Jennifer Young on Giclee Printing

Jakprints employees are artists, musicians, photographers and creators that know a thing or two about the creative process. With a staff full of creative people, we understand what a piece of art means to the artist. No one wants their work to be presented on anything less than the best, and that’s where we come in. We understand that you want reproductions of your art to reflect the time and attention you put into each piece.

Giclee prints are perfect for reproducing your drawings, paintings, digital art and photographs accurately. But what exactly is a giclee print? What sets it apart from other types of printing? We know technical talk can get complicated, so we turned to Giclee Manager, Jennifer Young, to break it down for us.

How long have you been at Jakprints? Have you always been in the giclee department?

Total? 7 years. I started in File Prep then helped to found our Giclee Department.

How did you first become interested in art?

I took art classes in high school — and paid for my own outside of school — then I went to Kent for a BFA in Printmaking.

How does giclee printing differ from conventional printing?

It’s an archival reproduction that’s high-resolution, museum grade. It’s a great option for artists who don’t want to sell their original; or who want to produce an edition. It’s the next best thing to an original that still has marketability: You’re able to sell it at an affordable cost.

Giclee is typically used for art prints, but what are some more offbeat uses?

We have a couple customers who use it as part of their medium instead of the finished product. Somebody will print a giclee and then either draw on it, paint on it, rip it apart and use it in a collage. So they’re using it as a tool and not necessarily a finished piece.

We also work with a couple colleges that use giclees to print archival copies of important documents — such a cool idea!

Does paper play a part in creating a giclee print?

Definitely! It depends on the type of reproduction the client is looking for. A cotton rag, a photo paper or a canvas stock each result in a very different presentation.

So the paper differs between a print of, say, a water color and a photo print?

Yes. We have options for each of those and we offer a canvas option that works well for painting reproduction.

Does the ink used in giclee printing differ from standard inkjet printing?

We use up to 12 inks on some prints, while most standard inkjet printers use four to six. Giclee inks are archival for 150 to 200 years and offer a wider color gamut — the color range that is available — than a regular inkjet printer. That wide color gamut offers rich, vibrant colors that aren’t available through traditional inkjets.

So giclee printing involves a lot of time and attention to detail. What do you do here at Jakprints to ensure that the prints are the best they can be?

We do color correction and digitizing of original artworks — I take a lot of time to make sure that the final prints will be a true reproduction of your work. Afterwards, I don white gloves (to keep the oils from my hands off your art) before everything is hand cut and rolled in tissue paper, if size or customer preference calls for it. It’s literally the “white glove treatment.”

Any tips for someone getting giclee prints?

As long as their images are high-res we’ll make it look awesome. Our color gamut is very wide, so you’ll get more vibrance out of it. It’s good for people to push their limits because they’ll be able to get something that’s a lot more stunning and brilliant than anything that would print in more conventional ways like a traditional offset poster print.

Enough about work. How do you take your coffee?

Black. I like good, hot coffee.

Hypothetical situation here. Your house is on fire. You have time to grab one album and one book. What are your picks? The pressure is on.

Oh wow. The book I would grab is Anatomy of the Spirit by Caroline Myss. Picking one album is hard. One album? That’s one of the hardest questions I’ve been asked in a long time. I think I would take Go Go Harlem Baby by Flat Duo Jets.

Your work is in good hands here at Jakprints. We’ll do whatever it takes to make sure your hard work and dedication is reflected in your giclee print. Read more about our white glove giclee treatment, get a behind-the-scenes look at giclee production or just check out our giclee prints.