Where Did Giclee Art Printers Originate?
In the early 1990s, printmakers introduced giclee art prints as a new way to reproduce artwork using computer-generated images and high-resolution inkjet printers. Giclee prints provide more subtle color gradation than conventional four-color process lithography, which had previously been the most common way to create art prints.
The introduction of framed giclee wall art enabled new ways to reproduce classic works of art. The bold colors of Vincent Van Gogh's Crown Imperial Fritillaries in a Copper Vase are a perfect example and presented well in the giclee print format. The bright yellows and reds in Amedeo Modigliani's Woman with a Fan are positively vibrant when output as giclee. The process is ideal for reproducing watercolor paintings.
Giclee Wall Art
With giclee wall art widely accepted, today's artists create work for the medium using digital techniques. They have broken free of the limitations and expense of the conventional printing process. Colors that appear muted with traditional lithography stand out on a giclee print. Framed giclee art opens up a world of decorating possibilities. The technology allows the transfer of images to either paper or canvas.
There's a certain irony in the technology's rise to prominence. The high-resolution Iris inkjet printers initially used for giclee prints were large-format proof-printing devices. Conventional lithographic printing plants began using inkjet printers in the late 1980s to check color fidelity and other issues, prior to printing. Print shops made test inkjet prints before creating printing plates which installed on the press. The market shifted in the early 1990s when graphic art entrepreneurs discovered that high-resolution large-format inkjets could be used for short-run art printing. Today's modern giclee art printer does away with the conventional printing press and support systems. This technology makes it more expedient for artists to bring their work to market.