Re: A last word on giclee

One of the things that will keep inkjet prints teetering on the edge of
respectability is that you can use an archival pigment ink on an
archival inkjet paper - both tested and proven to last a very long time
- and have the picture go bad in a few years.

A lot of people don't understand that the chemistry in the ink and the
chemistry in the paper need to be compatible. Each manufacturer has
their own chemical formula; some manufacturers have many. The papers
produced by independent paper manufacturers are compromises to try to
work with all the inks. I know of a couple of awful combinations where
archival/archival produced garish orange tints in less than two years.
I have seen prints displayed in galleries that were made with
combinations of ink and paper that I know are incompatible, or very high
risk. I've contacted the artist privately, pointed them to the right
information sources, and hoped they'd do the right thing.

I'm not banging on third party papers - 90% of what I use are third
party. But just because the wet darkroom isn't being used doesn't mean
we can stop worrying about chemistry. If the paper's longevity tests
were not done with the inksets you use, I'd be careful. For my favorite
papers, I spoke with the product managers at the companies about testing
results, and because one of my favorite papers didn't work well with a
particular inkset, avoided buying that printer.

I always supply documentation of the ink/paper testing to any buyer, and
offer to replace any print that fades or color shifts, if it's properly
matted and framed under plexiglass, with another print from the edition.
  As long as I'm alive. I guess that's my real definition of archival,
when I'm gone, all bets are off!

Chrome Dome wrote:

> As a curator from the academic environment I cringe whenever I encounter the word “giclee”. Students in printmaking have learned to use and love the word for it hidden sexual connotation and it’s ability to mask the source as an inkjet printer. I can assure you that most student prints and those of armature printmakers/photographers are printed in school labs or at home using the cheapest inks and papers available.
>
> I view using giclee as a misrepresentation by charlatans. Too often I have seen cheaply printed, textured, varnished-like prints on canvas produced using the “special giclee process” trying to be passed off as paintings.
>
> Since there are certainly no standards of quality and assurances, I believe it important to call the process exactly what it is as. If you are using "permanent pigment prints" (which is not the material in most inkjet cartridges) call it that along with what ever paper you choose to use (which I hope is archival too).
>
> Mike “Chrome Dome”
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Received on Sat Dec 17 07:24:16 2005