Prints Portfolio

About Giclée Canvas Prints from Donna Schaffer

Giclée (gee-clay) is French for “sprayed dot”. My giclée prints on canvas are produced in limited editions of 50. I’ve signed and titled each print, in addition I’ve noted how many prints are in the edition, and what number your particular print is in the edition. When a limited edition is “sold out”, the digital file is destroyed, and no more copies of that particular image can be made.

Giclée prints should not be confused with traditionally “hand-pulled” prints (lithographs, etchings, serigraphs, etc.) where the artist and/or master printmaker use labor-intensive methods to produce prints one at a time. While these older reproduction styles are still considered valuable by some art collectors, nowadays fine artists prefer the color accuracy and saturation of giclee printing.

Nor should giclée’s be confused with photomechanical reproductions (posters) which are mass-produced hundreds or thousands at a time on the high speed offset printing presses that typically print four color process magazines and advertisements. My giclée prints are produced using a wide-format printer (a Roland or Iris) using archival pigment-based inks, and printed on thick, archival Somerset watercolor paper or canvas, one sheet at a time.

Lightfastness tests have been conducted by Wilhelm Imaging Research, Inc. in Grinell, Iowa at the request of the International Association of Fine Art Digital Printmakers. Tests are ongoing, as demand is strong for long lasting, fadeproof inks that can be printed on a variety of papers, canvas and other materials. Current tests give these pigmented inks a lightfastness rating range between 75-150 years on on Arches cold press watercolor paper.

My canvas prints are also treated with a UV filtering varnish coating, but you can increase their life expectancy by hanging them in a place that will not receive direct sunlight (as is true for any work of art).

My prints cost more than some of the prints you see at art festivals and gift stores. Those inexpensive prints are created on deskjet printers that use ink dyes rather than pigments. Look out, they fade quickly!

All my giclée prints on canvas are produced by Digital Grange, a firm that specializes in the highest quality fine art reproductions. You can learn more about them at DigitalGrange.com