The "Giclée Process" of Fine Art Prints

The Giclée process has revolutionized the world of art over the past decade. It utilizes state of the art technology and equipment, which provides the capability to reproduce original art as beautiful high quality limited edition prints. The word "Giclée" itself is a French term that means "spraying of ink".

Here are some of the basic steps utilized in the creation of Archuleta's Giclées on canvas and on paper:

First, artist's original artwork is digitally scanned into a computer. Anthony reviews proofs of each image for any adjustments to arrive at the final color and size specifications.

The material for each Giclée on canvas is individually hand-mounted on a drum. As the drum rotates at a high speed, the computer prompts the printer nozzles to spray the ink onto the surface of the canvas, up to a million microscopic droplets of ink per second. Each droplet is 1/10th the size of a human hair. The Giclée on paper is basically the same process except that a roll of paper is fed through the printer.

The archival inks and materials used produce the look of a museum-quality painting. The infinitely small pixels of color render a smooth and consistent image, capturing the subtle nuances of the final proof. Various coatings are applied to each print. The Giclée on canvas is then stretched onto bars, and the Giclée on paper is mounted on foam core.

Archuleta adds the final touches by embellishing, signing, and dating each piece.

Giclée style printing has the added advantage of allowing the artist to control every aspect of the image, its color, the substrate printed on, and even allows the artist to own and operate the printer itself. Because of this, Giclée style prints can technically be called “prints”, i.e. an image where the artist has a hand in actual production. The Giclée process is truly the blending of science and the arts, which provides the means for admirers and collectors to acquire beautiful high quality limited edition prints of their favorite artwork.