Thanks Terri, but this article is wrong on more than a few points.
"In giclee printing, no screen or other mechanical devices are used and
therefore there is no visible dot screen pattern."
While there is no visible regular screen dot pattern, inkjet printers
typically use what is called a stochastic or random dot pattern. If the
printing is done well, you can't see it with the naked eye, but with a
low powered magnifier one can see the dots that make up the image. If
you look at a true photographic print you won't see anything like this
because in a photo, every pixel can be any color without having to
dither different size drops of only a few ink colors.
"They use special light-fast inks, which, if kept out of the sun, will
remain true for up to 25 years."
Even early inkjet prints were capable of over 50 year lifespan with
proper care and some of today's pigments are now expected to last up to
100 years and the carbon black inks should last 300 years. What we know
now is that the quality of the ink alone isn't as important as the
COMBINATION of ink and paper or canvas that it's printed on. The same
ink on different media coatings will last well in one case and fade
quickly on another. This beings me to:
"Giclee prints can be produced on any paper as you wish"
Well maybe, but the marriage of ink and paper is a science in itself and
best left to the professionals or else you're asking for big trouble. It
takes us nearly a day to properly profile a media and then we may decide
to use it or not. Many combinations are just not good and you need a
special coating on the paper or canvas to properly accept the ink.
"The original is scanned directly on a drum scanner, in my printer's
case, it can scan flexible images up to 500 x 700 mm. If the image is
larger, or cannot be taken off the stretcher frames, then a large format
transparency must be taken of the piece, and this is then scanned."
None of this is true. Drum scanners were barely if ever used to scan
original art. These days, large mounted or stretched images, even prints
behind glass, are scanned without compromise directly from the art.
Although I used to shoot 8x10 transparencies as a rule and then drum
scan them, and still have the ability to do so in my own lab, I haven't
found it necessary in years. Direct scanning is almost always superior.
One last point. Make sure that your printed canvas gets a compatible
coating. The proper coating will keep it flexible to prevent cracking,
maximize the color potential and maximum density, and seal the
microporous surface to protect it from airborne contaminants, moisture
and u.v. light, all of which will cause shortened lifespan.
As for the term giclée, we know it means inkjet, but I think it's one of
those terms that we're stuck with, like Xerox or Kleenex, so I stopped
complaining and now just go with it.
Cheeers~
John Castronovo
tech photo & imaging
----- Original Message -----
From: "terri pakula"
I found this link which explains it well too:
http://painting.about.com/cs/printing/a/gilceeprints_2.htm
http://artshowphoto.com/support.htm
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