What is giclée?

 

Giclée is based on the French word gicleur, the French technical term for a jet or a nozzle. That reference is associated with modern ink jet printers.

Giclee printingis a form of inkjet printing used by artists and photographers to achieve extraordinary renditions of their photographs and original art. Modern giclée printers use up to 12 different inks to achieve larger color gamut. Most ink jet printers, including very sophisticate and expensive models use only four color cartridges compared to giclee’s 14

In addition to its original association with Iris prints, the word giclée has come to be loosely associated with other types of inkjet printing including processes that use dyes or fade-resistant, archival inks (pigment-based),

A wide variety of substrates on which an image can be printed with such inks are available, including various textures and finishes such as matte photo paper, watercolor paper, cotton canvas, pre-coated canvas, or textured vinyl.

Giclée is based on the French word gicleur, the French technical term for a jet or a nozzle, and the associated verb gicler (to squirt out). Une giclée (noun) means a spurt of some liquid.The French verb form gicler means to spray, spout, or squirt. The fabled printer Duganne settled on the noun giclée.