Giclee Printing

The word Giclée (“g-clay”), is derived from the French verb gicler meaning “to squirt or spray”, Giclée, is used to describe a fine art digital printing process combining pigment based inks with high-quality archival quality paper to achieve an inkjet print of superior archival quality, light fastness and stability. Our prints are created using an Epson 9880 with Epson Ultrachrome K3 inks, which with the 8 channel print head is capable of producing an extremely wide tonal range and colour gamut.

Metro’s Giclée printing offers both a softness and richness of colour and our operators will ensure the print represents the artist’s original work in the closest possible way by working with the client and producing a test print as part of the service.

The process involves squirting or spraying microscopic dots of pigment-based ink onto high-quality art paper or canvas. The image is colour corrected to attain the closest possible match to the original work if required. The digital information is fine-tuned to the type of paper or surface on which the image is to be printed, further ensuring fidelity to the original.

Giclées are printed on a variety of substrates or mediums, the most common being watercolour paper or canvas. Image permanence is a concern to artists and collectors. Estimates are based on laboratory simulations of ageing to give a fade &colour shift resistance of up to 200 years in ideal conditions, tests developed and conducted by Epson.

Reproducing prints this way can be of an advantage to artists who find it unfeasible to mass-produce their work, but need to reproduce their work on demand. Once we make the master print and archive the digital master file, we can produce identical edition prints at any point in the future.

C Type prints and Giclée prints are two very different printing processes, one is a digital photographic print and the other is an inkjet print. A digital C Type is a traditional photographic print, made from a digital file rather than a negative. Many customers think that a ‘digital print’ has to be a Giclée print but this is not so. A Giclée print is quite different, using no chemistry or light sensitivity.
PLEASE NOTE we do not trim Giclée prints above 44” along the longest length to keep the print as untouched as possible unless specifically requested.

Giclee prints to paper or canvas, Bespoke and Self-Service: Three working days. Giclee prints to Stretched canvas: Ten working days.
PLEASE NOTE we do not trim Giclée prints above 44” along the longest length to keep the print as untouched as possible unless specifically requested.

Handling a Giclée print is a common question we are asked at Metro as fine art prints are susceptible to damage much more than a C Type print. When it comes to Giclée prints we recommend only using this paper when intending to frame straight away. If are are looking for portfolio prints, or free-hanging prints for an exhibition, we will always recommend using C Type papers as these are much more durable.

• All Metroprint Giclées come rolled over 20 x 16 inches and above

• Always handle you Giclée print wearing cotton gloves and avoid touching the print itself
• If you don’t have gloves, make sure you have clean hands and do not touch the ink – even the smallest amount of oil or grease that occurs naturally can damage an inkjet
• Always hold the print by it’s edges and do not bend the print
• We recommend printing Giclées with a border, so you have ‘clean’ paper to handle, this is useful for larger prints that come rolled.
• All Giclées naturally ‘curl’. To uncurl a print: Place the print on a flat, clean surface away from direct sunlight and leave the protective tissue over the print. Place a book, or another heavy object on the very ends of the print. After a few hours the print should become flat.

• High quality: Giclee printing allows for extraordinarily accurate colour management of your images and incredibly sharp detail. They have a high tonal range which is perfect for illustrations and photography alike.
• Long lasting: Giclée prints are made with archival pigment inks and paper. Hehnemuhle quote a lifespan of 80 years plus, even for prints framed under glass.
• Variety of sizes: Giclée prints can be made in a variety of sizes. We can print from a simple 10×8 right up to a 200cm x 150cm mural sized print.
• Surfaces: Giclée prints can be producerd on a variety of paper types, including watercolour paper, enviromentally friendly surfaces such as hemp, and even canvas.

We produce all of our Giclee’s using pigment ink. Unlike regular ink, pigment ink is archival with an expected lifespan of 80 years plus.

Using an A3/16×12 print on Photorag paper as an example our prices range from £14.64 inc vat up to £53.88 depending on the level of service and whether you require test prints.

Giclee prints should ideally be stored flat after collection until they can be framed. When framing they should be framed behind UV reflective glass to ensure longevity.