Giclee landscape and other arty questions

[AnneWynne]

For those of you who sell your photos as art prints....have you had much success with giclee prints, and is there a significant difference between giclee and just printing on canvas.

I have a couple of landscapes I manipulated in photoshop for a painterly effect and a local antiques and interiors dealer saw them and feels they would sell well as giclee prints.I had never heard of this technique before and I have no idea how well it works with photoghraphy.

I have had the landscapes printed on linen textured paper and like the result, and I would love to be able to sell them as either water-color type prints or giclee prints through galleries or other venues.

So what works best for arty-type prints......print on textured papers or add textures in photoshop? Go for the canvas prints, spring for giclee?

I would share the photos but at this point, given the price the dealer thinks she can sell them at, I am not going to post on the internet, even with watermarking.

Thanks,
Anne

[LeeR]

There is some difference between the print quality of a giclee print and a regular print produced by a high quality inkjet printer but the biggest diffrence, and the one the your dealer is interested in, is longevity. Giclee prints use the normal CYMK print color space but often have additional cyan and magenta inks to improve image quality. The inks and substrates used are also very stable and should last many, many years long than regular prints. This process is going to be considerably more expensive than your local Walgreens, but if you are hoping to get top dollar for your prints, it's the only way to go. People paying that kind of money don't care that the image looks good on linen, they want to know it will still be around for their great grandchildren to enjoy.

[AnneWynne]

Thanks for the response. Do the giclee prints have brushstrokes or are they flat on the canvas? I have found several printers who can add brush strokes so it does look more painted than photographed. And you are right, the printing is significantly more than Walgreens (expected), but still well within a price range that will allow both the seller and I to realize a good profit.

Would you recommend a limited run of prints or keep printing until they quit selling? I have no idea how many will sell (the concept is actually amazing to me...imagine, someone wanting one of my arty prints!), so I plan on only getting one print at a time from each image (I have 2).

Thanks,
Anne

[Jim Poor]

The thing you really need to keep in mind is that although "Giclee" may have, at one time, been used only by high-end print labs producing high quality work, the term is basically useless now.

It falls among similar terms like "fine art," "professional," and other marketing hype.

Google "what does giclee" really mean and you'll find both ends of the spectrum and at least know what to ask your printer.

[LeeR]

We could probably answer your questions better if we knew what kind of software you are using to process your images. In the meantime, you may want to talk to the folks at Lowery Printing. They are in Danielsville and claim that they use a 16 color ink printer with fine inks and papers garaunteed for 250 years. They also agree to spend time with you to determine your exact needs.

[BCampbell]

Originally Posted by AnneWynne

For those of you who sell your photos as art prints....have you had much success with giclee prints, and is there a significant difference between giclee and just printing on canvas.

I have not heard of printing on canvas that was not giclee but I could be missing something.

I think you should really find a reputable local print shop and talk to them about their services. Most will have a range of services, and they can explain what your options are when you tell them what you want to do. A giclee from a lab like this is a very high end product, and the term is definitely specific and meaningful.

As for limited or open runs, I don't think that should be a concern for you. Typically only established artists need to make those decisions. But, if you want to increase the percieved value of your work, you can make it a limited run, and provide certificates of authenticity.