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Opinions on Canvas prints please.

Pistol Pete

Pistol Pete

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 6, 2005
616
5
California
I am lookin to print on canvas. I like how it looks but it is expensive.

for those who are not aware it looks like this: Canvas Image

pro pics express has a really good deal on the homepage for a canvas but it is for a canvas panel, but i do not know what that is. I am assuming it is a canvas print mounted on a board than framed, but for that price it seems like a good deal. the site is legit because it is posted in my photo magazine.

Other than that I am hoping for your opinions on canvas prints and what a canvas panel is.

Thanks a lot in advance.
 
Pistol Pete said:
Other than that I am hoping for your opinions on canvas prints and what a canvas panel is.
Click to expand...

There's actually a local (my local not yours :p) museum with the main artists work printed on canvas panels. It seems to be just hard board (various materials depending on thickness?) with a stretched (usually prepared) and mounted canvas. The prints were really nice. :) I'd love to get some of my high-quality (giant files) photoshop work on canvas. Most of my stuff is digital and i can't really afford a projector right now (or rent one everytime i want to have a show). :( Getting a good print would be really nice. :)

I too am interested in this. Anyone else know more? That site doesn't have much info. I'll have to Google more later (at work). They're canvas prints don't seem very large either. The Artists prints at the museum were like 3'x5' (+)!


peace | neut
 
yah well if you are wanting to print big it gets very expensive but looks really nice. I would love to see a canvas and a regular printed picture side by side or at least read a review.

For now that seems like a great deal. So you say that the canvas panel prints look good?

Thanks

anyone else?
 
i used this company just 3 weeks ago. the picture came out exactly like on my sony photo printer (colors, sharpness, brightness) and they are fairly cheap. also shipping was only $4 and i had the canvas after 4 or 5 days at my doorstep. they don't offer framing services.


http://www.qualitycanvasphotos.com/
 
There is two different methods that you can use to print on canvas. I have no experience printing either, but I have held and compared the two different methods. Of course, one is cheap and one is expensive.

If you opt for the cheaper route (which is still expensive), you can buy a print from shutterfly or anywhere else. Your image is printed directly on a canvas designed for this kind of printing. The canvas is not the quality of an artist's canvas. It looks okay to me, not that bad.

The more expensive method is to print it first on paper then the image is transfered in a chemical solution to the canvas (artist quality canvas). It is a difficult process and most labs that do this print three copies befre starting because it usually takes that many tries before it is right. This of course makes it more expensive. After it is transfered a special coating is brushed on.
 
Also, the link you provided displays a gallery-wrap on a stretcher frame. This is not always what you get.

Some options I've used:

Print on Stretcher Frame (Mpix.com) - Looked alright, but it was fairly obvious that the print had been printed on thin paper, then applied to the top of the canvas, and did not stretch around the sides. Would be OK in a frame, but isn't suitable for hanging otherwise as the picture edges look nasty.

Canvas on Matboard (Mpix.com) - This was the thickness of a matboard, and was created similarly to the above option. Photograph printed on thin paper, then appliec to surface. Canvas texture shows through, but doesn't look perfect.

Some options I've seen but not used:

Gallery Wrap Canvas (whcc.com) - This is the method in which the photograph is printed directly on the canvas, and then stretched on a frame. From what I've heard it looks great, and from whcc, it's expected. Most expensive option.

Stretcher frame canvas (whcc.com) - Using the print-then-apply method, photographs are added to canvas in a two step process. Probably not as good looking as the gallery wrap, but would still be good.

I'm waiting to print on canvas until after I return from Africa, during which I plan to shoot a few thousand printable images. I'll post back with results.
 
Pistol Pete said:
the site is legit because it is posted in my photo magazine.

Thanks a lot in advance.
Click to expand...

Just because they were in a photo mag does not mean they are legit. I have a photo mag from barnes and noble and I was going to buy a camera from a company that has 2 full page ads, so I thought they were legit. I then looked them up and the better business bureau said it was a scam. Be careful and look the up at resellerratings.com or bbb.com.
 
I am thinking about printing on a canvas too, something like 6'x8'.

The only print shop I know as a resolution of 100dpi and charges 10$/square foot. Is that a "normal" price or should I shop around? This only include the printing, framing isnt included.
 
Quality Canvas Photos

andiwm2003 said:
i used this company just 3 weeks ago. the picture came out exactly like on my sony photo printer (colors, sharpness, brightness) and they are fairly cheap. also shipping was only $4 and i had the canvas after 4 or 5 days at my doorstep. they don't offer framing services.


http://www.qualitycanvasphotos.com/
Click to expand...

I used Quality Canvas Photos a few months ago for a 16x20 print. It looked nice and was delivered quickly (from Hawaii I think?) It comes rolled up in a tube so you'll need to glue it down to something or stretch it over a wood frame. I can't speak for the color accuracy as I purposefully tinted my photo to look like an old 70's family portrait. Well, I guess I could say they printed it exactly as I had tinted it so the accuracy IS good for what I needed.
 
Old or not, its probably still good information - most of these posts are not only for the OP but for the thousands of people reading the posts with the same questions.

None the less, I am assuming things have changed over at mpix as I had a print done (24x36) on canvas that was wrapped around the edges. It looks great and an insiders tip, wait for when they run their sales - they always have something going and occasionally the gallery wraps go on sale. I think we got ours for 25% (??) off. It was around $130 shipped. Expensive, but still far cheaper than what our photog wanted (this was a wedding pic - and yes, we bought his full res DVD fair and square :)
 
I've used BayPhoto.com for regular prints mounted on gatorboard, which turn out very well. I haven't tried their canvas prints, but at least you can check out their site as another option. I use the "economy" (no color correction) option, and it matches my monitor very closely. This is just to provide some current information on this very old thread. :)
 
duncanapple said:
Old or not, its probably still good information - most of these posts are not only for the OP but for the thousands of people reading the posts with the same questions.
Click to expand...

Yes indeed, it's the beauty of forums, information stays available for a long time. My post was only a kind remark (hence the smiley:)), because the other poster asked for the OP to correct his link, which isn't working anymore.
 
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