Giclee frequently asked questions
Giclee paintings have given the ability for artists to reproduce
their original paintings with extreme high quality and reach out
to a broader audience with the same piece. Each piece is printed
in limited edition so as to not de-value the reproductions or
the originals. Here we will review some questions about these
types of paintings.
Q: What are there significant quality differences between these
types of prints?
A: In terms of resolution, a giclee print has the highest
resolution and color range.
Giclee printmaking offers one of the highest degrees of accuracy
and richness of color available in any reproductions technique.
Giclee printmaking provides a luminosity and brilliance that
represents the artist's original work better than any
reproduction technique available today.
A Serigraph is created when paint is 'pushed' through a
silkscreen onto paper or canvas. A different screen is used for
each color in the print, and this results in a print with great
color density and many qualities of the original piece in terms
of color saturation. This process also adds some texture to the
final product.
A Lithograph is the least manually intensive reproduction
technique, and in turn, is not as expensive as a serigraph or
giclee. Although images can have a high resolution, and
excellent appearance, they will not have the same degree of
color fastness, resolution or color density as a serigraph or
giclee.
Q: Why do Giclee prints have serial numbers?
A: The serial number is used to indicate that a limited edition
has been signed and numbered by the artist himself/herself.
Q: Will the value of a limited edition increase like other
collector's items?
A: Being limited in number, demand for certain limited edition
prints can be greater than the number of reproductions produced
for the edition. Once an edition is sold out from the publisher,
which means that the print is no longer available from the
publisher, but they may still be available from an authorized
dealer, the prints are considered to be on the Secondary Market.
This means that the print can be bought and sold by any dealer
or individual, often above issue price, depending on supply and
demand.
Q: What is meant by the term 'Archival' and 'acid-free'?
A: Paper or canvas treated to neutralize its natural acidity in
order to protect fine art and photographic prints from
discoloration and deterioration.
Q: Why does it take longer to get my Limited Edition print than
it does to get a poster?
A: Each limited edition is ordered from the publisher upon
immediate demand. Therefore, we must take shipping time into
account. In the event that you choose to have your limited
edition print frame then you must also allow time to custom
frame your print to your exact specifications.
Q: What is an Artist's Proof, or what does A/P mean?
A: A small group of prints set aside from an edition for an
artist's or printer's use. Typically some of the first prints
pulled from a limited edition of prints, they are marked as an
A.P. and [sometimes] left unnumbered. Artist's proofs generally
draw a higher price than other impressions.
Q: Why are Limited Edition prints so much more expensive?
A: The premium price of limited editions is a function of the
limited supply of each product, and the exceptionally high
quality of these prints. Typically, the more manually intensive
the process is, the more each limited edition print will cost.
Q: What is a Limited Edition?
A: A limited edition is a series of identical prints, which are
limited to a one-time printing of a certain number of pieces.
The artist determines the size of the edition, and usually signs
and numbers each individual piece.
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