What kind of shots you generally select to print on canvas? For example, grand scenics with dramatic light or intimate image with a lot of details or images with muted but subtle color etc?
Also, when you send the image to a lab from printing, is there any special consideration for canvas? For example, do you bump up contrast or saturation just because it will be printed on canvas?
I have never printed on canvas and thinking of giving it a try - so, any comments will be very appreciated. Thanks
Posted by Larry Reitz on August 11, 2010 at 12:29 PM
Arnab,
I do all my own printing on canvas and at least for now that is all I hang under my outdoor art show canopy. If you want to go to http://www.lreitzphoto.com there is a gallery called best sellers. It is incomplete and I desperately need to find time to update the whole site. However it may give you some small hint of the range of light, colors, etc.
What I find more important, at least form my taste, is the type of canvas and the coating. The coating you use has a major influence on the appearance of the final image and you must coat them for protection and a bit of increase in longevity. I use Breathing Color canvas and their gloss varnish (it's water based). Other friends prefer a mat finish and they have a varnish that will give that effect. I have found the Breathing color web site very helpful and when I've had a question they always get back to me. The down side is they only sell direct in the US and are located in California. So, it takes about a week by (cheapest UPS rate) to get the stuff. It's all a mater of personal preference and there are a lot of canvases out there. Epson recommends a spray for their canvas which contains some nasty stuff and definitely has to be applied outdoors.
You will tend to loose some of your blacks and shadows when printing on canvas (compared to a luster paper for example). So if shadow detail is important in your subject you might increase the contrast there.
The usual hardware most labs would use to create custom printer profiles for canvas would not measure blacks well, so you might check to see if they use a SpectraScan table or get their profiles from Chromix, or some company that does.
-Patrick Herold
Tech Support
www.chromix.com
Posted by Bill Chambers on August 11, 2010 at 2:52 PM
I have never printed on canvas so I can't help you there, but I can comment on Patrick Herold (the comment above mine). I bought a custom profile from Patrick (via Chromix) a few years back and he was VERY knowledgable and extremely helpful as well. Definitely a fine person to listen to.
Posted by Kelly Rowe on August 11, 2010 at 3:31 PM
I used to print my own canvas, do my own stretching and gallery wraps. Then I discovered Simply Canvas. Check out simplycanvas.com and save yourself a lot of hassle. The only caveat for them is that they want the images files in 100 dpi. We are a portrait studio, and print soft babies all the way to teens popping with Lucis Pro, all contrast ranges. I haven't really found anything that doesn't look great on canvas. SC does color correction for canvas for free.
Posted by Pam Colander on August 12, 2010 at 10:39 AM
Posted by John Vaughan on August 13, 2010 at 11:28 AM
For the last year all of my exhibition quality printing has been done on canvas wraps at 24"x40". I have even done jpeg's out to this size with a high degree of success. I have printed everything from landscape to abstract with equally good results. My online source is Canvas on Demand. Here is their link if you want to check out their services. www.CanvasOnDemand.com
Discussion
6 repliesAlso, when you send the image to a lab from printing, is there any special consideration for canvas? For example, do you bump up contrast or saturation just because it will be printed on canvas?
I have never printed on canvas and thinking of giving it a try - so, any comments will be very appreciated. Thanks
I do all my own printing on canvas and at least for now that is all I hang under my outdoor art show canopy. If you want to go to http://www.lreitzphoto.com there is a gallery called best sellers. It is incomplete and I desperately need to find time to update the whole site. However it may give you some small hint of the range of light, colors, etc.
What I find more important, at least form my taste, is the type of canvas and the coating. The coating you use has a major influence on the appearance of the final image and you must coat them for protection and a bit of increase in longevity. I use Breathing Color canvas and their gloss varnish (it's water based). Other friends prefer a mat finish and they have a varnish that will give that effect. I have found the Breathing color web site very helpful and when I've had a question they always get back to me. The down side is they only sell direct in the US and are located in California. So, it takes about a week by (cheapest UPS rate) to get the stuff. It's all a mater of personal preference and there are a lot of canvases out there. Epson recommends a spray for their canvas which contains some nasty stuff and definitely has to be applied outdoors.
Hope this helps,>
Larry Reitz
Salem, CT
The usual hardware most labs would use to create custom printer profiles for canvas would not measure blacks well, so you might check to see if they use a SpectraScan table or get their profiles from Chromix, or some company that does.
-Patrick Herold
Tech Support
www.chromix.com
http://community.mpix.com/blogs/mpix/archive/2010/08/09/25-off-gallery-wraps-august-12-18.aspx