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Author Topic: What do you call your Fine Art Inkjet Prints?  (Read 34814 times)

Dave Gurtcheff

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What do you call your Fine Art Inkjet Prints?
« on: November 11, 2009, 04:28:50 pm »

I went to a local museum, and saw a wonderful Photo Exhibit of B&W prints by a single photographer. Flush mounted uncropped traditional prints of all sizes (some from 35mm that were probably 20"x30"). Print quality was superb. Next to each print was the title, and "Silver Gelatin Print". I told my friends that was the "new word" for good old fashioned darkroom prints, that many of us made. I had a fully equipped darkroom for 50 years, and sold and exhibited  my traditional prints (both B&W and "C" prints). I have an opportunity to have an exhibit as well in the same museum. Apparently the Artist must specify the medium ("Oils on Canvas", "Silver Gelatin Print". etc). What do we call this new medium? "Digital Pigment Print"?? "Giclee Pigment Print", "Inkjet on Baryatta" (spelling?). I know there is possibly a snob appeal that would disfavor an ink jet print, but that aside, what have you called your work when faced with an important exhibit?
Thanks in advance      
Dave Gurtcheff
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JonasYip

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What do you call your Fine Art Inkjet Prints?
« Reply #1 on: November 11, 2009, 04:44:09 pm »

I've been using "Archival Pigment Print"
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Scott Martin

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What do you call your Fine Art Inkjet Prints?
« Reply #2 on: November 11, 2009, 06:15:17 pm »

Print specification has historically conformed to one of the following two naming conventions:

Example #1

[process] [media]

silver gelatin fiber base print

Example #2

[process] print on [media]

silver gelatin print on fiber base paper

If we continue to use these conventions for pigmented inkjet prints we might have:

Example #1


[process] [media]

pigment fiber base print

Example #2

[process] print on [media]

pigment print on fiber base paper

Some more well specified examples:

Pigment print on cotton rag paper
Warm toned pigment print on cotton rag paper
Coated pigment print on canvas
Silver gelatin digital print on metallic paper

"Archival Inkjet Print" has been a pretty decent term that seen a lot of good use throughout the last decade. While it's good enough for most usage, curators and collectors like to point out that they want to know more, like what type of paper was used and whither or not it is coated. While "archival" was reassuring 10 years ago it's practically a given today. Terms like "photo", "fine art" and "digital" are not very specific and could mean a variety of things. One exception to this is the "digital silver gelatin print" (made from a durst, Lightjet, Noritsu, etc) that is sometimes nice to distinguish from an optical silver gelatin print made directly from a film original.
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Geoff Wittig

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What do you call your Fine Art Inkjet Prints?
« Reply #3 on: November 11, 2009, 06:16:00 pm »

Quote from: Dave Gurtcheff
I went to a local museum, and saw a wonderful Photo Exhibit of B&W prints by a single photographer. Flush mounted uncropped traditional prints of all sizes (some from 35mm that were probably 20"x30"). Print quality was superb. Next to each print was the title, and "Silver Gelatin Print". I told my friends that was the "new word" for good old fashioned darkroom prints, that many of us made. I had a fully equipped darkroom for 50 years, and sold and exhibited  my traditional prints (both B&W and "C" prints). I have an opportunity to have an exhibit as well in the same museum. Apparently the Artist must specify the medium ("Oils on Canvas", "Silver Gelatin Print". etc). What do we call this new medium? "Digital Pigment Print"?? "Giclee Pigment Print", "Inkjet on Baryatta" (spelling?). I know there is possibly a snob appeal that would disfavor an ink jet print, but that aside, what have you called your work when faced with an important exhibit?
Thanks in advance      
Dave Gurtcheff
www.modernpictorials.com

I like "pigment ink print on 100% cotton rag paper" (if that's what you're printing on). It's accurate and upscale without being too pretentious. For an exhibit this can be accompanied by an artist's statement describing the inkset and paper used, with estimates of longevity and glowing description of the æsthetic and archival virtues of such prints compared to earlier forms of photographic color prints. It's entirely appropriate to indicate the much greater expected longevity and controllability of inkjet prints over C-prints, Cibachrome/Ilfochrome—better longevity than even dye transfer prints if they're displayed rather than stored in the dark. This can go a long way toward defusing anti-digital snobbery.

Just my 2¢, but "giclee" will probably turn off more folks than it will impress.
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Colorwave

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What do you call your Fine Art Inkjet Prints?
« Reply #4 on: November 11, 2009, 07:23:54 pm »

Unfortunately, I'm stuck with the term giclee in my market here in Hawaii for about 90% of the clients I print for.  Some galleries are starting to veer away from the word a little, but it seems to resonate with the more democratic end of the art buying market, vs. collectors.  I print for someone who exhibits at an exclusive gallery in San Francisco, though, that has my inkjet prints labeled as chromagenic prints.  It sounds nice, but is deceptive.  He is one of the last people I know that still shoots film, but the connection is tenuous at best, as what the client walks away with is an archival inkjet print.  The fact that there was a little silver in the process upstream seems largely irrelevant to me in terms of the label on the print.  I prefer to call my personal work "archival pigment print on (paper name)".
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neile

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What do you call your Fine Art Inkjet Prints?
« Reply #5 on: November 11, 2009, 08:04:17 pm »

I follow Brooks Jensen's lead here and go for "Pigment on paper", based on similar logic to what others have written above.

Neil
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Geoff Wittig

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What do you call your Fine Art Inkjet Prints?
« Reply #6 on: November 11, 2009, 09:14:13 pm »

Quote from: Colorwave
Unfortunately, I'm stuck with the term giclee in my market here in Hawaii for about 90% of the clients I print for.

My condolences.
A couple of years ago my wife & I were checking out booths at the yearly Clothesline art festival in Rochester. One of the exhibitors had some saccharine inkjet prints of flowers on canvas. I overheard her spiel to a potential customer, delivered in a dense Southern accent: "It's a special French process; it's called 'Zhee-Clay'". My wife dragged me out of the booth by the arm because I was having a hard time suppressing my instinctive laughter.

Honestly, I love inkjet prints on canvas for some images. But let's not be precious about it. Let's call the what they are.
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bill t.

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What do you call your Fine Art Inkjet Prints?
« Reply #7 on: November 11, 2009, 09:16:56 pm »

Last time I was at Andrew Smith Gallery I saw several "Epson Pigment Prints" of well know images from Jerry Uelsmann, among others.  That's a little dated now, but that term was one of the first to lend a bit of legitimacy to inkjet fine art prints.  Does it really matter any more?  How about "photograph".  People are generally more interested in buying an image, than in buying an example of a particular media.  OK, there are exceptions, collectors and what not, but we concentrate on them too much.
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Colorwave

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What do you call your Fine Art Inkjet Prints?
« Reply #8 on: November 11, 2009, 10:49:21 pm »

Quote from: Geoff Wittig
My condolences.

"It's a special French process; it's called 'Zhee-Clay'".
Yeah, it's as french as the potatoes they serve at McDonalds.  I'd be so much more likely to endorse the word if there was a Pierre or Marcel in the early lore of inkjet printing, instead of a French-English dictionary.   Sigh.

On the use of a corporate brand in the process name, though, I have to hold my nose as well.  I don't think it adds anything to the perception of it being art vs .a commodity when you tag on a company's name.
« Last Edit: November 11, 2009, 10:50:41 pm by Colorwave »
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howseth

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What do you call your Fine Art Inkjet Prints?
« Reply #9 on: November 12, 2009, 12:18:20 am »

I have a gallery show, beginning tomorrow - I will be exhibiting inkjet (Z3100) pigment prints on rag paper - I am going, this time, with "Archival Pigment Print."

Howard
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eleanorbrown

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What do you call your Fine Art Inkjet Prints?
« Reply #10 on: November 12, 2009, 12:44:31 am »

Same here. Pigment on Paper. eleanor

Quote from: neile
I follow Brooks Jensen's lead here and go for "Pigment on paper", based on similar logic to what others have written above.

Neil
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Ernst Dinkla

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What do you call your Fine Art Inkjet Prints?
« Reply #11 on: November 12, 2009, 03:33:20 am »

Quote from: eleanorbrown
Same here. Pigment on Paper. eleanor


Pigment print for me.

Over here there's one camp that tries to fortify the term Giclée with additional qualifications like Art, Certified, etc and there are the ones that give Piëzography, Piëzografie, a wider context beyond printing B&W with piëzo heads despite the fact that they use thermo head printers as well.



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Craig Murphy

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What do you call your Fine Art Inkjet Prints?
« Reply #12 on: November 12, 2009, 09:17:29 am »

Pig on Paper for short.
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Eric Myrvaagnes

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What do you call your Fine Art Inkjet Prints?
« Reply #13 on: November 12, 2009, 10:46:31 am »

I, too, have decided to cease using the term "Giclée à la Mode l’Effete Snob" and go with "Pigment on Paper."   

Eric

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Dave Gurtcheff

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What do you call your Fine Art Inkjet Prints?
« Reply #14 on: November 12, 2009, 11:55:51 am »

Thanks for all the replies; and thanks for taking me seriously. I tend to like "Archival Pigmant Print", or "Pigment on Paper", from the replies above.
Again.........
thanks
Dave G.
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Roscolo

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« Reply #15 on: November 12, 2009, 02:55:36 pm »



In exhibitions I always referred to my darkroom prints on RC and various fiber papers as "black and white photographs."

Now that I am printing on the z3100, I continue to use the description, "black and white photograph" and "color photograph." Keeping it simple here. If someone inquires about the process, I can give them more info. than they want. Viewers seem to appreciate the use of a term that everyone understands.

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NikoJorj

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What do you call your Fine Art Inkjet Prints?
« Reply #16 on: November 12, 2009, 04:06:31 pm »

Giclée? C'est dépassé! The "Pig on Paper" thing has definitely an edge, yup.

A bit more descriptive (if it's what it's about), pigment inkjet print on (whatever) paper?
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Guigui

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What do you call your Fine Art Inkjet Prints?
« Reply #17 on: November 12, 2009, 04:32:53 pm »

Let me add that although it's a French word, I strongly recommend not using the term "giclee" in France, since in slang we sometimes use it as a synonym of ejaculation.
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jule

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What do you call your Fine Art Inkjet Prints?
« Reply #18 on: November 12, 2009, 05:32:52 pm »

"Pigment ink on Rag paper"   for me


Julie

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Scott Martin

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« Reply #19 on: November 12, 2009, 08:41:35 pm »

Quote from: Guigui
Let me add that although it's a French word, I strongly recommend not using the term "giclee" in France, since in slang we sometimes use it as a synonym of ejaculation.
"Ejaculate on alpha cellulose paper" then? I do have a client that stuck his own blood in his inkjet printer and tried printing with it.
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