on the secondary market. Generally each piece is signed and numbered by the artist. The term "Limited Edition" refers to the number of pieces that will be reproduced. It does not mean that it is a high quality reproduction. In a limited edition production, The first proofs are called "Printer's Proofs".
The next set of proofs will be called "Artist Proofs", after that you get into the numbered prints.
Open Edition Prints. The artist has the choice of reprinting these prints as long as they are selling.
During the start of each new edition there could be a few proofs, such as printers or artist proofs.
Fine Art Print: This term generally refers to a piece that has been printed on heavy weight paper that closely resembles watercolor paper in weight and texture. The term generally refers to the quality of the media (paper) and not the method of reproduction. We refer to our Fine Art Prints as Giclees on Fine Art Paper and the method of reproduction is the same as a giclee.
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