What Is the Difference Between a Giclee and a Serigraph?
Giclée and serigraph are types of high-quality graphic art prints. A giclée print is the archival quality version of a digital ink jet print. A serigraph is a print that is created with the silk screen process.
Giclée prints use CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow and black) ink dots placed very closely together to form images. All of the necessary colors for a full-color photograph can be rendered using only these four ink colors. The dots are so small and close together that they are perceived by the brain as fields of varying color. Gilcée prints can last up to 25 years if kept out of direct sunlight.
A serigraph is another term for a silk screen print. Silk screen prints are made by first stretching mesh over a wooden frame and then placing a thin layer of plastic on top of the screen to control the flow of ink. The design that is to be printed must be manually punched into the plastic or melted into it through the use of ultraviolet light and special plastic. Ink is forced through the open holes in the mesh with a squeegee. A separate mesh is used for each color in an image.
