How to Print Your Own Giclée Prints at Home?

How to Print Your Own Giclée Prints at Home?

There are many artists out there who are super creative and have been creating masterpieces. If you are an artist by yourself and you think your artwork is not getting the right kind of reach, you have to think of making them into prints and selling them. Yes! You read it right. Making prints from the original artwork isn’t illegal at all, unless and until you have all the copyrights on that particular piece of art. You can borrow this idea of printing and implement it with your artwork to make a handsome amount. You need not be a pro to print your prints. With little knowledge, you can do wonders.

If you have already roped in our idea and want to make prints out of your artworks, you must be thinking of choosing the right prints. If that is the case, we can help you out. There is this print called Giclee Print, which is unbeatable among other prints available in the market. It is all thanks to the unique features it holds. Though Giclee printing is quite pricey, it is all worth it as it will surely confuse you with your original artwork of yours. Before getting started, let us look at what Giclee print exactly is?

What is Giclee Print?

The term ‘Giclee’ is a French word meaning ‘to spray’ or ‘to squirt’. The printing uses high-quality inkjet printers to print the arts. The abstractness with this printing technology is cent percent and so most of the high-end artists use this printing technique to print and sell their artworks, though it is expensive. Talking about why they are so expensive, the prints that are made with Giclee are for life and there is no looking back with it. It is a limited edition print and artists can gain popularity over time with it.

Giclee print makes the best prints ever and to date, it hasn’t got any neck and neck competitors to compete with. If you want to make your prints in the highest quality possible, irrespective of the costs incurred, you can go with the Giclee prints. Most of the displayed prints in museums and art galleries are made of Giclee and that itself proves how popular they are. Giclee is the synonym for high quality and that we can assure. You can find out for yourself why Giclee prints are so popular by looking at them closely.

Can you make Giclee Prints at home?

Though we cannot assure you that you can print incredible Giclee prints on the first go at home, you can achieve somewhat good results and with practice, you can perfect it and make outstanding Giclee prints all by yourself. For the unversed, you cannot make Giclee prints at home with a regular printer. You should get a Giclee printer that can create at least 10 pigment ink colors. You can get a printer with more ink colors to create a gem. The outcome using the Giclee printer creates prints with vibrant colors.

Types of Prints

There are different types of prints in use in the market and arts prefer to use the prints they find comfortable to use and also that fall in their budget. Also, there are different types of printers available to print the artworks and each printer makes unique prints. The most common prints include lithographs, monotypes, screenprints, etc. These prints are called fine arts and if you are looking for a new style of printing for your artwork, you can consider Giclee print. Giclee print can be used to create different types of fine arts.

How Giclee Prints Are Made?

There are namely three important things that come into the picture while making Giclee prints and they are resolution, paper, and printer. Let us learn a bit about them here.

Image Resolution

The resolution of the image is very significant while printing it using Giclee. You cannot enlarge a small resolution into a large one and expect it to be of a high-quality image. The minimum resolution of the image you want to make a Giclee print of should be 300 dots per inch. To find out the exact resolution of artwork, you have to use a scanner so that you can reproduce the artwork with the same resolution.

Paper

The paper on which the print is being made is also very essential. It should not turn yellow with time or be torn out. So you have to pick the paper that is of archival type. You have to choose the paper that is 100% cotton or rag as well as acid-free. You can ask for watercolor paper or use canvas paper to make Giclee prints.

Printer

As we mentioned earlier, the printer you are going to use to make Giclee prints plays a key role as well. You should be using inkjet printers to make picture-perfect Giclee art prints as they use dye-based ink and pigments. So, you will get outstanding outwork with the printer.

Choosing the Price for your Art

It is a little tough to decide the pricing for your artwork as you have to consider every single thing from the investments you have done on it to the hard work and efforts you have put into it. You also have to think from the profit angle while deciding the price of your artwork. You should also consider the target audience and the amount they will most likely pay. The number of editions you want to make should also be taken into consideration. As these prints don’t cost as much as your originals do, most art enthusiasts may find it good to purchase one for themselves. You can also put up your art prints in galleries and wholesale shops for sale. 

If you would like to take your art ahead, you can think of using the high-quality images of your art for licensing or merchandising. Many named artists have adapted this process and you can try it yourself and climb the success ladder.

About the author

I have done masters in printing and technology from University of North Carolina and contributed to several digital media platforms for years. My extensive background in higher education has made me a flexible thinker and, therefore, a flexible writer. With my creativity and professionalism, I know I can take this affiliate blog to the next level.

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