Modern giclee print versus traditional lithography

Recently, the so-called giclee art print (from French Le gicleur - nozzle, spray) is gaining great popularity. There are many definitions of this word, but the most accurate will be the following: the process of creating reproductions of paintings from a digital source and using inkjet printing.

The term was introduced in 1991 by Jack Duganne, an engraver who was one of the first to use inkjet digital printing to create objects of fine art. Initially, this name applied only to those art objects that were created on Iris printers, invented in the early 1990s, but later began to apply to all types of high-quality inkjet printing. Today, the term is often used in galleries and printing houses to refer to such prints.

Iris was the first inkjet printer to provide a continuous or near-continuous printing method. Even with a fairly low print resolution, by modern standards, only 300 dpi, it was an innovative system. Given the peculiarity that the printer itself at that time cost about $ 75,000, only fairly wealthy people could afford to buy prints made on it.

Since then, technology has advanced significantly. Instead of the four colors that were originally used for Iris printers, today we have from 7 to 13, and as they write here: http://miraart.ru/products/studiya-pechati/pechat-na-kholste-zhikle/ , up to 16 million colors, and print resolution is close to 2880 dpi. However, there is still an opinion that the original giclee print is only the one made on Iris printers. Most experts, of course, do not agree with this, since today the word "giclee" has become standard for determining the corresponding pictorial method using the widest range of materials, from paper to canvas.

Giclee printing in many respects surpasses traditional lithography techniques in many respects: brighter colors, higher resolution, clearer drawing of details, etc. In addition, the giclee allows you to make prints even in small print runs, while lithography or screen printing methods require a large print run, from 1000 pieces, which is not always convenient. For more accurate color reproduction during giclee printing, special ink compositions have been developed, the color gamut has been expanded, and the durability of prints has been increased. For the manufacture of prints, even sources obtained with a digital camera can be used if its resolution is not less than six megapixels.