Strokes Fine Art                      

 

Care of your Original Watercolor

 

1. Watercolor paintings are very sensitive to their environment, they should be kept in a dry area.

2. Keep painting out of direct sunlight.

3. Never place on a damp outside wall.

4. Enjoy It!

Giclee Prints

Many people have asked me for the definition of the word giclee.  This should help to explain the process.

The word giclee is derived from French term meaning "spray of ink.”  A print is created when millions of droplets of ink per second are sprayed onto archival paper or canvas which is mounted on a rotating drum. The advantage of using this system is the precise control you obtain over color hue, value and density.

Giclee prints have a higher resolution than lithographs and a greater dynamic color range than serigraphs.

Before any printing can begin, the image must be captured and converted into digital form.  An extremely high resolution scanning back camera mounted on a large TTI copy table is used. The amount of information captured digitally is greater than the information contained on an 8"x 10" transparency. The sensitivity, resolution and dynamic range of the camera captures the smallest details, such as brush strokes, and paper texture. The result is a more color-accurate image than with traditional photographic images. Once the image is scanned, a small series of proofs are printed for the artist to confirm the accuracy of the scan.

My giclee prints are produced by Pictex of Boston which uses the "gold standard" of giclee printers, the Iris 3047. The finest details and most subtle tonal gradations are achieved with the printer's resolution of higher than 1800 dpi (dots per inch). The Iris 3047 printer uses a continuous drop inkjet technology that produces variable sized drops of ink, the smallest drop being about the size of red blood cell. Pictex also uses the ColorSpan Giclee PrintmakerFA with an 8 printhead design. Most inkjet printers use a four or six color inkset. Eight-color printing creates incredible detail and texture in the highlights, mid-tones and shadows. This makes for a realism so startling, it can be difficult to distinguish the prints from the originals. Archival topcoats are applied to prints to help protect them from moisture, abrasions and enhance their longevity.

I have found through trial and error that PicTex uses the best tools available. Every scanner, printer and monitor in the studio has been color calibrated and profiled using the high-end color management software and color reading devices. All the lighting in the studio is controlled to simulate daylight. Even with the best tools, the printer himself must be an artist, skilled in highly specialized techniques to achieve the best results.

Paint America

New England Watercolor Society

Providence Art Club

Rhode Island Watercolor Society

Newport Artist Guild

North East Watercolor Society

 Send mail to Sally Ann with questions or comments about this web site.
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Last modified: 07/20/08