Giclee prints: where to get made?

sunione · December 8, 2006

Can anyone here recommend an online source for getting giclee prints made at reasonable cost? Andy says that Smug Mug will be offering prints on fineart paper sometime this coming year but until then.......

Sam · December 8, 2006

sunione wrote:

Can anyone here recommend an online source for getting giclee prints made at reasonable cost? Andy says that Smug Mug will be offering prints on fineart paper sometime this coming year but until then.......

Google is your friend. I just typed in Giclee, and got a ton of hits. While I haven’t used any of these services, I can tell you the cost seems to range from a low of $0.07 pre sq inch to a high of $0.15 per sq inch. The type of media will also have an affect on the price.

I don’t know if you consider this a reasonable or not. A typical online price for an 12X18 photographic print is about $11.00. The same size Giclee print calculated at $0.12 per sq inch works out to be $25.92.

Don’t forget, fine art papers will cost more than standard photo, or matt papers.

Sam

ChrisN · December 8, 2006

I did some research on this a few days ago. It seems like most of the companies offering this have switched to using epson printers with the K3 inksets. I have figured those printers as costing $0.01-$0.02 sq/inch on premium luster paper (the less expensive machines use more expensive ink on a per ml basis and roll paper that some machines can use is less expensive) and the printers start at about $800. While the price of fine art paper will vary it may make sense to consider investing in one of the printers if you do much volume. If you save $20/print it can add up fast.

Chris

JimW · December 8, 2006

Suni,

Giclee is a french word meaning "to spray". It's just a fancy name for inkjet, that's all. Perhaps 10 years ago or so, Iris printers were popular, advertising giclee prints. Now large format inkjet with pigment inks have sort of taken over, I think. I have noticed that some companies are still charging a premium for giclee on Iris printers. My understanding is that some of their claims are ... dated.

You can get equal or better color gamut, quality etc from a well managed desktop inkjet, either yours or an inkjet printing service. Artsy papers are available for both.

Hope this helps,

Jim

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gicl%C3%A9e

here's a printer that was well recommended on a forum, but I don't know anything about them:
http://www.elcocolor.com/Ink_Jet_Prints.htm

Sam · December 9, 2006

I have used EL-CO Labs for 20X30 lightjet prints and they do a great job. Although I don't have any experience with thier large format prints, the prices they have posted are down right cheap, but based on the very good quality of my previous experiences I wouldn't hesitate to give them a try.

I would recomend contacting them and get an IIC profile to soft proof your image, and then send only one image to see haow thier print matches your expectations, before sending in a large order.

Sam

spider-t · December 10, 2006

sunione wrote:

Can anyone here recommend an online source for getting giclee prints made at reasonable cost? Andy says that Smug Mug will be offering prints on fineart paper sometime this coming year but until then.......

My favorite online lab is pixeloutpost.com

These guys do a really good job with colors. And good consistent color seems to be the biggest challenge with the labs I have tried out. I've gotten about a hundred prints from them and only one had the colors off slightly. They corrected it in a timely manner.

There customer service is top notch.

I print mostly on canvas, but I have gotten a few on fine art paper as well.

cheers,
Trish

SloYerRoll · December 10, 2006

JimW wrote:

Suni,

Giclee is a french word meaning "to spray". It's just a fancy name for inkjet, that's all. Perhaps 10 years ago or so, Iris printers were popular, advertising giclee prints. Now large format inkjet with pigment inks have sort of taken over, I think. I have noticed that some companies are still charging a premium for giclee on Iris printers. My understanding is that some of their claims are ... dated.

You can get equal or better color gamut, quality etc from a well managed desktop inkjet, either yours or an inkjet printing service. Artsy papers are available for both.

Hope this helps,

Jim

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gicl%C3%A9e

here's a printer that was well recommended on a forum, but I don't know anything about them:
http://www.elcocolor.com/Ink_Jet_Prints.htm

Suni,
Jim NAILED IT!
This is just a way for companies to charge you more for the same quality prints.
A good question might be to ask what the prints are going to be used for. Then I'm sure someone here can give you the good info you need.
Good luck in your search!

dogwood · December 11, 2006

JimW wrote:

Suni,

Giclee is a french word meaning "to spray". It's just a fancy name for inkjet, that's all.

Yup. Inkjet just sounds so everyday ordinary. But use a fancy term for it, and suddenly it sounds exotic and fancy-- kind of like the difference between Bigfoot and Sasquatch. Sasquatch just sounds so much more mysterious and exotic, eh?

Giclee prints: where to get made?

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