Giclée Fine Art Prints
Hahnemühle and Canson certified giclée printing, Bristol-based since 1982. Twelve-colour archival pigment inks, twenty archival papers, and a free 25mm border on every print as standard.
Beyond the buzzword.
The word giclée was coined in the early 1990s to describe a then-new approach to fine art reproduction — high-resolution digital printing using fade-resistant pigment inks, sprayed onto archival cotton-based papers. It was meant to distinguish gallery-grade work from the colour photocopies that came before it.
The word has been overused since. Plenty of "giclée" prints sold today are dye-based inkjet prints on standard paper. They look fine on the day. They fade in years.
A real giclée print is a different proposition: archival pigment inks on a cotton or alpha-cellulose paper, produced with colour management that can hold the original artist's intent for the better part of a century. That is what we make here, and have done since long before the word existed.
How a print is made
Every giclée print that leaves our studio passes through the same craft sequence — file, profile, paper, ink, hand check.
File & profile
Your file is checked for resolution, colour space and aspect ratio. We work in 16-bit Adobe RGB or ProPhoto, and proof your image against the chosen paper's ICC profile so what you see at the studio matches what comes off the printer.
Twelve-colour pigment inks
Our giclée presses use twelve-colour archival pigment ink sets — far beyond the four-colour systems of standard printing. The extra blacks, greys and chromas mean richer shadows, smoother gradients and more faithful reproduction of subtle tone, particularly in skies and skin.
Archival papers
We hold over twenty fine art papers in stock — Hahnemühle, Canson Infinity, Awagami, our own Redcliffe Watercolour, and others — across cotton rag, alpha-cellulose, baryta and washi families. Choosing the right paper for the work is half the craft.
Hand finished & checked
Every print is inspected under daylight-balanced lamps before it leaves the studio. Trimmed, sleeved, packed by hand. If it isn't right, it doesn't ship.
What's included with every print
Free border
A 25mm white border around every image, included as standard — for signing, mounting, and edition numbering.
Years lightfast
Pigment inks on archival papers — colour-stable for over a hundred years under standard gallery conditions.
Papers to choose from
Twenty fine art papers across cotton rag, alpha-cellulose and baryta — sample pack available.
Image file check
We'll review your file for free before you commit to a print run — resolution, colour space, anything that needs flagging.
Certificate of Authenticity
Two-signature certificates printed on archival paper. Find out more.
Four favourites worth knowing
The full range runs to twenty papers. These are four that artists return to most often — each suited to a different kind of work.
Hahnemühle Photo Rag
308gsm · 100% CottonThe default for fine art reproduction. Smooth matte surface, deep shadow rendering, archival.
Canson Aquarelle Rag
310gsm · 100% CottonWatercolour-grain texture. Loved for landscapes, washes, anything with movement.
Hahnemühle Baryta
315gsm · Alpha-CellulosePhotographic gloss with cotton-rag backing. The choice for high-contrast photographic work.
Redcliffe Watercolour
210gsm · Matt TexturedOur own-brand alpha-cellulose, slightly textured. Faithful colour, holds saturation in skies.
20 years of Bristol skies and Cornish coast
Jenny Urquhart left a career as a biology teacher to paint full-time, and the move suited her — she has been one of Bristol's most recognisable contemporary artists ever since. Her bold, optimistic cityscapes featuring hot-air balloons over the Suspension Bridge are part of the visual furniture of the city. Her Cornish coastal pieces have appeared at the RWA, in galleries across the South West, in Selfridges in London, and across the national press.
What you may not know is that Jenny has been a Redcliffe customer for more than twenty years. Her giclée editions are printed on our own-brand Redcliffe Watercolour — a 210gsm matt-textured alpha-cellulose paper that holds saturation in her bright Bristol skies and gives her looser washes the surface they need to breathe.
Two decades is enough time for a relationship to become genuine working knowledge — the colour profile her work needs, the box sizes that fit her shipping, the lead time that matches her release calendar. That kind of relationship is what we mean when we say we work with artists, not just for them.
Place an order, or send us your file
Order giclée prints directly through the artstore, request a free sample pack to check the papers in your hand before you commit, or send us your file for a free colour and resolution check first.