One of the most common questions asked is how to produce the best possible giclee. A giclee is a high fidelity print made with inkjets using pigmented inks. Although it is a fairly simple and short inquiry, the answer is complex. I will try to split it in three parts:

File quality

Native resolution needs to be a minimum of 150 ppi for art papers and 200 for resin coated. When I say native, I mean before any kind of interpolation. Interpolation of files over 200% is harmful. Also, digitally created files (such as files from digital cameras and computer graphics raster programs) interpolate better. Vector files are resolution independent: an Illustrator file can be printed as large as you wish. It needs to be rasterized at the wanted resolution for the size of the final print.

Make sure your files are color balanced and no crossover is present. Crossover occurs when complementary colors are present and not wanted in an image. Also, it is very important there is no clipping in highlights and shadows. You can easily see any issues by running a histogram in Photoshop. Last but not least, is the image sharp?

Hardware and software

A giclee must be made with a high quality printer. Right now I would not consider anything else but a pro Epson, Roland, Colorspan or Iris. HP and Canon have a few interesting products in the pipeline.

Make sure you use professional editing software such as Photoshop. Also a RIP is a must in a production environment. If you are producing low volumes, the regular drivers supplied for free with all printers will do.

Inks and substrates

This is the most complex item. As for inks, it goes without saying that pigments should be used. Dyes are mostly organic compounds and as such they break down. Dyes have a wider color gamut but are unsuitable for long lasting prints.

The papers are another huge factor. Make sure you buy archival, acid free substrates. OBA free materials are preferred. OBA stands for optical brighteners and OBA papers tend to yellow and possibly break down over time. It is imperative you coat OBA papers with UV protecting compounds.

Coating is another issue. At this time liquid or spray coatings are the standard. Do not use laminate sheets as they crack and shift to yellow in months or at best a few years.

Copyright 2006 Fabio Braghi

Fabio Braghi is the owner and printmaker of a Fine art giclee print company.