How fine-art prints, coffee, and a village shop come together
Key Takeaways
Simple points at a glance
- Giclée prints are high-quality art prints made with special inkjet printers and long-lasting inks.
- RoesD Giclée Shop in Tolbert, in the north of the Netherlands, shows and sells more than seven hundred framed giclée prints.
- The shop also offers gifts, cards, books, glass objects, puzzles, and a calm brasserie corner for coffee.
- A brochure about the shop explains how giclée prints are made, how they are framed, and even offers a group visit called the “Giclée Experience”.
- A short video from a respected public art collection helps beginners understand the wider world of printmaking.
Story & Details
A leaflet on a yellow table
The story starts with a folded leaflet lying on a yellow checked tablecloth. On the front there is a photo of a white coffee cup on a saucer, next to a stack of colourful art cards. Around it are small images of paintings on the walls of a bright shop. The leaflet belongs to RoesD Giclée Shop, an art shop in the village of Tolbert in the Dutch north. The cover already tells a lot: art on every wall, gifts on the shelves, and a warm drink within reach.
When the leaflet is opened, three inside columns appear. One headline says “Giclées”, another “Lijstenmakerij”, another “Cadeau”. At the bottom there is a row of small photos under the words “Giclée facts” and “Giclée – the making of”. On the back panels more photos show a busy shop floor, visitors at a long table, and a group listening to a talk about printing. The whole design feels homely rather than formal, with soft brown colours and simple text.
What giclée prints are
Giclée prints are fine-art inkjet prints. They are made from a digital file of an artwork and printed with very small drops of pigment ink onto special paper or canvas. The word comes from a French term that refers to a spray or jet of liquid, and the process was named in the early 1990s by printmaker Jack Duganne, who wanted a label for high-end art prints made on modified industrial inkjet machines [1][2].
Good giclée prints aim to look as close as possible to the original painting or drawing. They use archival, fade-resistant inks and acid-free surfaces so that the colours stay bright for many years [3][4]. Because the materials and printers are expensive, a giclée print usually costs more than a normal poster but much less than the original artwork.
The leaflet’s “Giclée facts” panel, together with the shop’s own information, makes this easy to understand. It calls the prints affordable yet high in quality, notes that they often come in limited editions, and stresses that they are signed and numbered. RoesD states that each framed giclée sold in the shop includes a certificate of authenticity signed by the artist, with prices starting around ninety euros, and that the artists are leading Dutch realist painters [4].
Inside RoesD Giclée Shop
Public guides and the shop’s own website describe RoesD as a cosy art shop that combines a showroom, gift shop, framing studio, and brasserie [1][5][6]. The building stands on De Holm in Tolbert, in a quiet rural area near the point where the provinces Groningen, Friesland, and Drenthe come close together, not far from the A7 road between Drachten and Groningen [6]. Visitors are encouraged to “order a delicious cup of fresh coffee in the brasserie or just look around quietly and enjoy all the beauty” [5][7].
In the showroom there are more than seven hundred framed giclée prints hanging on the walls or standing in racks [4][8]. Many show Dutch farms, harbours, and village streets, while others are still lifes, birds, or playful scenes by painters such as Marius van Dokkum, known for gently humorous images of daily life [4]. Between the framed works are shelves with art cards, children’s books, art books, calendars, puzzles, and decorative glass objects [1][7]. The result is a space where visitors can choose a serious artwork, a small postcard, or simply a cheerful puzzle to take home.
Framing, gifts, and a group visit
The “Lijstenmakerij” column in the leaflet points to the framing studio inside the shop. Here customers can bring their own art or choose a print from the showroom and then select a frame and mount with the help of staff. The website confirms that the shop runs its own framing service so that a giclée print can leave the building ready to hang [1][4].
Another column with the word “Cadeau” highlights the shop as a place to find presents. It suggests giclée prints, cards, and small objects as gifts for birthdays, anniversaries, or a simple thank-you. In this way the leaflet speaks not only to collectors but also to people who want a personal, art-related gift without needing expert knowledge.
One more section of the leaflet introduces the “Giclée Experience”. Photos show a long table, a printer, and a small audience. The text explains that groups can book a visit to learn how giclée prints are made, watch the process on professional equipment, and enjoy drinks together. The leaflet mentions a price of 9.95 euros per person for groups from twelve people upward. For local clubs, families, or company outings, this turns the printmaking process into a social event.
Short Dutch mini-lesson
The leaflet quietly offers a small Dutch lesson to any visitor who takes the time to read it. Three words stand out.
The first is “giclée”, used all through the text and on the walls of the shop. In Dutch, as in English, it refers to the special fine-art inkjet prints described above.
The second is “cadeau”, which simply means “gift”. Seeing this word on a Dutch shop front or brochure is a sign that small presents, not just large artworks, are on offer.
The third is “lijstenmakerij”, which joins “lijst” (frame) with a suffix that points to a workshop. When this word appears in a Dutch village or city, it usually marks a place where pictures and paintings are framed.
For visitors to the northern Netherlands in late 2025, these three words are enough to understand most of what the RoesD leaflet is saying, even without speaking Dutch fluently.
Giclée prints in the wider art world
Beyond Tolbert, giclée printing has become a standard way for artists and galleries to offer reproductions of paintings, photographs, and drawings. Guides to fine-art printing explain that giclée prints allow very accurate colour control and can be produced one by one, so artists do not need to order a large stock in advance [3][9][10]. For buyers, this means access to art at more modest prices, often in numbered editions that feel special without being unique.
More general introductions to printmaking show where giclée fits into the long story of prints. Relief, intaglio, lithography, and screen printing have been used for centuries, while digital methods, including giclée, belong to the more recent chapter. A short film from the Arts Council Collection in the United Kingdom, called “The Printed Line: An Introduction to Printmaking Techniques”, gives an easy overview of the main traditional methods and helps beginners see how different tools and surfaces create different looks [11]. For someone who has just picked up the RoesD leaflet, watching this video can make the rows of framed prints feel like part of a wider, living tradition.
Conclusions
Art, calm, and clear language
Giclée printing turns digital tools into a bridge between original art and daily life. At RoesD Giclée Shop, that bridge is made very concrete: rows of framed prints, shelves of cards and books, the quiet sound of a coffee machine, and a table where groups can watch a print appear from a large printer. The leaflet on the yellow checked tablecloth tells this story in small blocks of Dutch and simple images.
As of November 2025, the shop continues to present giclée prints as both serious art objects and friendly gifts. For visitors to the Dutch north, it offers an easy introduction to fine-art printing. For anyone reading from afar, the mix of clear definitions, gentle visuals, and a short film on printmaking provides a simple starting point for understanding why these “spray-made” images on paper and canvas have become such an important part of today’s art world.
Selected References
Key sources and further viewing
[1] RoesD – Giclée Shop, general information and assortment. Available at: https://www.roesd.nl/
[2] “Giclée”, encyclopaedia entry explaining history and term origin. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gicl%C3%A9e
[3] Artelo, “What is Giclée Printing?”, overview of process and archival materials. Available at: https://www.artelo.io/fine-art-printing
[4] RoesD – Giclée Shop, detailed description of framed giclée prints, artists, certificates, and pricing. Available at: https://www.roesd.nl/giclee
[5] Visit Groningen, tourism entry for RoesD – Giclée Shop. Available at: https://www.visitgroningen.nl/en/locations/1963570649/roesd-giclee-shop
[6] RoesD – Giclée Shop, contact and access information. Available at: https://www.roesd.nl/contact
[7] Toegankelijk Groningen, accessibility and visitor description for RoesD – Giclée Shop. Available at: https://www.toegankelijkgroningen.nl/locaties-overzicht/1874062558/roesd-giclee-shop
[8] Foldersbestellen, brochure description of RoesD – Giclée Shop with showroom size. Available at: https://www.foldersbestellen.nl/product/roesd-giclee-shop-tolbert/
[9] PermaJet, “Giclée Paper Guide”, explanation of giclée materials and costs. Available at: https://www.permajet.com/blog/giclee-paper-guide/
[10] Colourgenics, “Inkjet, Giclée, and Fine Art Printing: Which One Is Right For You?”, comparison of printing methods. Available at: https://www.colourgenics.com/life-after-digital/2023/7/6/inkjet-giclee-and-fine-art-printing-which-one-is-right-for-you
[11] Arts Council Collection, “The Printed Line: An Introduction to Printmaking Techniques”, YouTube video introducing main printmaking methods. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYJUEmEvfZw
Appendix
Brasserie
A small, informal eating and drinking area, often inside or next to a shop or cultural space, where visitors can order simple food and drinks such as coffee, tea, and cake.
Cadeau
A Dutch word that means “gift” and is used on shop signs and brochures to signal that items suitable as presents, such as small artworks or decorative objects, are for sale.
Giclée
A fine-art inkjet print made from a digital file of an artwork, using archival, fade-resistant inks and high-quality paper or canvas so that the image looks close to the original and lasts a long time.
Lijstenmakerij
A Dutch term for a framing workshop, the place where staff help choose frames, mounts, and glass so that paintings, prints, and photos can be safely displayed on a wall.
Printmaking
The group of artistic processes that create images by transferring ink from a surface such as metal, wood, stone, or a digital printer onto paper or another material, including both traditional methods and newer digital techniques.
RoesD Giclée Shop
An art shop in Tolbert in the north of the Netherlands that combines a showroom full of giclée prints, a gift shop with cards, books, puzzles, and glass objects, a framing studio, and a small brasserie.
Tolbert
A village in the northern Netherlands, in a rural area where three northern provinces meet, known in this context as the home of RoesD Giclée Shop.
My Diary - Leonardo Cardillo 