The days of art hoarding are disappearing. Buyers use to purchase an original piece of art and do what they wanted with it, and for the artist, it was on to the next piece. But many buyers and artists are realising that process is a bit dated – art is to be shared, appreciated and inspiring for everyone who feels ignited by a piece.

Giclée prints make this possible, allowing every buyer who wants to hang up a piece in their home the opportunity. Fine art prints also mean artists that put their time and effort into their work gain reach and exposure that spreads far and wide to gain more income. Many artists across the world are turning to prints after realising the value it offers them, their business, and their customers. If you’re re-evaluating your art sales approach, read on to explore exactly what Giclée printing is and how you can implement it into your strategy to increase your profit and exposure.

What are Giclée Prints?

Giclée prints are simply reproduced prints of your original artwork. It’s not done without thought and care for the nuances and details in your work, but through skilled printmaking technicians and advanced tech that gives your art the justice it deserves. Giclée prints are created with an inkjet printer and high-resolution to scan your piece and replicate it through small spraying devices to perfectly match colour, space and volume, and balance the elements to develop a precise art reproduction.

These prints harness advanced technology to create accurate prints that can be produced to various sizes and numbers of pieces, so if your buyers have specific requests, a Giclée print can meet additional deliverables to help maintain the additional demand.

The Process: What is Giclée Printing?

To produce the high-quality prints expected by art buyers, Giclée prints harness some of the most cutting-edge tech and materials to develop the print composition. Printer type, resolution, ink and paper all work together harmoniously to arrive at a precise result. The camera, or sometimes scanner, captures the details of the artwork at a high level of resolution.

These cameras typically produce more than four times the resolution of cameras used for digital photos. This allows for clearer image files so that when it comes to printing, the spraying devices can reproduce the finest details.

Quality materials are also essential for the cameras and printers to work their magic. Giclée prints use pigment-based inks for precision and untainted colour matching, which are preferred over dye-based inks. For the canvas, there’s a little more wiggle room. As long as they’re ‘archival’ designated, which refers to their durability, permanence and acid-free elements, you choose from watercolour paper or specialty printing canvas paper.

Those are the critical ingredients to support the reproduction of your artwork to high quality; from here, the specialised printmakers at Narre Warren Fine Art Printing carefully run the process to ensure its success.

Empowering Artists with Control and Options

Art buying and selling is a market like no other. Some artists prefer to share their art far and wide, and others prefer to have a selection of prints for lucky buyers. Likewise, some buyers want to be part of the limited collection club, while others just want to appreciate a beautiful piece every day as they enter the house.

Giclée prints are entirely artist-dependant and controllable. You can opt for an open edition or limited edition of your artwork prints to suit your preferences and align with your business strategy. Open editions mean you can print and sell an unlimited number of reproduced prints, and continue to sell your piece and gain consistent revenue.

Limited edition prints produce a specific number of prints that can be developed and sold, harnessing exclusivity and appealing to the market of specialty buyers. Limited edition prints are often priced higher as they’re positioned as more valuable for buyers and collectors.

These options empower artists to appeal to your unique demand and the wave of consumers that have turned online to find artwork just like yours while having control over the distribution. Narre Warren Fine Art Printing supports artists by helping them enhance their online exposure and meet the demands while allowing buyers and designers access to beautiful and affordable artwork.

Pricing, Quantities and Finding the Right Value

Art business is about balancing the price of the original, the quantity you want to produce and then finding the right value for each piece. It’s no easy feat and it takes some trust in your decision, but as with anything, you’ll find the right balance by getting stuck in!

Of course, if you chose open editions, you won’t have to decide on a quantity. Instead, go back to basics and consider your career level, expenses, cost of producing the art, and the budget of your target audience. From here, consider how long you’ll keep the prints available, and you may arrive at a price you and your buyers will both be happy with.

There’s a little more to consider if you go for limited edition prints. The first is quantity, and there’s no straightforward or correct answer. Just consider that when the number of prints becomes very high, pricing might begin to enter the open edition realm as there are many prints available. Once you decide on quantity, you can assign a price to each based on how limited and valuable each product is.

It’s always important to consider your target audience and what they want, whether that’s an affordable piece without the ‘rare’ label or collectors that can afford to pay more.

Selling Giclée Prints

Incorporating your Giclée prints into the platforms used to sell your originals is a great idea, but there are some points to make note of to make it more effective. If you sell your art through your website, you can introduce Giclée prints as a separate section or tab on your webpage and explain what it is and what your customers will receive. You can inform them of its high quality even before they begin to ask themselves “what is a Giclée print on canvas?”

Many artists have found success selling Giclée prints in collaboration with their art exhibitions and fairs that showcase the original. After visitors are left feeling inspired, they can purchase a print of their own to take home with them – it’s a win-win. Other options include contacting galleries or shops and asking them to sell your prints– many local shops are always looking for captivating art to display or sell that attracts customers.

The Perfect Print Partner

Narre Warren Fine Art Printing has supported artists and photographers in delivering supreme prints that turn customers into fans and generate powerful business growth. Get in touch with us today to arrive at the perfect solution for your needs