Turn Paintings Into Giclée Prints: Step-by-Step

Step 1: Photograph or Scan Your Original

The quality of your final print begins here. A poor capture — no matter how good the printing equipment — will produce a disappointing result. You have three solid options:

• Flatbed scanner — ideal for works up to A2 size, especially watercolours and works on paper. Aim for a minimum of 600 DPI, though 1200 DPI gives you headroom to print large.
• DSLR or mirrorless camera — the best approach for oils, acrylics, and textured work where raised paint or canvas grain matters. Use two diffused light sources at 45° angles to eliminate glare.
• Professional art scanning service — if in doubt, outsourcing the capture to specialists is always worth it for important works.

Tip: Shoot in RAW format if using a camera, and keep your white balance consistent using a grey card. This saves enormous time in colour correction later.

Step 2: Edit & Color-Correct Your File

Even a perfectly captured image will need some adjustment. Use Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom, or free alternatives like GIMP or Darktable to:

• Straighten and crop to the edges of the painting — remove any background or mounting board.
• Adjust brightness and contrast so the digital file matches what you see in person under neutral daylight.
• Correct any colour cast introduced by your lighting or camera sensor.
• Sharpen slightly using an unsharp mask — but avoid over-sharpening, which creates a digital look.
• Work in sRGB when preparing your file — our printers use CMYK, and sRGB converts more predictably than Adobe RGB when colors are translated to the CMYK colour space at the point of printing.

Step 3: Choose Your Print Size & Resolution

Giclée printing is resolution-dependent. As a rule of thumb, your file should be 300 DPI at the intended print size. This means:

• A 12″ × 16″ print requires a file of at least 3,600 × 4,800 pixels.
• A 24″ × 30″ print requires a file of at least 7,200 × 9,000 pixels.
• For very large prints (poster-sized and above), 150–200 DPI is generally acceptable, as they are viewed from a greater distance. 
• Review our guide that shows how to convert inches to pixels and centimeters.

Tip: Upscaling a low-resolution file using AI tools like Topaz software can help, but there's no substitute for a high-quality original capture.

Step 4: Select Your Paper

One of the great pleasures of giclée printing is the choice of surface. The substrate you choose dramatically affects the mood, texture, and archival life of the print:

• Photo matte paper — a smooth, non-reflective surface that produces clean, accurate colours with no glare. A versatile everyday choice that works well across a wide range of subjects and styles.
• Fine art cotton rag paper — the classic choice. Bright whites, rich blacks, exceptional sharpness. Ideal for watercolours, illustrations, and photography-based work.
• Canvas — stretches or mounts beautifully. Adds an authentic painted feel. Perfect for oils and acrylics. Can be gallery-wrapped for a frameless finish.
• Baryta / fibre-based paper — a luxurious, semi-gloss surface with a traditional darkroom look. Beloved by photographers but stunning for paintings too.
• Metallic or lustre paper — bold, high-impact surfaces that make colours luminous. Best for bold, graphic, or digital-origin work.
• Watercolor paper — a textured, absorbent surface that gives prints a natural, hand-crafted feel. Particularly well-suited to watercolour and ink-based originals, where the paper grain complements the character of the original work.

Not sure which is right for your work? We're happy to send a sample pack so you can feel the difference before you commit.

Step 5: Upload & Proof Your File

Once your file is ready and sized correctly, upload it to our print portal. We accept TIFF, PDF, and high-quality JPEG files. TIFF is preferred for its lossless compression and colour accuracy. PDF files are the most common files that we receive.

Before approving a full edition, we strongly recommend ordering a single print. Viewing a physical print under different lighting conditions reveals subtleties — particularly in shadow detail and highlight roll-off — that no monitor can fully replicate.

Tip: If you're color-matching to an original painting, bring both the proof print and the original to a window in indirect daylight. This is the most reliable way to check fidelity. We do not provide colors outside the CMYK color spectrum.

Step 6: Print, Sign & Edition Your Work

Once the proof is approved, your edition is printed on our wide-format pigment inkjet printers using archival inks rated for 100+ years of lightfastness under normal display conditions.

After printing, many artists choose to:

• Sign each print in pencil just below the image in the lower-right corner.
• Number the edition (e.g. 3/50) in the lower-left corner.
• Include the title of the work centrally between the signature and edition number.
• Add a Certificate of Authenticity — we can produce these for you with your details and the edition information. Certificates of Authenticity are typically printed at 5.5″ × 8.5″, though we can produce them in any size you require.

Limited editions typically range from 10 to 250 prints. Smaller editions command higher prices and are often more collectible.

Step 7: Frame, Package & Deliver

Your giclée prints are only as impressive as their presentation. Unframed prints should be packaged in acid-free tissue, sandwiched between rigid board, and shipped flat or rolled in a sturdy tube. We offer:

• Flat pack shipping — for prints up to 12" x 18". Most secure and least risk of rolling creases.
• Rolled in a tube — for larger prints or economy shipping. Allow 24 hours flat under books before framing.

Tip: Always use UV-protective glazing (glass or acrylic) when framing giclée prints displayed in direct or indirect sunlight. This is the single biggest factor in long-term print preservation.