Are you an artist thinking of different ways to reproduce your work for sale? Have you considered having giclee prints made?

Stan Bowman, an artist, photographer and printer from New York state is an expert in creating giclees for artists, using the latest technology. We spoke recently about his business and I was impressed with his integrity, thoughtfulness and understanding of the many concerns of his customers. Stan is able to be consultative when discussing planning, printing and marketing strategies with his artist clients, drawing on his many years of experience as a successful professional himself. We talked about several aspects of giclees that emerging artists may want to know.

What are the results like?

One reaction artists often have when seeing the giclee reproductions of their work is that it’s amazing, and some say even better than the original! Stan states that it’s different, not better, but there are some expanded possibilities that giclee printing offers which can enhance the work and allow the artist to make adjustments when desired.

For example, a watercolor, when scanned, can have colors changed, deepened or corrected to the artist’s taste, even offering color saturation which would be hard to achieve with the watercolor process. Like an original watercolor, the giclee inks sink into the fibers of the paper and give an appearance hard to distinguish it as a print.

How long will giclees last?

Stan has been working with printers for many years, and spoke about their evolution. With the advent of new technology, the lifespan of giclee prints has increased significantly. Originally, printers were geared more towards business applications, and inks would fade quickly.

Within the last fifteen years, however, Epson started manufacturing printers which were geared towards artists, using archival inks. These pigment-based inks (as opposed to the old dye-based inks) have undergone extensive testing in labs. Experts expect them to last anywhere from 50 to 100 years.

Stan indicates that bright sunlight will, of course, shorten the lifespan of a print.  UV glass can help reduce fading and also protect from other environmental contaminants which degrade the print.

What about beginners or artists on a tight budget?

When asked this question, Stan said that he has spoken many times with artists who are just starting out, or don’t have a lot of capital to invest into a print inventory. His suggestions:

  1. Understand what you will be doing with the prints. Do you have a venue to sell them? If you are not sure, proceed with caution, making a small number of each print. Look for outlets and gauge the reaction to your work. Your scanned artwork can easily be reproduced with giclee printing, in large or small numbers. Unlike lithography, you don’t need to make a run of multiples. He cites an example of a prospective client who wanted hundreds of prints made because larger quantities are discounted, without knowing whether they would sell.
  2. Is your body of work mature? As you grow professionally, your work will mature, and you will move up to the point where you can make a living selling your work. Without dampening the enthusiasm of the client, Stan suggests that artists consider how far they are in their development before they have too many prints made. If you are a beginner, be conservative.
  3. Stan works individually with artists on their plans. Offering suggestions as to marketing strategies and proper planning, he helps them make wise business decisions, especially for those just starting out. Established artists who are confident in their market may want larger quantities of prints, which have significant discounts.

What is the future of giclee?

Although nobody knows for sure, Stan sees this technology as only part of an expanding number of formats which artists can use for their work. Will we move past paper? Will future images just be digital files? He doesn’t see a time when paper or canvas won’t apply, but other ways of working will be developed. Artists needn’t be defined by one medium for their artistic expression.

Want to find out more about giclees? Visit Stan’s website at www.perfectartprints.com. His artist website, showing his portfolio, can be accessed at www.stanbowman.com.

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