There is now a very wide variety of fine art papers and canvas available for giclee printing of artwork. The main difference between the media that you as the artist work on and the giclee papers

are that the giclee medias have a coating on the surface to help the printing inks adhere to the media and to allow the sharpest printing possible. The giclee medias are also specifically designed for the type of ink used (we use only pigmented inks) to get the widest possible color gamut. For our standard printing, we have selected Fredrix Archival Waterproof Canvas for oils and acrylics, and Arches Infinity Water Color paper.

The canvas has a nice tooth, and is very stout and durable. The Arches is a 230 gm textured surface that closely resembles traditional water color paper.

One controversial area is the use of optical brighteners in the giclee media. Raw papers are off-white in color, so the manufacturer adds what is called an optical brightener to most medias. The fear is that these brighteners will yellow over time. However, with proper UV protective coatings, and the use of archival quality media we do not feel this is as much an issue as feared. For example, HP pigmented inks have a Wilhelm permanence rating of between 100 & 200 years if UV coated (varnished) and HP media does use optical brighteners.
 

VARNISH'S

We highly recommend that our giclee on canvas prints be varnished to protect the print from ultraviolet light, pollutants and physical damage. There are several highly recommended inkjet specific products as well, including Bulldog and Breathing Colors' Glamour II varnish. In our photo on canvas work, we use Glamour II, as it dries rapidly and has leveling agents to ensure a smooth, glossy or semi-gloss surface. They are available as matte or gloss, and in our experience mixing the gloss and matte products gives a wonderful, clear coat that protects and enhances the giclee print.
 

GAMUT

One of the most confusing aspects of giclee printing is color gamut. Gamut refers to the range of color that a specific device is capable of producing. If we consider the human eye has a range of colors that can be considered as the widest of all possible colors, each step of the giclee process then, is to some degree, lesser than that baseline of visual range. Our Betterlight Scanback has an extremely wide range of color gamut, and a very large dynamic range allowing our digital capture to far exceed most film based systems, keeping the light colors light and the dark detail intact.

The next limitation is the monitors ability to display all of the colors in the digital capture. However, both of these systems far exceed the ability of the giclee printer to reproduce color. This is where our experience comes to the forefront. Our goal, when we selected the printing system we use, was to get maximum longevity along with a suitable range of color gamut in the final print. No giclee system can duplicate every color you can see, or match all of the colors that are available in paint pigments.

That said, watercolors are very rarely out to the range of the giclee process, and most oils and acrylics are within the gamut, also. One notable exception is extreme neon colors especially greens and intense yellows and reds. These colors will most likely be outside of the gamut of the giclee process. In these cases, we use our experience and judgment to adjust the colors and rendering intent of the final print to most closely match the original artwork. It sounds complicated and it is, but you, the artist, don't have to worry about it because our experience lets us worry about the gamut, and we can advise you about solutions if a problem arises, and it is more rare than you would think.
 

LONGEVITY

Longevity or print permanence is all the buzz in the giclee world. It's important. However, it's a bit overrated. How long will an original last? The truth is we really don't know.

We know that originals fade over time with the impact of environmental pollutants and light. In similar light, giclee prints will, at some point in time, fade. The rate of fading is controlled by the inks used, the media, and the display conditions. We know that pigmented inks last significantly longer than dye based inks, that's why we use them.

The leading researcher in the print permanence field is Wilhelm Imaging Research. They estimate the inks we use will have a longevity of 100-200 years, but that's their best estimate based on accelerated testing. Since the techniques of giclee printing have only been available for the last 20 years or so, and high gamut pigmented inks for less than half that, all we can really say is the out giclee prints will last a good long time.