Giclee Printing
Giclee printing allows for extraordinarily accurate colour management of your images and incredibly sharp detail, perfect for illustrations and photography alike.
We have Hahnemühle and Canson certified studio status and using the highest quality giclee papers in a superb range of finishes, from flat matts to gloss and Baryta, meaning you can be assured of the highest quality.
Get in touch for a quote or to speak with a member of our team.
At Vogue and National Portrait Gallery we can say, without any question, how much we appreciate the quality of the work and service provided by Metro.
— Robin Muir, Vogue 100
What is a Giclée print?
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 vs Giclée prints
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.
Bespoke or Self-Service
Bespoke is our classic service, you sit back and we do the work. Either send us your files online via Dropbox or email, or pop in and see us in the lab and we'll work on a one to one basis with you.
Self-Service is our great value online DIY printing, mounting and framing solution. If you feel confident in preparing your own files for print, then simply upload your images and follow the simple steps to make your top quality prints.
Turnaround times
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.
