Traditional offset press printing impresses four colors of opaque inks (CMYK: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and blacK) producing a broad range of colors that tend to be flat. Giclée prints are made with a six color process which typically includes CMYK plus two fluorescent colors. The expanded palette increases the color range to include about 16 million colors and reproduces the richness and luminescence of pigmented paints and watercolors extremely well.

In terms of resolution (DPI or PPI), offset printing runs the equivalent of about 266 DPI; less resolution than most of today's desktop printers. Giclée printers run up to 1440x1440 DPI creating finer detail and more intense, accurate color reproduction.

Giclée printing also allows fine art printers to use a great variety of media. Primitive Art Prints, for example, uses the finest artist's watercolor papers and canvases; the same sought after papers for which artist's pay premium prices. Because watercolor papers and canvases are used, an artist may add highlights and unique touches to each individual print in the same medium used to create the original piece. When an artist details a print in such a way, the prints become more valuable for their uniqueness - This is called an artist remarque.

Primitive Art Prints uses pigmented inks which have a longer life than most original watercolors. Giclée reproductions, unlike lithographs and serigraphs, have undergone extensive, third-party fade-testing and giclées are estimated to last over 100 years under normal office and home lighting conditions without noticeable fading.

Artist's and Art Reproduction

Albrecht Durer (German: 1471-1528) Incorporated the classicism of the Italian Renaissance into northern European art, sold etchings as individual works of art.

Andy Warhol (American: 1930?-1987) Produced paintings and silk-screen prints of commonplace images, such as soup cans and photographs of celebrities, using color lithography to produce PopArt.

Robert Rauschenburg (American: 1925-) Noted for his collages, photomontages, and paintings that incorporate photographs and real objects, produced giclée prints for his 1997 Guggenheim New York show.