At Barkley's Printroom, we proudly offer fine art giclee photographic printing with a unique selection of archival, photographic, and specialty papers not found elsewhere in our region. Our software, printers, and monitors are calibrated to meet industry standards for fine art giclée photographic printing. We use Canon's latest-generation twelve-ink Pro-Graph printers, which produce high-quality prints using their LUCIA II ink systems. Our prints are printed on archival museum-quality photographic paper from leaders in premium photographic paper: Ilford, Moab, and Hahnemühle.
If you don't know, we will explain Giclée: “Giclée” (pronounced zhee-clay) is a French term meaning "to spray," referring to a fine spray of ink used in high-quality inkjet printing. However, not all inkjet prints are Giclée prints. A true Giclée is an A-grade reproduction made using archival inks and papers that meet rigorous standards for colour accuracy, permanence, and tonal range.
Done properly, a Giclée print can capture every detail of a photograph on paper.
It requires a high-resolution inkjet printer capable of at least 8–12 pigment inks, with a minimum resolution of 300 DPI, and printed on archival paper over 250gsm, rated for 70–200 years of longevity under museum lighting. The paper or substrate should be close to 100% cotton rag, acid-free, pH-neutral fine-art paper, or coated canvas. Printed on brands like Ilford, Moab, and Hahnemühle, colour management involves a calibrated workflow using custom ICC profiles and colour-managed monitors to ensure consistency from screen to print.
A Giclée isn’t defined by marketing language; it’s defined by the technical quality of the print.
All photographs printed at Barkley's Printroom are created with Canon's newest generation 12-ink high-resolution Pro-Graph photographic printers. Our printroom includes the state-of-the-art A2 Pro-1100, released in late 2024, and the A3+ Pro-300, a 10-ink high-resolution printer that produces outstanding quality on archival fine art, photographic, and specialty papers. We look forward to adding a large-format printer when the time is right and are eager for what the future holds! We provide printing services in sizes from A2 to A4, as well as custom dimensions, including panoramic images up to 3.2 meters. Prices depend on the type of paper, and we will verify all details through communication or in-person meetings. At Barkley's Printroom, we strive to be a premier print service by drawing on insights from our own photography and printing experiences! To achieve the best results, please provide your images in JPEG format at 250 to 300 PPI, or TIF files for superior quality. Higher resolution data supplied yields better print results, so select your photographs carefully.
Colour Accurate Print Profiles: Why Are They Important? Colour-accurate custom print profiles created for individual printers ensure consistent colour accuracy and efficient production by matching digital file colours to specific printer, paper, and ink combinations. Without them, print accuracy can be unpredictable, wasting time and materials. They are created by printing colour test patches and measuring the results through an X-Rite or Calibrite spectrophotometer software to generate a custom colour paper profile, which is then installed into the printer software for accurate image printing output. Read more
Thank you, Ian Van Der Wolde, for your invaluable assistance, guidance, and expertise in developing our custom paper and printer profiles. Ian is an esteemed ILFORD Print Master and is part of an elite group of top photographers who share a passion for photography. ILFORD Print Masters come from diverse backgrounds and disciplines, aiming to inspire photographers to realise their creative vision from capture to print. Discover and be inspired by reading up on the ILFORD Masters by exploring their pages. Read more
Our Canon Pro-Graph 1100 and Pro 300 printers come equipped with accurate print profiles for each paper type. ICC profiles, established by the International Colour Consortium, are essential for effective colour management. An ICC profile contains data that defines the characteristics of a colour input or output device, aligning with the standards set by the ICC. These profiles articulate the colour attributes of specific devices or viewing conditions by mapping the device's colour space to a profile connection space. Why is this crucial? It's vital to harmonise your display and printing devices with the ICC colour set to ensure your printed images closely match what you see on your screen
Our go-to colour gamut is Adobe RGB; we switch to sRGB when needed! RGB colour gamut offers a wider colour spectrum for us to explore and create in Photoshop and Lightroom, plus our cameras are set to RGB for the same amazing reason! Our Canon printers are fully equipped to handle both Adobe RGB and sRGB, making our creative possibilities limitless. Adobe RGB, born from Adobe's vision in 1998, is designed specifically for the vibrant world of photography, while sRGB was developed in 1996 by Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard for all electronic devices.
ProPhoto RGB has the largest colour gamut to edit with. Yet, most current professional printers can only print up to Adobe RGB. There could be issues when shifting colours from ProPhoto to RGB 1998 during the print process.
This arises from the compression and alignment of colours during the printing process.
We recommend working within Adobe RGB or sRGB colour spaces to avoid any issues.
Colour gamut represents the full range of colours a device can reproduce, from the boldest primary hues to the most subtle shades! Different gamuts like sRGB, Adobe RGB, DCI-P3, and Rec. 2020 each showcase their unique colour ranges derived from primary colours and their intensities. CIE 1931 colour space was established by the International Commission in 1931 - CIE 1931 color space - Wikipedia
File or image size to consider - Bit size - 8-bit or 16-bit workflow and image processing. 8-bit and 16-bit refer to the bit depth of an image. An 8-bit image can display up to 16.7 million colours, while a 16-bit image can display up to 281 trillion colours. 16-bit images are more detailed and offer a wider range of colours, making them ideal for printing and editing. 8-bit images are more popularly used for web graphics and small prints. The difference between 8-bit and 16-bit is mainly in how many colours can be displayed, and the resolution of your image. For example, an 8-bit image doesn’t have 8 colours. Instead, it can hold 256 tonal values of the three colour channels (red, green, and blue). That equals 16.7 million colours. A 16-bit image has 65,536 tonal values in the same three channels. That means 281 trillion colours can be manipulated within the editing software you use
Our preferred monitor for viewing is a BenQ, which we calibrate regularly using the Calibrite Colour Checker program. Each image is thoroughly inspected under a calibrated ILFOLUX light to ensure that any imperfections are identified and corrected. We aim to print digital images saved at or between 250-300ppi as JPEG files or TIFF files, which are naturally larger than JPEG files. This allows a higher-resolution, smoother colour gradient and a consistent finished print for you!