Giclée Printing

Giclée printing is an advanced, archival process that fabricates high-quality reproductions of fine art and photography.

It has been used to reproduce some of the world’s finest art. Today, thanks to the many options this printing method offers, artists can choose this superior reproduction method for on-demand prints that are scalable and cost-effective.

MasterLab uses the best-quality printing media and ink in our giclée printing process to create gallery-quality giclée reproductions.

Giclée Printing - mountain/lake landscape

©Jay Dash

What is Giclée Printing?

The term “giclée” (zhee-CLAY) comes from a French term meaning “squirting ink.” In the art world, the term is used to describe the process of printing using high-end, professional printers with archival materials and inks. All our giclée prints are created using this process.

Among the available options, giclée prints offer the finest quality and longevity — most giclée prints will last for up to 150 years without fading or degradation under normal lighting.

MasterLab creates prints using Epson professional printers and Epson ultrachrome HDR inks, which offer the widest color gamut and the most archivability in the market. The materials we use, including art, gloss, luster and matte papers, are hand-picked from the manufacturers to provide our customers with the best in archivability, look and variety.

The giclée process we use allows artists and photographers to reproduce their images in the most archival, stable and accurate way.

Giclée Printing Options near Salt Lake City, Utah

Giclée printing can be used to reproduce virtually any type of flat artwork, including oil, acrylic and watercolor paintings; drawings in pencil, ink, chalk or charcoal; photographs and vintage prints.

You can choose to have your work printed on canvas, which can be mounted, stretched or gallery-wrapped, or any other display method you prefer. Canvas prints include satin or matte finishes.

If you prefer paper for your prints, you can choose from a variety of archival paper. Options include:

  • Watercolor or art paper: including cold press, photo rag, velvet and ultra-smooth papers
  • Pearl or lustre paper
  • Matte or glossy paper

See material options below.

Most artists select their printing surface based on the style of the artwork. For example, if you plan to make giclée prints of a watercolor painting, you can have them printed on archival watercolor paper.

 

Are Giclée Prints Right for You?

The giclée printing process begins with a high-resolution digital file of your artwork that we create using our fine art reproduction process, or a file provided by you. You can order one print or 1,000, depending on your needs.

You can also scale the print size up or down from the original, providing even more options for framing, mounting and selling your artwork.

Giclée prints are considered the highest quality archival prints available. The final product is also worth more and will preserve your artwork for decades longer than any of the alternatives.

Contact MasterLab today to learn more about the many benefits and advantages of giclée printing.

Materials

Canvas

Canvas:

Epson Exhibition Satin Canvas:

An acid-free, lignin-free heavyweight cotton-poly blend, this elegantly textured canvas features a semi-gloss satin surface with a bright white point, exceptionally high Dmax and wide color gamut. The canvas base is enhanced with elastic polymers providing high tensile strength and flexibility for gallery-wrap stretching without cracking.

Paper Specifications:

  • Satin Surface
  • High Dmax
  • Wide Color Gamut
  • 430 gsm Weight
  • 23 mil Thickness

Epson Exhibition Matte Canvas:

An acid-free, lignin-free heavyweight cotton-poly blend, this elegantly textured canvas features a matte non-reflective surface with a bright white point, exceptionally high Dmax and wide color gamut. The canvas base is enhanced with elastic polymers providing high tensile strength and flexibility for gallery wrap stretching without cracking.

Paper Specifications:

  • Matte Surface
  • High Dmax
  • Wide Color Gamut
  • 395 gsm Weight
  • 23 mil Thickness

Watercolor & Art

Watercolor & Art Paper:

Epson Cold Press Natural

An acid-free, 100% cotton rag media with a natural textured finish. This paper has an extremely-high color gamut and black density.

Paper Specifications:

  • Textured Matte Finish
  • 19 mil
  • 98% Opacity
  • 90 ISO Brightness
  • Acid Free
  • pH Buffered

Epson Cold Press Bright

An acid-free, 100% cotton rag media with a bright textured finish. This paper has an extremely-high color gamut and black density.

Paper Specifications:

  • Textured Matte Finish
  • 19 mil (roll)
  • 98% Opacity
  • 96 ISO Brightness
  • Acid Free
  • pH Buffered

Hahnemuhle Photo Rag

Photo Rag® – a white, 100% cotton paper with a smooth surface texture – guarantees archival standards. With its premium matte inkjet coating, Photo Rag® meets the highest industry standards regarding density, colour gamut, colour graduation and image sharpness while preserving the special touch and feel of genuine art paper.

Paper Specifications:

  • Basis Weight: 308 gsm
  • Thickness: 19 mil
  • Brightness: 92.5%
  • Opacity: 99%
  • Base Material: 100% cotton rag
  • Surface Finish: Matte

Epson Somerset Velvet

Somerset Velvet for Epson is a100% cotton, acid-free paper that delivers long-lasting prints when printed with EPSON Archival™ Ink or UltraChrome™ Ink.

Paper Specifications:

  • Basis Weight: 255 gsm
  • Thickness: 19 mil
  • ISO Brightness: 96%
  • Opacity: 95%
  • Hot Lamination: No
  • Base Material: 100% cotton rag
  • Surface Finish: Velvet

Epson Ultra Smooth

An acid free,100% cotton hot press paper that is coated on both sides for extra versatility. This cylinder mould-made product features an ultra smooth finish on two sides (sheets) that is optimized for Epson Photographic Dye, Epson UltraChrome™, and Archival™ Inks. Offered in a variety of sizes and formats, this fine art paper is not only acid, lignin and chlorine free, it is also pH buffered with calcium carbonate for a true archival sheet.

Paper Specifications:

  • Basis Weight: 250 gsm
  • Thickness: 15 mil
  • ISO Brightness: 90%
  • Opacity: 98%
  • Base Material: 100% cotton rag
  • Surface Finish: ultra smooth hot press

Gloss & Lustre

Gloss & Lustre Paper:

Ilford Galerie Prestige Smooth Pearl

GALERIE Prestige Smooth Pearl paper features the very latest HDR (High Dynamic Range) optically clear coating and coupled with recent advancements in inkjet receiving layer design, makes this the reference media for producing images with superb clarity, high sharpness and excellent colour gamut.

The high-density, resin-coated, heavyweight base and smooth pearl finish not only eliminate glare and fingerprints, but with its natural photographic white tint, produce prints with the true look and feel of a photograph. For outstanding imaging performance, combined with the benefit of “touch dry” from the printer, this pearl surface media is the “choice of professionals.”

Paper Specifications:

  • Weight: 310gsm Surface Pearl
  • Opacity: 99% Caliper 310 micron (12mil)
  • Media: Type Photo paper

Ilford Galerie Prestige Smooth Gloss

GALERIE Prestige Smooth Gloss paper features the very latest HDR (High Dynamic Range) optically clear coating and coupled with recent advancements in inkjet receiving layer design, makes this the reference media for producing images with superb clarity, high sharpness and excellent colour gamut.

The high-density, resin-coated, heavyweight base and smooth “bright white” gloss finish creates the look and feel of a superior photographic print. With the added benefit of being “touch dry” from the printer, this gloss media is the “choice of professionals.”

Paper Specifications:

    • Weight: 310gsm Surface Gloss
    • Opacity: 99% Caliper 310 micron (12mil)
    • Media: Type: Photo Paper

Matte

Matte Paper:

Epson Enhanced Matte

This bright-white paper is perfect for images that do not require gloss. It yields highly saturated images, while maintaining excellent highlight and shadow detail. Designed primarily for use with UltraChrome™ Inks, EPSON Archival™ Inks and DuraBrite™ Inks, this versatile paper can also be used with dye-based inks. Hobbyists, professional photographers and digital artists alike will find EPSON Enhanced Matte Paper a remarkable solution for any project.

Paper Specifications:

        • Thickness: 10.3 mil
        • Basis weight: 192 gsm
        • Opacity: 94%
        • ISO brightness: 104%

Finishing Options

Canvases:

All canvases are sprayed with an archival spray which includes UV inhibitors, which increase the archivability of each print.

Canvases can be mounted, stretched or gallery wrapped.

mounting boardsMounting:

Canvases are mounted to an archival acid free board.

Finishing: Ready for framing.

Stretching:

Canvases are stretched by hand using the industry’s finest stretcher bars—formulated to give each stretch the best possible result. 5/8” and 1” bar used.

Finishing: Ready for framing.

Gallery Wrapping:

Canvases are wrapped by hand using the industry’s finest bars—formulated to give each wrap the best possible result. 5/8”, 1”, 1.5”, 2”, and 3” inch bar available.

Finishing: Ready for hanging.

Watercolor, art paper, gloss, lustre and matte paper:

Mounting:

All materials are mounted to an archival acid free board.

All materials can be framed using our large selection of mats, glass and frames.

Please see our framing page for information regarding framing.

Ordering:

Order Now! fill out the form to tell us about your order

Upload Your Files:  use our ftp uploader