Journal · printing
What giclée means on this bench.
Giclée is a fancy word for a careful inkjet print: pigment inks, archival paper or canvas, color-managed so the file you send is the print you get. Museums and edition artists use the term. So do a lot of marketing pages. Here's what it means when we say it.
Pigment inkjet. Not a buzzword for "nice print."
What we actually run
Aqueous fine-art inkjet — pigment inks on roll media. That's the giclée path in this shop. Two papers do most of the work: Epson Cold Press Natural (cotton, matte, art-paper tooth) and Premium Luster (photographic sheen, deep blacks). Canvas for wraps shares this room. Prices for paper and canvas run about $23/sq ft with a $40 minimum — the designer or Ask the bench will price a size.
What giclée is not
| Process | When we use it |
|---|---|
| Giclée / aqueous pigment | Paper under glass, canvas wraps, editions that need longevity |
| UV flatbed | Direct to plexi, birch, aluminum — see rigid prints |
| Dye-sub metal | Infused aluminum with a different look and hang path |
If someone sells you a "giclée on metal," ask which machine. Words wander. Materials don't.
Will your file hold?
Giclée doesn't fix a soft file. Phone photos can look beautiful at 8×10 and fall apart at 30×40. Check resolution before you fall in love with a size — print-ready files has the PPI math and a free meter in the designer.
After the print
Paper wants a frame: mat or float, glazing, sealed for Florida humidity. Canvas is a different product — wrap vs floater. Artists and galleries running editions: trade.
Ways in
Upload and price a print · Pick the paper · Ask a framer · Bring a file by the shop.
Call it giclée. We'll still ask which paper.
The word is fine. The sheet and the file decide the result.
Print & frame a file