Giclee (Iris Print)

This once state of the art ink jet was commonly used produce digital copies of fine art works. Because a variety of finishes and inks were used to best replicate the original work on a variety of materials from vinyl and watercolor paper to even canvas.

These prints did offer a high degree of color accurrcey and color saturation unequaled in other prints of their type at that time.

Today Giclees, or Iris prints are absolete. I don't wish to condemn Inkjet prints in general as many are state of the art and offer the absolute best option for longevity. I am simply speaking of prints made using the Iris printer. These are obsolete and do not offer the best option. Unfortunately, there are many galleries that spent too much money buying these prints and are still trying to make their mark-up off an unsuspecting public.

Epson for instace, offers a printer that breaks all the barriers of longevity with some Ultra-Chrome prints lasting 200+years in excellerated laboratory tests. These are the finest print available to date with the exception of some intaglio prints that may come close.

So buyer beware. Don't buy an Iris print!!! If you do, don't pay much. They know it's obsolete and if they won't sell it for a poster price, buy elsewhere.