Giclee Printing is Inexpensive, Right?
Well, yes - in comparison to the old method of creating an offset or litho print run of say, 1,000 or 2,000 fine art prints (prints that have to be stored until sold, prints that have to be marketed…..).

However, most Artists don’t realize the up front expenses of preparing for the printing of giclees. Hey! It’s a snap! I can print 2 or 3 giclees, then sell them and order a couple more. Right?

Wrong.

Investment BEFORE the Sale
You’ll have to invest in making the giclees. Even though you don’t always pay for each giclee until it’s ordered - you are still going to have to pay for the scanning and color correction.

So I hear you saying, “I’ll wait until someone orders the art, then I’ll get the image scanned.”

Fulfilling the Order
You can do this, but keep in mind that finding a good company to scan and color correct takes time. You may find yourself shopping around to find the best quality for the best price - sampling 3 to 5 different printers (each of which you may have to pay for testing their quality).

You may also find yourself traveling great distances to drop off art, do a color check, pick-up the original and then pick-up future giclees. Or, depending on where you live, you may have to ship your original to a good printer. Think: shipping costs, insurance fees, or heaven forbid, replacement costs, repairs and time for damaged goods……

Now even if you’ve found a great local printer, it still may take them 2-3 weeks to scan, color correct and get you a matchprint (remember, they have other customers too and they’ll have to schedule you in). If it isn’t right, then you may have to add another few days to the process (each time).

By the way, after 1 or 2 color corrections (which are often included in the price), most printers will begin charging you for each new color adjustment. If you are super finicky, you may end up paying large fees just for one image scan.

Are We Done Yet?
Finally, you’ve scanned and color corrected - now you have to get the giclee printed.

• Will your printer provide UV coating?

• If it’s on watercolor paper, is it rollable for shipping? 300# paper will need to be shipped flat.

• If it’s canvas, has your buyer ordered it stretched? Find out how long it will take, and how much the stretching will cost.

• Of course, you already know about time and costs of framing if it’s been ordered…..

Be sure to factor all this in, in terms of cost as well as time.

Less Expensive Printers
Now keep in mind that this article was written with Quality in mind. There are cheaper printers out there. You may find one who is just beginning their business and who will work out a deal with you.

You’ll have to decide whether you are going to just sell giclees with no thought to their archival quality. You may not care that the color matches the original exactly - this is fine too. It’s your decision.

Remember though, it’s your name you are signing to the images. It’s your reputation you are marketing. Will you still have happy clients in 5 years? If your product fails, will they buy again?

HINT: It’s EASIER to sell to a previous buyer, than it is to continually get new buyers.

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