Published by: Tan SK, Owner & Founder
November 2026
The short answer: a fine art print, also called a giclée, is an image printed with pigment inks onto an acid-free, archival paper such as Hahnemühle Photo Rag, with the colour managed so the print matches the file. A regular photo print is exposed and developed on light-sensitive silver halide paper. A regular poster is printed with eco-solvent or similar inks on coated paper or synthetic media, built for a low price rather than a long life. All three have their place. The difference is how long the print lasts, how the surface looks and feels, and what it costs: at our counter that runs from $0.35 for a 4R photo print to $83 for an A1 giclée on Photo Rag.
"Isn't it just a nicer poster?" is the question I hear most often when someone asks about fine art printing. It is a fair question, because from across the room the three can look similar. Up close, and after a few years on the wall, they are very different products. We make all three kinds of print at Hong Lim Complex, so this is not a sales pitch for one of them. It is the explanation I give at the counter, with our own prices as of November 2026.
Our three fine art papers side by side: Hahnemühle Photo Rag 308 (smooth), German Etching 310 (textured) and FineArt Pearl 285 (pearl sheen), with a watercolour printed on Photo Rag.
What does fine art printing actually mean?
Three things have to be true before I would call a print "fine art", and marketing has stretched the term enough that it is worth being strict about them.
- Pigment inks, not dye. Pigment particles sit on the paper and do not fade or shift the way dye inks do. Our giclée prints use the pigment ink set on our Epson wide-format printer, rated by the paper and ink makers to last over 100 years under normal indoor display.
- Archival paper. The paper is acid-free and lignin-free, so it does not yellow or go brittle, and it carries a museum-quality rating (ISO 9706). Every paper we stock is made by Hahnemühle in Germany: Photo Rag 308, German Etching 310, FineArt Pearl 285, Photo Rag Baryta 315 and Daguerre Canvas 400. The number is the weight in grams per square metre, and these are two to three times heavier than an ordinary photo print.
- Colour management. Each paper has its own ICC profile on our printer, so the colours in your file are the colours on the paper. This is what makes giclée the standard for reproducing paintings and for photographers selling editions.
"Giclée" is simply the trade name for this kind of print. It comes from the French for "to spray", because the printer lays down microscopic droplets of ink. If a shop says giclée but cannot tell you the paper brand and the ink type, ask again.
Printed on Hahnemühle Photo Rag 308, 100% cotton, smooth matte surface. Photo: Hahnemühle.
How is a regular photo print different?
A photo print from a lab like ours is not printed with ink at all. The paper is coated with light-sensitive silver halide crystals. The machine exposes your image onto it with light, then runs it through developer and fixer, the same chemistry film photographers have used for decades. We print on Fujifilm Crystal Archive Supreme, a resin-coated lustre paper, in 16 sizes from 2R up to 12 x 18 inches.
Silver halide is still the best value in printing. A 4R costs $0.35, an 8R $4, an A4 $6 and an A3 $16.50, ready in one to two working days. The colours are continuous tone with no dot pattern, the surface is tough enough to handle without gloves, and Fujifilm rates the paper to resist fading for decades. For family photos, albums, frames on the desk and anything under 12 x 18 inches, this is what I recommend, including to customers who walk in asking for giclée.
What it is not: a cotton paper with a texture, a matte surface that soaks up light, or a print that an artist would sign and number. The surface is plastic-coated, which is exactly what makes it durable and affordable. Our guide to glossy, matte and lustre finishes covers the surface options in more detail.
What about poster prints and eco-solvent inks?
This is where the terms get loosest, so let me separate two things that both get called a poster.
A photo poster from us. Our Poster Print is made on the same Epson printer as our giclée work, with the same pigment inks, but on Epson Premium 260 gsm lustre photo paper rather than cotton. It is a resin-coated paper, so it looks and feels like a large photo print, and it costs a fraction of fine art paper: A2 $23.20, A1 $46.50, A0 $93. For a big photo on the wall in a frame, it is the sensible choice.
An eco-solvent poster from a signage shop. Most quick-print and signage shops in Singapore print posters on wide-format machines that use eco-solvent inks on PP synthetic paper, vinyl or a light photo paper. Those inks are designed for banners, shopfronts and vehicle graphics, where cost per square foot and water resistance matter more than colour depth. Indoors, in a frame and out of the sun, a typical eco-solvent poster looks fine for a few years. In a shop window it is usually rated for two to three years before it fades, which is why they are often laminated. The colour range is narrower than pigment on fine art paper, fine gradients can show banding, and the media is thin and plasticky. None of that matters for an event poster that comes down next month. It matters a lot for a print you expect to keep.
Printed on Hahnemühle German Etching 310, heavy felt texture for oils, pastels and illustration. Photo: Hahnemühle.
Fine art vs photo print vs poster: side by side
| Fine art (giclée) | Photo print | Poster | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How it is made | Pigment ink sprayed onto paper, colour managed per paper | Light exposed onto silver halide paper, then chemically developed | Pigment ink on RC photo paper (ours), or eco-solvent ink on PP or vinyl (signage shops) |
| Paper | Hahnemühle cotton or alpha-cellulose, 285 to 400 gsm, acid-free, ISO 9706 | Fujifilm Crystal Archive Supreme, resin-coated lustre | 260 gsm RC lustre (ours), or thin synthetic media |
| Surface | Matte, textured, pearl or baryta gloss. Reads as a work on paper | Lustre, semi-gloss. Reads as a photograph | Lustre (ours) or glossy synthetic |
| Longevity | Rated over 100 years indoors | Rated for decades, longer in an album | Ours: pigment, long-lasting. Eco-solvent: a few years, 2 to 3 years in sun |
| Sizes we make | A4 to A1 on paper (24-inch roll), up to A0 on canvas | 2R to 12 x 18 in | A2 to A0 |
| Price examples | A4 $24, A3 $32, A1 $83 | 4R $0.35, 8R $4, A3 $16.50 | A2 $23.20, A1 $46.50, A0 $93 |
| Turnaround | 2 to 3 working days | 1 to 2 working days | 2 to 3 working days |
| Best for | Art reproduction, editions, exhibition and portfolio prints, gifts meant to last | Family photos, albums, frames, bulk orders | Large photos for a frame, event and display posters |
Prices are ours as of November 2026, per print, no GST added. Fine art prices are for Photo Rag 308; German Etching is a little less, Photo Rag Baryta a little more. Full lists are on the Fine Art Prints collection, Photo Prints and Poster Print pages.
Which one should you choose?
| If you are printing | Choose | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Family photos, holiday snaps, prints for an album or a desk frame | Photo print | Cheapest per print, tough surface, continuous tone |
| A big photo for the living room wall, in a frame | Poster print | Pigment inks on photo paper at a quarter of the fine art price |
| A painting, drawing or watercolour you want reproduced faithfully | Fine art, Photo Rag or German Etching | Matte cotton surface and ICC colour make it read as art, not a photo of art |
| Photographs you sell, exhibit or give as a serious gift | Fine art, FineArt Pearl or Photo Rag Baryta | Deeper blacks and a surface that galleries expect |
| A black and white photo you want to look like a darkroom print | Fine art, Photo Rag Baryta | Baryta surface mimics traditional fibre paper |
| An event poster, a shop display, anything short-term | Poster, or an eco-solvent print from a signage shop | Lifespan does not matter, price per square foot does |
Printed on Hahnemühle FineArt Pearl 285, bright white with a soft pearl sheen, made for photography. Photo: Hahnemühle.
How to tell if a fine art print is the real thing
- Ask for the paper name. A real giclée is printed on a named archival paper. Hahnemühle, Canson and Ilford are the brands you will see. "Matte paper" is not an answer.
- Ask about the ink. Pigment is the only right answer. Dye inkjet and eco-solvent are not fine art, whatever the paper.
- Look at the back. Hahnemühle papers carry the maker's name on the reverse, and most have a visible texture or a cotton feel. A resin-coated photo paper feels like plastic.
- Ask for a certificate if it is an edition. We stock Hahnemühle Certificates of Authenticity, with numbered holograms that go on the certificate and on the back of the print, for artists and photographers who sell numbered editions.
- Expect a proof. A fine art printer checks your file before printing and tells you if it will not reproduce well. If no one looks at your file, you are buying a poster.
Printed on Hahnemühle Daguerre Canvas 400, the canvas weave and a wrapped corner.
What fine art printing costs at KT Colour
Every paper we sell is Hahnemühle, printed from 24-inch rolls, so paper prints go up to A1 or 20 x 30 inches; Daguerre Canvas comes off a 44-inch roll and goes up to A0. A white border is optional and free, up to 2.5 cm per side within the roll width. Standard sizes are ordered online and ready in two to three working days; the calculator on our fine art page prices any custom size.
| Paper | A4 | A3 | A2 | A1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Photo Rag 308 smooth matte cotton |
$24 | $32 | $48 | $83 |
|
German Etching 310 textured matte |
$24 | $30 | $44 | $76 |
|
FineArt Pearl 285 pearl sheen |
$24 | $32 | $48 | $83 |
|
Photo Rag Baryta 315 high-gloss baryta |
$26 | $35 | $54 | $96 |
|
Daguerre Canvas 400 print only, rolled |
$24 | $32 | $48 | $83 |
Per print, no GST added, correct as of November 2026. For editions of five or more, reproduction from an original artwork, stretching or framing, WhatsApp us for a quote.
Frequently asked questions
Is giclée the same as fine art printing?
Yes. Giclée is the trade name for a pigment-ink print on archival paper, which is what fine art printing means. The two terms are used interchangeably by printers and galleries.
Is a fine art print better than a photo print?
It lasts longer and gives you art papers and a wider colour range, but it costs ten to twenty times more per print. For everyday photos a silver halide photo print is the better buy. Fine art makes sense when the print is meant to be kept, sold or exhibited.
Can I print a photograph as a giclée, or is it only for paintings?
Photographs print beautifully on fine art paper. FineArt Pearl and Photo Rag Baryta are made for photography, and Photo Rag suits black and white and softer images. Most of our giclée orders are photographs.
What file do I need?
A JPEG, PNG or HEIC can be uploaded on the product page. For TIFF or PSD files, or anything over 300 dpi at print size, email it to sales@ktcolour.com.sg. We check every file before printing and tell you if it will not hold up at the size you chose.
Do fine art prints need special framing?
Not special, but careful. Use acid-free backing and a mat so the print does not touch the glazing, and keep it out of direct sun. Our custom framing uses acid-free materials as standard, and non-glare acrylic suits matte papers well.
How to order a fine art print with us
- Choose a paper and size from the Fine Art Prints collection, or key your own size into the fine art page calculator.
- Upload your file and pay online. We check it and tell you if anything will not print well.
- Collect in two to three working days, or have it delivered.
Blk 531 Upper Cross St #01-06, Hong Lim Complex, Singapore 050531
Not sure which paper suits your image? WhatsApp us at +65 8034 1375 with the picture and where it will hang, and we will tell you honestly whether it needs fine art paper or a photo print will do.