At times this can be a complicated and very political discussion and this description will try to avoid as much of that as possible. By intention what giclee really provides to artists, photographers, and publishers is the highest quality of reproduction available to their culture at the current time. By this it can be said that the term giclee, used to describe high end fine art reproductions, is not a static description but a dynamic one referring to a method of reproduction that is characterized by its superior method of reproduction in terms of image quality and longevity.
Currently the IRIS 3047 still remains to be the premier giclee printer despite its finicky nature. Ask any one who owns an IRIS printer and they will attest to the high level of maintenance required to keep the machine running properly. One IRIS operator sums it up by saying “if it’s not one thing it another”. Due to the level of technical expertise, experience, and maintenance required to utilize the IRIS successfully in a business atmosphere, they are no longer the printer of choice but do still provide the highest image quality possible. The IRIS achieves its superior image quality due to a fundamental difference in technology; the IRIS is a drum printer.
The IRIS lays ink on a desired substrate using a different method than large format printers that is primarily responsible for the superior image quality it can produce. Because the head moves in one direction across the drum at a constant rate as the substrate rotates before it, also at a constant rate, the ink is delivered to the substrate continuously. The result is an image that has very smooth transitions and an apparent resolution of 1800 dpi. It is important to be clear here, the IRIS printer physically can only produce an image of a miniscule 300 dpi but due to its ink delivery method a much higher visual resolution of 1500-1800 dpi is achieved (Creo manual). Unfortunately, the same design responsible for its high image quality also limits the IRIS printer by requiring sheeted material that must be adhered and removed from the drum for each print produced. One of the most obvious drawbacks of using sheeted material is it limits in size and it's higher coat when compared to roll material. This is a disadvantage from which large format printers do not suffer.
The Roland large format printers produce nearly equal image quality to that of the IRIS but by an entirely different design. The reproduction size is only limited by the printer width which enables it to produce prints of a larger size than that of the IRIS. On the most basic level, the large format printing process can be thought of as printing one line of an image at time and is detailed as follows:
Obviously the large format printing design has many more starts and stops than the drum design. As a result, every start and stop is an opportunity for the introduction of error that can occur by both moving the print head too far and/or not far enough and misaligning each printed line. Error can also be introduced by feeding the media too far or not far enough resulting in extra line spacing or line stacking.
The figures have been exaggerated to illustrate a point and in actuality any error would be on a much smaller scale. However, if combined throughout the print the result could cause loss of image clarity, quality and accuracy of print size. Of all the large format printers, the Roland Hi-Fi Jet Pro (I & II) series avoid these errors best and when the printer’s accuracy is combined with its variable dot technology and 96-360 nozzles per color micro-piezo print heads, the resulting 1440 x 1440 dpi print can rival those produced by the IRIS 3047.
Of the numerous printers and print technologies available to the fine art printing community it can be safely said that the IRIS drum printer and Roland large format printers are without a doubt giclee printers in the true sense of the term.
Author: Justin A. Doe
Date Published: March 8, 2005
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