Frequently Asked Questions

Here are the most asked topics. If you have a question that is not listed below, please contact us, we will be happy to clear things up!

qsq giclee boutique faq inner

What Is a Giclee?

The Definition: Giclee (zhee-klay) - The French word "giclée" is a feminine noun that means a spray or a spurt of liquid. The word may have been derived from the French verb "gicler" meaning "to squirt".

The Term: The term "giclee print" connotes an elevation in printmaking technology. Images are generated from high-resolution digital scans or files and printed with archival quality inks onto various substrates including canvas, fine art, and photo-base paper. The giclee printing process provides better color accuracy than other means of reproduction.

The Process

Giclee prints are created typically using professional 8-Color to 12-Color ink-jet printers. Among the manufacturers of these printers are vanguards such as Epson, MacDermid Colorspan, & Hewlett-Packard. These modern technology printers are capable of producing incredibly detailed prints for both the fine art and photographic markets. Giclee prints are sometimes mistakenly referred to as Iris prints, which are 4-Color ink-jet prints from a printer pioneered in the late 1970s by Iris Graphics.

The Advantages

Giclee prints are advantageous to artists who do not find it feasible to mass produce their work but want to reproduce their art as needed, or on-demand. Once an image is digitally archived, additional reproductions can be made with minimal effort and reasonable cost. The prohibitive up-front cost of mass production for an edition is eliminated. Archived files will not deteriorate in quality as negatives and film inherently do. Another tremendous advantage of giclee printing is that digital images can be reproduced to almost any size and onto various media, giving the artist the ability to customize prints for a specific client.

There is no hard, fast rule to determine the minimum file resolution for printing. There are many programs and techniques to modify you file size.  The ideal printing resolution we prefer is 300 dpi at your print size.

Your best option is adobe1998, Srgb1966 is also a preferred colour space.

The best file format is TIFF with no compression, we also accept jpg, jpeg, bitmap, and PDF.

You can use any of the platforms that allow file transfers, these include email, WeTransfer, Google Drive, and dropbox.

Typically, our turn around time is 24 hours for prints.  For stretched canvas on custom-made bars, we offer between 2 and 5 business days.

We print on different archival surfaces: Epson Exhibition Canvas Satin, Epson Exhibition Canvas Matte, Epson Enhanced Matte, Epson Premium Luster, Epson Somerset Velvet, Epson Cold Press Natural, and Epson Hot Press Bright.

Epson Stylus PRO 9900 (44 inch) with Epson Ultrachrome HDR ink technology, please see our Service section for further information about out products.

When printing digitally it is vitally important to work within a colour controlled environment.  This means using specialized tools to calibrate your computer monitor, and to create ICC profiles for your printer.  At QSQ we use the X-rite EyeONE system.

The final step in maintaining a colour-controlled environment is to view your final product under “day light” balanced conditions.  We use a GTI print viewer with day light bulbs to improve the visualization of your artwork.

A properly calibrated monitor is essential for making prints that match the monitor image; it is an absolute necessity for success in the digital darkroom.

All prints produced at QSQ have archival quality, please see our Service page for specifics on each of our paper/canvas types.

We print on different archival surfaces: Epson Exhibition Canvas Satin, Epson Exhibition Canvas Matte, Epson Enhanced Matte, Epson Premium Luster, Epson Somerset Velvet, Epson Cold Press Natural, and Epson Hot Press Bright.