Q: Please explain the difference between prints, lithographs, and commercial art prints?
A: Prints or Giclée: Prints are copies of original artwork.
Some prints are archival because they have been printed on archival
watercolor paper or canvas. A giclée (pronounced zhee-clay) is an copy
of a piece of art printed on archival watercolor paper or canvas. The
quality will be equal regardless if the image is blown up to poster
size or reduced to the size of a postage stamp.
Commercial prints: Commercial prints are defined as prints that are
produced in a quantity of 500 or more. Postcards, posters, flyers, and
promotional pieces are all good examples of commercial prints. These
types of prints are usually printed on glossy card stock.
Lithographs: This is an archival fine-art process in which each
printed sheet has its own unique look. Lithographs traditionally are
produced on limestone. After an image is drawn on the limestone surface
with an oil-based medium, a thin layer of acid—mixed with gum Arabic—is
applied. It sticks to the non-oily surface. The stone is then placed on
the lithograph press with a sheet of printing paper over the work
surface. During printing, water adheres to the gum Arabic surfaces and
avoids the oiled surfaces, while the oily printing ink adheres to the
oiled surfaces, thus producing the print.