The Definition : Giclee (ghee-clay) - The French word "giclée" is a feminine noun that means a spray or a spurt of liquid. The word may have been derived from the French verb "gicler" meaning "to squirt".

The Term : The term "giclee print" connotes a revolutionary elevation in printmaking technology. Images are generated from high resolution digital scans and printed on enhanced digital ink jet printers, using archival quality inks, onto various substrates including canvas, fine art, and photo-base paper. From a hundred inkjets, more than a million droplets of ink per second are sprayed on a canvas or watercolor paper spinning on a drum. A completed image is comprised of almost 20 billion droplets of ink. The resulting print has no perceptible dot pattern, an endless array of richly saturated color, and every nuance of the original image. The most archival, water -based, light-fast inks available in the world are used to guarantee a 70 year light-fastness and UV-resistance under museum archival conditions.

Quite simply, the giclee printing process provides the closest duplication of an original artwork that is humanly, mechanically or technically possible. The giclee print now rivals many traditional silver-halide and gelatin printing processes and is commonly found in museums, art and photography galleries.