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. Come join the art adventure at http://www.artideas4u.com and learn how you can have a business with limited edition quality canvas giclee paintings.