Canvas Prints

[lidarman]

I was thinking of printing some images on canvas but have some questions for people who have done this.

1. Is the quality pretty decent? I mean, sure it might not be the most incredible art gallery image in terms of color saturation and detail, but if you hang a 20 x 30 on the wall, is it acceptable? I know that is subjective but if people have purchases some and think they are crap, it would be nice to know.

2. What printing companies would you recommend? I'm interested a stretched matt canvas with gallery wrap (1.5" wrap), ideally they have sizes in the ratio 1.5:1 so I don't have to mess with cropping.

3. And does anyone have info the the printer gamut calibrations that might be available to download to preview the print in photoshop correctly?

[drg]

I would recommend you find a local shop who has one of the large epson or hp printers in house.

They will be able to provide with the ICC type files or samples to let you calibrate from to match and truly get what-you-see-is-what-you-get(WYSIWYG) results.

Then find who they use for stretching/framing/matting or look around to find someone.

I print on canvas (various type and shapes) periodically and have a team of people to make it all look 'right'. The worst thing about canvas is that you will find flaws once in a while in the material and it will soak ink like crazy and you can see it. A reputable shop will inspect all their medium prior to feeding it, and if it does fail, you won't know as they will reprint. We do anyway. Then it usually runs $10-15 sq/ft to print also! Some imported Berger and a-Lux materials cost that much to begin with so the cost is much, much higher.

Stretching is a separate matter and I'd also recommend a professional framing shop as a starting point.

If you just want an "olan/mills" type of portrait you might have success with a mail-order/web enabled/national shop. If you do use one, get several samples at a smaller size from your images first. And then make sure that they will mount and the canvas isn't damaged.

Hammermill was recently making/stocking several papers that looked like canvas and over a foot away were virtually indistinguishable from woven material. They made them in 30, 32, 34, etc out to at least 48" in 50/100/250+ft rolls. They print like just like paper and are not a pain to cleave! They can be conventionally mounted but in a frame and have the surface texture of various things including Diamond Plate, silk screen, canvas, several fabrics. They are not cheap.

The one main disadvantage to actually cloth printing is that you will need to make sure it is properly fixed. Unlike the various current ink-jet papers and light jet media, canvas and cloth isn't as colorfast and stable. Oh, I didn't really mention that with canvas you need special inks. One of the early images I posted on PR (b/w motorcyclist) was printed at close to a meter long on the long side and it was on 'conventional' paper and properly fixed. It looks unchanged about five years later. Another image I posted (hosta separation) was printed on velvet material and most of its color is very degraded even with what should have been proper preparation.

Many of the retail store processors(Walgreens, CVS, Meijer, etc) offer access to smaller canvas 'paintings from photographs'. That is as good a quality as you will probably get from most mail order shops until you refine the process. It is fairly good, but done well this kind of printing can be amazing and the color range increases with every new ink set it seems.
I never cease to be amazed at what comes out of every new gen. of plotter/printer.

Another alternative might be to check out sign companies that make banner sets for billboards They print on a plastic material that has various textures, and they use Raster Image Processing technology (R.I.P.) to get large, larger, largest images and it is quick! They are also very water and UV resistant. I wonder why . ..

Hope this is a start. ,

[another view]

I've never done it myself, but seen a lot of them - usually 16x20 to 20x30 range. They can look great, but just like any other print you're somewhat bound by the technical aspects of the image as far as how large it can be printed. For example, a 35mm neg won't make an excellent 20x30 print, etc.

I think all of the canvas prints that I've seen have been portraits or "people shots" of some sort. Kind of like the difference between matte and gloss paper, the canvas loses some of the sharpness that might be too sharp for a portrait. This isn't to say that they're soft - it's hard to describe, you really have to look at some of them. But, I wouldn't choose this look for landscape or architectural shots.

[adina]

Museumbond musuembond museumbond

www.museumbond.com

You have your photo printed regularly, then ship the print to them and they canvas it for you. Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous. I've spent thousands of dollars with them. Every canvas I have made is with them. The customer service is top notch, feel free to call and chat with them before you order. Love them love them love them. I usually have things back within a week.

Did I mention I love them? I usually print them at least 24x30...from the 20d, but like I said, you send them a print, not a digital file.

[adina]

ps...it's not so much that it loses it's sharpness, but it has a textured finish, which makes it look a little softer. But I've got a 24x30 on my dining room wall, and I can stand right in front of it and it looks great, from like 6 inches away.

[another view]

ps...it's not so much that it loses it's sharpness, but it has a textured finish, which makes it look a little softer.

Agreed - that's what I was trying to say. It's a different look - different than the matte/gloss comparison that I mentioned.