Not too long ago I visited an art gallery which was filled with wonderful canvases by an artist with whose work I was familiar. Struck by what I thought were extremely low prices for this particular artist's work, I looked carefully at the description cards the gallery has prepared to accompany each piece. The card listed the name of the piece, the artist, the size and the price but the descriptive line "oil on canvas" or some such other description was conspicuously missing. I immediately knew I was looking at giclées (pronounced "geeclay") which are the newest form of "prints" on today's contemporary art market.

So what is a giclée? Giclées are reproductions, originally developed in 1989, as a plateless method of fine art printing. The images are scanned and digitally stored in a computer and sent directly to a high resolution printer. Unlike other printing methods, each image is sent to the printer individually. Since 1989, as computer technology has improved so have giclées. Many are printed directly on fine linen canvas and offered in enhanced versions, where paint is added directly on to the canvas to give it added texture and make it look more than like an original oil painting.

Giclées have their place in the art market. How many of us started our art "collections" by purchasing a poster or a print from a museum or museum shop? We fell in love with a painting, an image that we could never own. But we could buy a reasonable facsimile of that painting and enjoy it daily in our homes or offices. Giclées are much the same, offering individuals the opportunity to own a loved image that may not be available because the original is already sold or is in a price range that precludes purchasing it. The one critical difference is when buying that beloved print we never thought we were purchasing an actual Renoir or a Van Gogh. We knew what we were buying a copy and the contemporary art buyer should be as well informed.

So when considering purchasing art consider the following: Have I seen work by this artist at much higher prices? If the price is too good to be true, it probable is. Don't be afraid to ask if you are looking at an original piece of art and by definition one-of-a-kind. If you are looking at a giclée, do you know how many have been made of this particular image? Are they being made in different sizes? Has it been hand embellished? If so, by whom? (Many pieces say "hand embellished by artist" but many times "the artist" is a different one than the one whose name appears on the piece.)

Is it signed? Again, by whom? Is the artist signing each piece as an endorsement that he/she believes the giclee is a good representation of their original work, or has the artist given a stamp of his/her signature to the publisher of the print?

Since many giclées are no longer numbered and can be printed individually, it's important to trust the source from whom you are buying. As always buy what you love, but ask questions. Any reputable dealer or artist will be more than happy to discuss all aspects of purchasing original and print work.

The following list of definitions maybe helpful to you when purchasing prints of any kind.

Intaglio: Any technique in which an image is incised below the surface of the plate, including etching, engraving, and mezzotint.

Engraving: An intaglio process in which lines are cut into a metal plate and then filled with ink to transfer the image onto paper.

Etching: An intaglio process in which an image is scratched through an acid-resistant coating on a metal plate. The plate is then dipped in acid which eats into the exposed surface.

Mezzotint: An intaglio process in which the plate surface is roughened and then an image is created by smoothing the areas to be printed.

Lithograph: A graphic process in which images are drawn with crayon or a greasy ink on stone or metal and then transferred to paper.

Serigraph: A stenciling method in which the image is transferred to paper by forcing ink through a fine mesh in which the background has been blocked.

Signed and numbered: Authenticated with the artist's signature, the total number of impressions in the edition, and the order in which the impression is signed; "5/20" indicates that the print is the fifth signed of an edition of 20 impressions.

Adrienne Lewis is the owner of Trowbridge-Lewis Galleries on main street in Middleburg Va. The gallery sells original oil paintings and sculpture.