Understanding Fine Art Prints
A fine art print is a reproduction of a work of art. These can be created using a wide variety of processes, but they all strive to create the same experience as the original.
There are many benefits to fine art prints. The first, and most obvious, is that they allow collectors to purchase art at lower prices, which opens up the world of art collecting to many more people. On the other side, the artist can share a single piece with more than one person. That helps every artist, from those just starting out to those with work in major galleries.
In short, prints allow artwork to be enjoyed on a much larger scale — something that helps both art lovers and artists themselves.
Giclée Prints
That being said, fine art prints are not all created equal. That’s why my studio creates archival pigment prints (lovingly referred to as giclée prints). This is the premier printing style renown in the art world. The process was created in the 1980’s and has been improved upon ever since.
Fundamentally, these prints are made using inkjet printers that spray the ink on the paper in high resolution. In fact, the word giclée is French for “spray.”
Giclée prints use two important materials to achieve this:
- Archival quality paper
- Permanent pigment ink
As you can see, giclée prints are meant for long-lasting beauty. If stored and handled correctly, these can quite literally survive hundreds of years without losing image quality. That is why archives, serious collectors, and galleries insist on giclée prints. But even among these, there are important differences in quality.
No matter how impressive your equipment or expensive the material, you still need a hands-on printing process. After all, a print is only as good as the image file on hand, the quality of inks, and the master printer’s understanding of what the final product should look like.
Jet James Prints
All the prints available on this site come from my studio in Yeppoon. Because the printers have direct access to the artwork, all of our prints are made with the best possible image files. We use Epson inks, with a wide range of colors and high resolution. This process creates near perfect reproductions of my artwork.
Since this happens entirely in my studio, I can run as many test prints (called proofs) as needed to fine tune every color and detail. When a print becomes available on my website, it’s gone through this rigorous process, and I’m confident that the product is a genuine representation of my original piece.
I love fine art prints because they allow me to share my work with so many people. And with the care I take in the process, I know that everytime someone buys one of my prints, they are getting a true recreation of my work. The joy and pleasure of art should be available to everyone, and prints make that possible.
