What is "Giclée"?
Giclée, pronounced "zhee-clay (from the French noun "gicleur" meaning "jet" or "nozzle" and verb "gicle" meaning "squirt" or "spray")," describes the production of fine art prints from a digital source using ink-jet printing versus more traditional means of print creation (e.g., lithography).
The term evolved in the early 1990s from the need to distinguish fine art prints produced in this way from "Iris proofs" (pre-press copy used to assure color matching prior to mass production), both printed on Iris Graphics printers.
The process makes use of the most recent technology to assure multiple color variation, increased resolution and smoother gradient transition.
In addition to overall print quality, the term now also relates to the archival quality of the print since better print houses use fade resistant inks thereby increasing the longevity of a piece.
Sharon Wise employs Squirt Printing LLC of Sunnyvale, CA (www.squirtprinting.com) to render her limited edition giclées. Squirt Printing takes pride in their state-of-the-art capture, color matching, printing, and finishing processes especially noting their use of the latest HP design-jet printers and the extensive testing for color-fastness of their inks.