A Giclée print is a fine art print made with pigment inks on heavyweight, acid-free paper, rather than the dye inks and coated stock used for a commercial poster. Every map I sell is printed that way, on 230gsm textured matte fine art paper, and the reason is practical rather than romantic: my prints carry hundreds of names in small type, and cheap paper loses them. This is what the term actually means, what archival does and does not promise, and when a frame is worth paying for.
What is a Giclée print, in plain terms?
Giclée is a French word that a printmaker borrowed in 1991 to describe high-resolution inkjet printing onto fine art paper. It is not a trademark, and nobody polices it, which is worth knowing, because the word on its own guarantees nothing.
What matters are the three things underneath it. Pigment inks rather than dye inks, because pigment particles sit on the paper and resist fading, whereas dyes shift and fade. A wide gamut printer lays down very small droplets, which is what lets a 6pt station name stay legible instead of blurring. And a paper heavy enough to take that ink without cockling.
When someone sells you a Giclée print and cannot tell you the paper weight, the finish and the ink type, they are selling you the word.
What archival and acid-free actually mean
Acid-free is the specific bit. Ordinary wood-pulp paper contains lignin, which breaks down into acids over time, turning the sheet yellow and brittle. That is why a newspaper from 1990 looks like a newspaper from 1990. Acid-free paper has that removed or neutralised, so the sheet stays the colour it started.
Archival is the looser word. It describes paper and inks chosen so the print stays stable rather than degrading, but it is not a warranty, and it is not a number. Anyone quoting you an exact number of years is quoting a laboratory test run under controlled light, not your hallway.
The honest version is this. Kept out of direct sunlight, a pigment print on acid-free paper will outlast the wall it is hanging on. Hung in a south-facing window, it will not. Light is the variable, not the paper.
Why 230gsm textured matte, and not gloss
Weight first. 230gsm is roughly three times the weight of office paper. It lies flat; it does not ripple as the ink dries, and it can be handled at A1 without creasing down the middle.
The matte finish is the part people question, because gloss looks punchier in a photograph. On a map, it is the wrong choice. Gloss throws a reflection across exactly the part you are trying to read, and these prints are made to be read from a foot away.
That is not a general principle; it is a specific one. On the Cure map, 33 credited musicians are drawn as named lines across 14 stations. On the Muse map, the 2012 album The 2nd Law alone carries 72 credited names, every orchestral player and session vocalist listed individually. On the Foo Fighters and Nirvana map, Sonic Highways in 2014 carries 26. A station like that is a dense block of small type, and a reflective surface makes it unreadable at the angle you would naturally stand.
Framed or unframed? What I would actually do
Both are real options, and neither is the upsell. Unframed is cheaper and lets you pick a frame that matches the room. Framed is the right answer when it is a gift, because handing someone a print they then have to go and pay for is a slightly awkward present.
I offer one frame in black wood. That is a deliberate limit rather than a gap in the range. A discography map is already a busy object, and a black surround does the one job a frame should do on a print like this: stop the eye at the edge.
These are the prices on most maps in the range. A3 is unframed only.
| Size | Dimensions | Unframed | Black wood frame |
|---|---|---|---|
| A3 | 420 x 297 mm | £35 | not offered |
| A2 | 594 x 420 mm (23 x 16 in) | £45 | £125 |
| A1 | 841 x 594 mm (33 x 23 in) | £65 | £175 |
There are three inch formats alongside those, 16 x 12 in, 24 x 18 in and 36 x 24 in, priced the same way. They are separate formats rather than conversions of the A sizes, so 24 x 18 in sits beside A2 rather than being another name for it.
One caveat worth stating, because I would rather you found it here than at the checkout. A few maps are made at A1 only, where the artwork's density does not survive reduction. The Levellers' map is one of them, and so are both Beatles maps. The size options shown on each product page are the ones that the product actually has.
If you are undecided between the two larger sizes, I wrote a separate piece on choosing between A2 and A1 that goes through it properly.
How to look after a Giclée print once it is up
Very little is required, and most of it is about where you hang it.
Keep it off a wall that gets direct sun for hours a day. Handle it by the edges before it goes behind glass, because pigment on a matte surface will take a fingerprint. Do not use a household cleaner on the glass while the frame is on the wall, as overspray can run down into the rebate. If an unframed print has been stored rolled, let it lie flat under a couple of books for a day before framing rather than trying to flatten it by hand.
That is genuinely the whole list. The paper is doing the hard work.
See the prints
Seventy discography maps and a range of film plot maps, each a Giclée on 230gsm archival matte fine art paper, in A3, A2 or A1, unframed or in a black wood frame, from £35.
Browse the music mapsWhere the paper choice has been tested
Two of these prints are held in institutional collections, which is the closest thing I have to an independent opinion on the materials. The David Bowie map is in the permanent collection at the V&A David Bowie Centre in London, and the Bruce Springsteen map is held at the Bruce Springsteen Archives at Monmouth University in New Jersey. Archives are particular about what they take, and acid-free is not optional there.
If you want to see how the printed detail actually reads, the Cure discography map and the David Bowie discography map are the two I would hold up first, because both carry a lot of small type and neither loses it.
Questions I get asked about the printing
Is a Giclée print better than a poster?
For something you intend to keep, yes, and the difference is the paper and the ink rather than the image. A poster is printed with dye inks on coated stock that yellows. A Giclée print uses pigment inks on acid-free fine art paper, which is why it holds its colour and its fine detail for decades rather than years.
How long will the colours last?
Longer than you will want the print if it is kept out of direct sunlight. I will not quote a year count, because the honest answer depends entirely on the light in your room, and anyone giving you a precise figure is quoting a lab test rather than your wall.
What paper do you use?
230gsm premium fine art paper with a textured matte finish, archival and acid-free. The same stock across the whole range, music maps and film plot maps alike.
What sizes and prices are there?
A3 at £35 unframed only, A2 at £45 unframed or £125 framed, and A1 at £65 unframed or £175 framed, plus the three inch formats at the same prices.
What frame colours can I choose from?
Black wood, and that is the only one. Unframed is the other option, and it is the cheaper of the two if you would rather frame it yourself.
Are the maps printed from an AI-generated design?
No. Every map is deeply researched from sleeve credits and session archives, then drawn by me. The printing is the last step in a process that starts with a spreadsheet.