FAQs

Put simply, if you can take a high-resolution image of your art, then you can produce a giclée print. Any two-dimensional fine art can be reproduced with startling accuracy for sale, exhibition, or personal display.

Our giclée printing process is incredibly versatile and is the preferred choice for a wide variety of artists:

• Traditional Painters & Illustrators: Whether you work in watercolours, oils, acrylics, or pencil, giclée captures every brushstroke and shading nuance. Our matt paper range is particularly suited to reproducing the organic look and feel of original art media.
• Digital Artists & Graphic Designers: For artwork created on a screen, giclée offers unmatched colour vibrancy and crisp, flawless detail.
• Photographers: We offer a premium range of satin and gloss papers that provide a smooth, clear, and highly professional basis for photographic prints, mirroring the quality of traditional darkroom developing but with superior archival longevity.

If you’re unsure about which look you want to achieve or which paper best complements your art style, we highly recommend feeling the textures for yourself. You can easily order our pre-printed sample pack, which features A5 examples of all six of our professional paper types.

Making sure your digital file is correctly sized and formatted is arguably the most important part of the entire giclée process. Simply put: if the digital file is poor quality to start with, the finished printed result will be poor quality at the end.

To ensure your artwork prints beautifully, please follow these core guidelines:

• Colour Space: For the best, most vibrant results, please make sure your images are saved in an RGB colour space and have an embedded profile, such as sRGB or Adobe RGB. Our advanced printers are calibrated to translate these digital colours into stunningly accurate physical pigments.
• Resolution: Images should be supplied at a minimum resolution of 300dpi (dots per inch) at the physical size you want them printed.
• File Size Warning: As a general rule of thumb, a larger file size yields better quality. However, do not simply open a small, low-resolution image and artificially increase the file size or dpi in editing software. This will not magically improve the quality of the image; it will just give you a larger file containing the same blurry or pixelated artwork.

If you are concerned that your image might not print well at a larger scale, we have a simple solution. We highly recommend ordering a cost-effective A5 or A4 version of your artwork first. This allows you to check the resolution, colour accuracy, and paper texture in person before confidently committing to a full-sized print.

Our online ordering system is designed to be as user-friendly as possible for artists and photographers. We currently accept the following file types:

• JPEG / JPG
• PNG
• TIFF

Important Guidelines for Uploading:

• Resolution: Your images must be at least 300dpi (dots per inch) in order to print clearly. The greater the resolution, the crisper the final image will be. This is particularly crucial if you are ordering large format prints, as any lack of detail will become obvious when scaled up.
• File Size Limit: Our maximum file upload limit is 20mb per image. This comfortably covers most high-resolution artwork and photography.

If you have an exceptionally large file that exceeds our 20mb limit, or if you are having any technical problems uploading your files, please don't hesitate to get in touch. Our support team will be happy to help you arrange an alternative transfer method.

Yes, whilst our system will allow you to upload a PDF file, there is a technical quirk you need to be aware of to ensure your print comes out exactly as you intend.

Because of the way PDFs are structured, they sometimes lack the specific spatial data that our system uses to automatically extract the physical dimensions of the artwork. As a result, it is highly likely that your artwork will not automatically pull through at the exact size you intended when you created the PDF.

How to fix this:
There is no need to worry. Once your PDF is uploaded into our editor, you simply need to manually amend the sizes. Check the dimensions fields on the right-hand side of the editor and type in the exact width and height you require for your final print. Always double-check these dimensions before proceeding to the checkout.

Absolutely not. We pride ourselves on faithfully reproducing your vision. We won’t alter your image at all once it is uploaded.

The colour contrast, the saturation, and the sharpness will be printed exactly as they are defined in your digital image file. This puts you completely in control and ensures that you receive the exact print that you require, without any unwanted "enhancements."

Our digital print programming is fine-tuned to automatically match the digital details contained within your file to your chosen paper type. This ensures that the colours printed are as true to the colours in your original file as physically possible.

Our Quality Guarantee:
While we never alter your artwork, we do run free file checks on all uploaded images to ensure they meet our minimum resolution requirements. If we have any concerns about your image - for example, if it looks heavily pixelated or blurry at your chosen print size - we will contact you to discuss it prior to printing your order. We want you to be thrilled with the final result.

You will often hear the term used in galleries and art circles, but what does it actually mean?

The origin of the word Giclée comes from the French word gicleur, which is the technical term for a jet or a nozzle, and the associated verb gicler (meaning "to squirt out" or "to spray"). Une giclée simply means a spurt of liquid.

In today’s professional art world, Giclée (pronounced ghee-clay) is the industry-standard term used to describe a premium, high-quality art print reproduction.

Unlike standard commercial printing (which uses plates and dye-based inks), the giclée process involves using highly advanced, large-format inkjet printers. These printers literally "spray" millions of microscopic droplets of archival pigment ink onto museum-grade archival paper. The result is a print with a vast colour gamut, astonishing detail, and a lifespan that far exceeds standard printing methods.

When you invest in a giclée print, you are investing in longevity. At Indigo Giclée, we confidently guarantee our giclée prints for 60 years, based on rigorous testing and our printer manufacturer’s guidelines.

However, this is a conservative estimate. With the proper care and framing, our giclée prints can be expected to remain vibrant and fade-resistant for well over 100 years.

The Secret to Longevity:
This incredible lifespan is down to four key factors that define our process:

1. Pigment-Based Inks: Standard printers use dyes, which dissolve in water and fade quickly in UV light. We use top-of-the-range 10-colour pigment inks. Pigments are microscopic solid particles of colour that are inherently resistant to fading.
2. Archival-Standard Papers: We use only the finest papers from brands like Hahnemühle and Canson. These papers are acid-free, meaning they won't yellow, turn brittle, or degrade the ink over time.
3. Advanced Printing Techniques: Our Epson SureColour printers lay the ink down with absolute precision, ensuring the pigments bind securely to the fibres of the archival paper.
4. Expert Handling: Throughout the printing and packaging process, our team uses clean, white cotton gloves. This ensures that no natural body oils or residues are transferred to the paper, protecting its integrity and ensuring maximum longevity.

While giclée prints are created using robust, archival materials, they are still fine art objects and should be treated as such. To ensure your print lasts a lifetime (and beyond), follow these care guidelines:

• Handling: Always handle your prints carefully to avoid creasing the paper or transferring natural oils from your fingertips. Just as we do in the studio, ideally handle them by the edges or wear clean, white cotton gloves. Avoid touching the printed area directly.
• Storage & Transport: When storing or shipping, ensure only acid-free packaging and mounts come into contact with the front and back surfaces of the print. Standard cardboard or tape can cause yellowing over time.
• Displaying: UV light is the enemy of all artwork. Even the highly robust pigments used in our giclée prints can be affected by prolonged exposure to direct sunlight. Never display your prints in sunlit areas, conservatories, or outdoors.
• Framing: For the absolute best preservation of vibrant colours and paper integrity, giclée prints should be framed behind glass or acrylic. This protects the delicate surface of the print from dust, ozone, humidity, and any harsh airborne chemicals or solvents. For premium protection, ask your framer for UV-protective conservation glass.

Adding a border to your print is entirely up to you and your creative vision, but it is a very popular choice for fine artists and photographers.

When you move through our online order process, you will be presented with an easy-to-use option to add and size a border around your image.

Why add a border?

• Room for Details: A white border provides the perfect clean space to include printed text, such as the title of the piece or the date.
• Signing & Editioning: If you are selling your work, a border leaves essential space at the bottom for your original handwritten artist’s signature and limited edition numbers (e.g., 1/50).
• Easier Framing: A border gives you or your framer room to handle the print and attach it to a mount board without overlapping or obscuring any of the actual printed artwork.

This is one of our most frequently asked questions, but the truth is, there is no right or wrong answer! It entirely depends on your personal preference and the aesthetic you want to achieve for your specific artwork.

Simply choose the paper stock that you feel best complements your piece. For example, a heavily textured watercolour painting might look best on our textured Hahnemühle German Etching, while a sharp, high-contrast photograph might pop beautifully on our Canson Baryta Photographique.

• Read the Details: Our dedicated Paper Range Page provides comprehensive details, weights, and texture descriptions for each of our archival papers to help guide your choice.
• Try Before You Buy: If you’re still unsure, the best way to decide is to see and feel the papers in person. We highly recommend ordering our Sample Pack, which includes pre-printed A5 sheets of every single paper type we offer.

One of the greatest advantages of using Indigo Giclée’s digital printing process is that there is absolutely no minimum order.

You can order as few or as many prints as you need. Whether you want a single print for a local exhibition or a run of fifty for your online shop, we accommodate your needs.

Perfect for Independent Artists (Print on Demand):
Because there are no setup fees or minimum runs, you don't have to worry about the upfront cost of holding large stocks of your prints. You can simply print to order as you sell them.

When you pass through the order process, you’ll have the option to create a free account. We’ll hold your digital artwork images securely in your password-protected area. This makes reordering incredibly fast and easy. Plus, with most orders despatched within 24 hours when placed before 10am, you can be sure to have new prints available for your customers exactly when you need them.

Because we offer a bespoke service with no minimum order, the cost of your giclée print depends entirely on two factors: the size of your artwork and the type of paper you choose.

We believe in complete transparency. Prices are calculated precisely per square centimetre for each specific paper type.

• Check the Price List: Full, transparent pricing details for all our Hahnemühle and Canson paper types are shown on our dedicated Prices Page.
• Live Quoting: You never have to guess the final cost. As you upload your image and enter your dimensions during the online order process, our system automatically calculates and displays your exact order cost instantly, so you know exactly what you’ll be charged before you check out.

At Indigo Giclée, we are laser-focused on what we do best: producing world-class, museum-quality fine art prints. Because we dedicate all our resources to perfecting the printing process, we do not currently offer in-house mounting and framing services.

However, we know how important a good frame is to the final presentation and longevity of your print.

We highly recommend working with a professional framer who understands how to handle archival materials. A great place to start is by searching the directory on the Fine Art Trade Guild website. Their directory features commended and certified framers across the UK who have demonstrated the rigorous standards required to work safely with giclée prints and other fine art.