The term giclee' has become a popular term used in the fine art world for digital ink jet prints. In recent years the process of digital printmaking has become largely adopted, first by the photography world. With these advances in archival inks and fine printing quality many artists have adopted this format to keep from relying on outside publishers and printmakers to produce their work. In the case of Qwalsius Studios (qwalsius.com) we produce many of the limited edition giclee's using scans of photos of the original drawings which are then imported into a digital editing program where the work can then be modified.

Despite the popular belief that digital art is simplified the process can be rather tedious. Despite some advantages there are complexities involved dealing with software and printer capability, color proofing, and unforeseen errors when building an image. Just as well giclee' prints cannot be printed on standard archival paper. Only papers coated for this type of printing are used in the process. Each sheet is coated with a thin film that bonds with the specified inks to create vibrant tonal values. If printing on standard non-coated papers the work is very muted and dull.

Last updated on September 16, 2011 by Shaun Peterson