New print classification system
New print classification system
Paintings
Print quality assurance.

Giclees (pronounced "SHE-clays") (and also alternatively known as"sheclays" for easier pronunciation and spelling) are a relatively new form of archival quality fine art prints.


They are often incorrectly referred to as posters or paintings.


Giclees are:
• printed on artists' canvas and stretched over wooden stretcher bars or
• printed on paper and framed under glass or
• mounted onto board.

Prints on canvas are commonly referred to as canvas giclees, giclee canvas, canvas prints and giclees of canvas.


Giclees – whether they're on paper or canvas – are the best form of art print available today. They are generally superior to older print media such as serigraphy, lithography and etching because those older media may require require use of toxic materials, are inefficient to produce and therefore are usually more expensive, and don't accurately give all artists the looks that they want. (For Tony Max, the look that he prefers is traditional oil paintings and none of the traditional media can effectively produce that rich appearance with the brush strokes visible.)


Giclees are coveted by collectors for their fidelity and quality, and desired by galleries and artists alike because they don't have to be produced in huge quantities with their large layout of capital and storage.


Giclees are either printed directly from photographic, digital files, or from scanned digital scans of the artist's painting, thereby saving generations of detail-robbing negatives and printing plates used with traditional litho printing.


Tony Max giclees are high-resolution, archival art prints, printed slowly and labouriously by the artist himself – one at a time – using archival, fade-resistant inks on acid-free paper and archival giclee canvas, and laminated by hand by the artist, using an archival laminate.


The artist trims each print – using a ruler and art knife – and the artist inspects each print to check for flaws before numbering and signing the print, and printing and filling in the accompanying certificate of authenticity, and releasing the prints and their corresponding certificates of authenticity to the public.


Flawed prints that can be fixed are put aside and embellished by the artist, who paints on the giclees to match the color of the print and cover the flaw. (This type of hand-embellished print is known as a remarque.)


Flawed prints that cannot be fixed (about 10 percent of all prints printed) are cut into pieces and recycled, ensuring consistent, high quality throughout the edition, but adding to the cost of production and reducing the artist's profit. But the artist strictly culls the prints to ensure the highest quality for his customers.


For canvas prints, the artist signs each one the front, and records the title, size, diemsions and number on the back.

For paper prints, the artist signs and numbers each print on the front.


Giclee printing –  contrary to popular misconception – is not mass production. There is a significant element of hand-crafting and individual attention involved for each art print, and Tony Max is involved in every stage of production of his giclees. It is a slow process. Each print is printed indiviually and painstakingly.


The artist meticulously records in his books the history of each of the prints: first documenting the fact that the print has been printed and that it is therefore part of the inventory, and after the print has been sold, the selling date, and the name of the buyer are also recorded, so each print has its history recorded.


Properly made giclees are archival and last far longer than than offset lithographs. Max's giclees on paper should be framed under glass. They last even longer under u.v. glass. Neither paper giclees nor canvas giclees should be exhibited for extended times in direct sunlight. Exhibition in lower light is preferable to prolong image permanence.


(Beware of art prints that appear to be giclees but which are actually canvas transfers, meaning offset lithographs that have had their ink transferred onto canvas. They are a cheap imitation of canvas giclees, but don't last long because the offset lithographic inks aren't archival.)


Giclee printing allows for more vibrant colors and a broader color gamut than mass production offset lithography because most of the giclee printers use seven, eight or nine ink colors instead of the four colors normally used in offset lithography, and the inks are long-lasting pigmented inks.


They are expensive to print because of the high cost of equipment and materials used, and the amount of care required to hand-craft these archival prints one at a time.


The hand-crafting, archival materials and the increasing reputation of the artist all serve to enhance the value of the prints for art collectors.

The artist has adopted a modern, simplified print naming and numbering system for his editions