The word "giclee" was derived from the French verb "gicluer," which translates to "squirt," "spurt" or "spray." Jack Duganne is widely credited with using the word "giclee" after looking for a term for the new printing process that would not hold negative views in artists' minds.
Giclee printing is believed to have been first used in the late 1980s or early 1990s on IRIS inkjet printers. Those IRIS printers were used for proofs at printing press shops. After many artists experimenting with the process, they found that quality reproductions of prints could be achieved with inkjet printers. The ink at the time, however, proved not to be the best, creating prints that faded. Advances in paper and ink technology have since changed that.
Musician Graham Nash may be best known for his work with the band Crosby, Stills and Nash, but he had a prominent role in developing giclee printing methods, too. Along with Mac Hobart, Nash's experimentation with printers created one of the first, if not the first, giclee print.
As of June 2010, price for giclee prints averaged from $50 to $1,000, depending on quality, size, paper used, framing and other factors. In 2004, an Annie Leibovitz giclee print went for $10,800 at an auction.
Wilhelm Imaging Research has been involved with researching the quality of giclee prints over time. It found that use of an IRIS printer and recommended inks and paper will create a giclee print that will last under normal conditions.