The crtitical difference between a legitimate investment quality original giclée print and a reproduction print is that with giclée lthe artist draws the image directly on the computer or tablet (Cintiq or iPad), rather than onto paper or canvas where it is then reproduced  photographically. It is easy to be fooled between the two and very much a case of caveat emptor! The word giclée was adopted by Jack Duganne, a French printmaker who wanted a name for the new type of prints he was producing on a large-format, high-resolution industrial prepress proofing inkjet printer which they had adapted for fine-art printing. Inkjet printing primarily uses an electrical charge to transfer toner or liquid ink to the substrate onto which it is printed. Duganne was specifically looking for a word without the negative connotations of "inkjet" or "computer generated". and based his term on the French word gicleur, which means "nozzle" (the verb gicler means “to squirt”). Giclée uses fade-resistant, archival inks (pigment-based) which are particularly suited to bright colours, and printed on archival paper, leading to a remarkably long fade-free life, even when exposed to sunlight. A wide variety of surfaces is available, with textures and finishes such as matte photo paper, watercolor paper, cotton canvas, or artist textured vinyl. The giclée printers use the CMYK color process but may have multiple cartridges for variations of each color based on the CcMmYK color model (such as light magenta and light cyan inks in addition to regular magenta and cyan); this increases the apparent resolution and color gamut and allows smoother gradient transitions. So, as a final word of caution, verify that you are buying an original work and not a multiple reproduction of a painting, drawing or photograph. This protects your long term investment in the artwork that you love.