Getting the best out of your Canvas prints
Canvas! A dreaded word for some photographers and a wonderful gold-mine for others. We are all aware that the market has been utterly flooded with very cheap canvas wall art options– most of which being poorly printed, poorly stretched, or in a lot of cases, not being actual canvas. This is a shame as a piece of canvas wall art can and SHOULD look amazing!
Preparing your image for print
Like with all large format prints, starting with as high a quality image is critical for getting great results from your canvas print. The waters get a little murky when it comes to knowing what DPI we should be sending images through to be printed BIG. 300 DPI is always a great rule of thumb but it is not necessarily vital. For print we want the best quality file possible OUT OF CAMERA so in settings full size, maximum quality files please – do not resize! Resizing or changing the DPI in something like Photoshop will only create pixels where there are none.
Much better to leave well alone and let the printer do the work. If in doubt – ask your friendly neighbourhood lab (us) and we can check on the quality for you. As for the colour space, like all print orders please make sure that your images are sRGB and not CMYK, Adobe RGB or the dreaded (for printers) ProPhoto.
Pick the right type of canvas for your image
Here at Digitalab we offer two distinct canvas types – Canvas Wraps and Matte Canvas Prints. The Matte Canvas Print is a beautiful traditional canvas finish with a non-reflective matte finish. Like all of our canvas and fine art prints it is printed on a specialist, 12 colour Giclee printer which unlike cheaper options on the market ensures accurate colour reproduction, deep, detailed blacks and light-fast inks that protect your canvas from fading. Due to the matte finish you do need to be more careful when cleaning them – no water or spray cleaners as that will remove ink. A gentle duster works perfectly.
The Canvas Wrap has all of those benefits but is printed on a thicker, heavier cotton canvas which is what we call our ‘Museum Canvas’ due to its archival properties and stunning textured finish. The Canvas Wrap also has a protective laminate added which scratch-proofs and water-proofs the print.
To Frame or not to Frame
The traditional image of a canvas print is a stylish ‘box’ finish, with the image stretching around the sides of your wall art. Due to the increased popularity of this style over the past 10 years however its important to be able to offer your client something a bit different as well. We’ve all had discussions with clients and photographers about the quality difference in a professionally printed canvas compared to a supermarket option but its always a good idea to have an ace up your sleeve.
You need to be able to offer something that they can’t as readily get on the high street which is why we also offer two stunning ‘Tray Framed’ Canvas options; The natural and slimline standard tray frame and the super chunky and high-impact ‘Deep’ Canvas Tray Frame.
Like all of our frames these are lovingly hand-crafted here at the workshop, each one being individually made for that order. These options transform a canvas into a much more desirable and bespoke wall art product and allow you to make a much bigger mark up on the finished piece. If you need help selecting the right frame for your canvas then we are more than happy to provide help and advice.
That’s a wrap?
The last thing to consider for your canvas is the wrap on the sides. Even with the framed options this is super important and can change the whole look of the canvas.
Unless there is a very good reason, stylistically, for a plain coloured edge we would always recommend a full image wrap or, if there is not enough image to go round, a ‘mirror wrap’. A Canvas Wrap will always have more impact with your image stretching around the sides – this is one of the main features that separates them from a standard print – make use of it!
You can even plan ahead during a shoot to help achieve great results. If you sell canvas as a standard product or you know your client specifically wants one then you can allow more space than usual around the subject, giving you the best chance of creating a stunning image wrap.
For more information on Canvas Wall Art or any of our other stunning wall art or framing options then please feel free to contact the lab any time at all.