It’s often said that traditional printmakers do what they do just so
they can work with lots of different papers. One of the owners of Art
Dallas is a traditional printmaker who has brought his experience with
paper to the giclee products we offer. After years of experimentation,
we have developed 3 paper options in addition to canvas and the other standard, commercial papers produced for giclee printing. Along
with a variety of canvas options and the standard giclee papers, these custom alternatives seem to suit most of our printing needs.
WHITE RAG (Celeste 230 g/m): 100% Cotton Rag
CREAM RAG (Medici 225 g/m): 100% Cotton Rag
BOND: Standard White Bond
CANVAS
OTHER MEDIA
CELESTE: WHITE RAG: 100% Cotton Rag –
White:
This is our favorite. We have it manufactured to our
specifications in large volumes and to our specifications. This paper
was designed to emulate the weight, tooth and feel of Rives BFK; a very
traditional, hand-laid French printing medium. Softer than rag papers
produced specifically for the giclee market, this paper is more
sophisticated, relying on surface density rather than chemical sizing to
produce a printable surface with giclee inks.
Use this paper when you want deckled edges, brilliant blues and the
wonderfully lush visual experience of a quality hand printed piece. This
paper is available up to 42" wide.
MEDICI: CREAM RAG: 100% Cotton Rag – Cream:
A harder, smoother finish paper than the white rag, this paper
produces a little harder visual edge. This paper is a pretty standard
cover about the same weight as the white rag.
Use this paper when you want deckled edges, warm reds, yellows and
browns. This paper is available up to 30" wide.
BOND: Standard White Bond
This soft finished paper is manufactured by Oce specifically for the
giclee process. It is a brilliant white paper that takes ink well. It is
relatively inexpensive and it produces an extraordinarily wide color
gamut. Colors reproduce exactly, they can be startlingly bright and the
image is exceptionally crisp. The paper is brittle, so it has certain
mounting limitations.
Use this paper when you are matting to the image, when color clarity is
an issue and price is a serious consideration. This paper is available
up to 54" wide.
CANVAS:
We use a premium, 20 oz., polyester/cotton blend canvas which
has been specially primed for the giclee process. We have rolls of this
product made for us in longer length rolls so we can increase the yield
and reduce the cost to you. Even though they’re less expensive, we do
not use faux canvas products since their quality can be unreliable.
Use canvas when you want, well, a canvas. Canvasses can be either
stretched or mounted directly on masonite. To protect images, they are
coated with a clear acrylic product after printing and then
post-finished in a number of different ways. We use several different
glazes and finishes to produce durable, good-looking images. Canvas is
the most expensive medium. However, framing costs are often less,
sometimes making up for the difference. The maximum width for images
printed on canvas is about 48".
OTHER MEDIA:
There are a number of other media specially made for giclee
printing which are available for you to use. They range from really
expensive watercolor papers specially treated for the giclee process to
glossy photographic papers to thin plastic films used for backlighted
displays to the vinyl used for banners at trade shows. We have access to
all of these products and we’ll be happy to obtain them for you.