Giclée Printing, Explained

This article is part of our Guide to Buying Fine Art Prints

Giclée (from the French gicler, “to spray”) is a fine-art inkjet process. Pigment inks are laid down in very fine droplets onto fine-art paper, working from a high-resolution image of the artwork.

Standard CMYK printed art

Standard printing builds every colour from four inks. Giclée printers use a wider set, which reaches more colours and smoother transitions between them, so subtle tones and fine detail hold up even at large sizes.

Giclée printed (12-ink) artwork

How we use it

Our fine-art prints are 12-ink giclées with water-based pigment inks, printed to order and made to our Archival Museum Standards. Unframed prints are made on Hahnemühle German Etching, a 310gsm matte fine-art paper, or Hahnemühle Photo Rag, a 308gsm matte, for some graphic works. Framed prints arrive in a handmade solid-wood frame, ready to hang. Our prints are rated to keep their colour for more than 100 years in good display conditions, out of direct sunlight.

To choose a print, start with our curated collections, or browse by artist, mood or room.