Canvas Prints

kjt · 21-11-2008 5:59pm

dmorris wrote: »

Another canvas printing option for you (Dublin based). I specialise in large canvases typically 24 nch by 36 inch for most modern digital cameras. I use only quality Epson superwhite canvas with hi quality inks and quality framing materials. Black and white or colour sepia and other effects can be applied if required free of charge. This setup is fantastic even for the most highly detailed photos (actually some of my favourites have massive amounts of detail and they have to be seen to be believed. They can be processed as 'print only (rolled for postage) or fully framed and stretched per your choice. I can rework the image for colour balance contrast etc. Remember 1 inch approx will be used for edge wrapping (bleed) Email me the image of your choice. Makes a great christmas present !

What prices are we talking Morris?

dmorris · 21-11-2008 11:06pm

The way it works for web customers

Email me the copy of the image in jpg or gif (2become1@photo.net) along with contact details, outlining preferences for black and white, colour, sepia (artificially aged) etc also any special instructions e.g. blemish removal, face softening , film grain, posterising, colour balance etc.other non major image manipulation (this service is included in the price and incurs no extra charge). Lastly whether framed version or rolled up is required. Ensure postal address is included.

.I will check if the image has enough resolution and the one inch loss for the wraparound of the edges will not cut part of the main subjects in the image and in general produce a high quality canvas art and respond accordingly. If you then email me the go ahead, I will produce the canvas allow 24 hours to dry and if framing was selected gallery wrap the image on quality framing with the curved edges (bevelled) and the standout ridge to give and keep the front image face perfectly flat and fit mounting hooks etc.

Pricing for canvas print works out at €150 total for framed version and €99 for unframed, I don’t deal in small canvases as they lack impact and are better from the mass produced suppliers.

Exact sizing depends on original photo proportions but would with most modern digital cameras 1.6 or 1.5 to one ratio be approx 24 x 36 inch when printed. Then I use 1 inch each side for the wraparound so a typical gallery wrapped canvas from a digital camera would be approx 22 x 34 inches finished size. This makes for a wall centrepiece image with impact and quality.
I notice some previous contributor said that canvases do not lend themselves to photos with a lot of detail, this is outdated. In fact he opposite is the case with my system, the more detail the better, as observers first admire the total image and are then are impressed on a second level upclose inspection of the detail and quality of my canvas prints.

As I am a Dublin based photographer (Raheny), I am sure I can get any Dublin based customer canvases delivered free of charge(at an agreed time with you – no Fedex or DHL), for outside Dublin area standard postal charges will apply.

I have attached two pics below, one colour, one b/w also for size reference in you own mind have included some of a known size (cigarette box). Remember this is a photo of a photo in non-ideal light so quality is lost in translation – the real life quality is much better, but gives you an idea how they look mounted.

Remember satisfaction is guaranteed!

stcstc · 21-11-2008 11:25pm

I believe i was the contributor you mention about canvas and details.

I will have to dis agree with you

ANY textured substrate, ie canvas, some fine art papers etc, WILL mean images loose some detail. ie not all images will sit well on the material, it is a physical thing to do with the texture. just print the same image of a high quality gloss paper and on a canvas and compare.

and by its nature a canvas does not have the same dynamic range as for example a gloss paper, this again means certain images are better being acrylic mounted or block mounted for example.

the canvas you are talking about and I assume epson large format printer is the same technology that has been around for a little while now, and there have been NO changes in resolution in either printer or the canvas you mention.

this is not something new, it is the same as what many people do. the big difference is the type of canvas. I use a HD white canvas which has more dynamic range than most, it costs a little more but really does produce the results.

the other thing that makes the difference is the quality of the stretchers and the person doing the stretching. I see from your example size that they are non standard size stretcher bars, does this mean you are cutting them yourself?, if so do you have a wedge system for tensioning the canvas once it has settled in the environment that it is being hung?

OH and of course if the canvas has had a finish applied to it

dmorris · 22-11-2008 6:23am

What you say is not correct and can confuse users, I do not intend to get into a long series of tooing and froing on a technical issue and bore the bejesus out of the non techies and take away from the main issue of the thread so I will try and answer this in the one act and leave it at that. The reason I go into such detail here is that I don’t want people to get confused (photography and I.T. can be confusing enough already)

Firstly let’s deal with the quicker issues

Yes wedges can be used in this stretcher design for retensioning purposes

Remember what I said in my post that sizing will vary a bit depending on the height to width ratio of the subject image by supplied / required by the customer. The stretchers I use are frequenly standard manufacturer’s size but sometimes their sizes don’t suit the image, in which case I will rework one end of a standard manufacturer’s stretcher similar to the original design.

Yes I use a spray on protective coating U.V. protection etc. as used by most canvas printing agencies (not lamination)

Now to the more substantive issue

1. I never claimed increased detail in images was due to improvements in printer resolution due to technical advances (this is an assumption you made - again incorrectly. There have not been major technical improvements in this area mainly because they were not necessary as image quality never really 'maxed out' the printers resolution on larger size prints. It was the lack of pixels in the source image that was he main problem (hence lack of detail - see item 2). Your post suggests that it is the printer that is the bottleneck to increased image detail (printed resolution) and that this is a given and an immovable block to getting detail in our canvases, when in actual fact it is the camera or image resolution. There is little point worrying about the dynamic range of the canvas when the pixels aren’t there in the first place, this should be a later consideration. This point can be proven by printing a large image from your camera shot in low res., then medium then high res. and see the difference in detail yourself. See also Item 4.

2. Do the math. To print say a 24 x 36 print (equals 864 sq. inches) most of today’s printing equipment can print at 600 or even 1200 dots per inch.
Let’s give you theory the benefit of the doubt and take 600 dots per inch as a typical example. 864 sq. inches multiplied by 600 would result in a 518,400 pixel image to full resolution of printer

Who the hell has a 500 megapixel camera??? Its obvious the developments in recent years Even the high end professional cameras such as the Canon 1D mark 3 or the Nikon D3 are below 30 megapixels .These things can produce good detail to on something that covers the side of the Roche’s Stores building, and give us all these lovely rich large images that we see everyday in Spar, Mace, pharmacies, petrol stations etc. of shining, happy people drinking wine (which is what I should be doing). Its not so long ago the digital pro’s were shooting at 5 Mp and they are not upgrading for no reason, my guess is that we will be 100 megapixels from our auto pose, auto smile, auto background, coffee making ,GPS, satnav mobile phones in a few short years, such is the rate of change in the digital world.

3. Up to recently people were printing from a 2 or 3 mega pixel camera and are now capable producing 10 or 15 megapixel images from their newer models.
This is where the increased resolution and increased detail is coming from. This is what I was saying in my post the increased resolution of the digital image from the camera, otherwise what's the point of people upgrading their cameras

4. People choose a canvas substrate because they like THE WAY IN WHICH THE DETAIL IS PRESENTED to the viewer (which is different from the amount of detail ). The texture of the canvas and perhaps the wraparound edges to give depth is a pleasing part of the canvas aesthetic, a bit like the way a matte, lustre or gloss finish on a photo all present the finished detail differently, each attractive in its' own way in the right circumstances with it’s own characteristics. This is a design choice the customer makes (like black and white versus colour, upright versus horizontal, square versus rectangle, surface type, framing style etc. etc. etc. All of which makes for the ‘perfect image that the customer has in mind – there is no single formula. for the ‘perfect image – it’s subjective. I don’t think he great master painters would agree with you on the aesthetic of canvas and detail. In short what I am saying is that, if people wanted their image detail presented in the same way as a glossy photo, they would print it up as a glossy or acrylic or block mounted photo on a dye-sub and not a canvas. I only deal in canvas for this part of my business (I also do wedding, portrait and event photography) and the thread is about canvas so I thought it was reasonable to assume that people in who populate this thread had already made the design choice to go canvas (was I mistaken in this?). Printed image and detail improve with the increased resolution of the digital image, i.e higher pixel cameras produce better quality large prints. (pixels provide detail, surface presents it)

On a general note I am new to posting on boards and also to this one, which was obvious from my first post (cut an paste from MS WORD carries with it underlying codes – apologies to all – I will get better - would like to say Hi to one and all. Did not expect this level of disagreement this early J

OH and stcstc what is your pricing?

stcstc · 22-11-2008 9:17pm

I think you misunderstood my remarks

Firstly

you said

This setup is fantastic even for the most highly detailed photos (actually some of my favourites have massive amounts of detail and they have to be seen to be believed.

This is what i was suggesting was implying that you had some special printing system that improved resolution.

BUT

more importantly, what i was saying about canvas and any other textured substrate for that matter is that the perceived detail in the print is less than that of a print done using some high gloss high dynamic range print.

This is my reasoning for saying only certain images work on canvas. Also from experience with my clients, including quite a few here & a large number of others, they have decided the same thing, they will choose other materials instead of canvas for image cos they wont work as well. and why i offer quite a few other options.

As far as dynamic range, my reasoning to talk about it is that what happens with lower dynamic range substrates is that when the colour profile kicks in if the range of the paper or canvas is small it crushes or squashes the colours into the colour space and range. this does have an effect of the perceived display of the image

as for pricing

there is a full pricelist on my website as a downloadable PDF document

but in terms of your example size, my full price is actually 140 euros stretched but i also offer a discount to boards members, which a good few have availed of.

hope this helps

Borderfox · 22-11-2008 10:57pm

I guy I work with got some canvas prints and stretched from Stephen and was very happy with the results.

stcstc · 22-11-2008 11:05pm

thanks kieth

the ones i am thinking you are talking about are not even stretched they were laminated onto MDF, this was because the shots didnt quite have enough headroom for stretching. this is just another cool option available to people.

AnCatDubh · 23-11-2008 12:09am

Ok, as this thread has been reactivated and given the time of year that people may be considering getting some done as Christmas presents, i've taken a summary of all the posts thus far to show the options available to people (yes i've reread the entire thread). They are in chronological order as referenced on the thread and a few words tries to encapsulate any general comments which were posted. If i've missed any, please PM me and i'll update the post.

Word of warning ** Ordering for Christmas - Buyer beware :: Be careful of the Delivery Times - Local offerings may be more reliable in terms of having the product in advance of Christmas ** Things get a bit mental with some companies for the Christmas period **

www.canvasrus.co.uk - Hadn't been used before

Reads off Nassau Street, Dublin - good quality / good pricing

Aldi.ie - user with really happy results

http://www.thecanvasworks.ie - recommended but may not be the cheapest.

geometrics in ballsbridge - pleased with results

Photobox - very pricey / quality left lot to be desired

updone.com - cheap, good quality, but service not consistently reliable

Harvey Norman - user pleased with the quality.

boards.ie user stcstc - not the cheapest but testomony from many as to good quality. Has consistently provided useful advice to the forum on related matters.

www.photo-canvas.com - very impressive quality

www.finerworks.com - great shipping (4 days) / people pleased.

AC CREATIVE IMAGES (Alan)

boards.ie user dmorris - new poster to the thread. Welcome! Look forward to hearing more from you.

Final note - boards.ie photography forum doesn't recommend any of the above :eek: and hasn't (at least that i'm aware) any commercial relationship with any provider mentioned in this list. Do your own research and make your own decision.

I personally think canvas is great for something that little bit different / makes a wonderful present for people.

I hope the above is useful to you guys.

bren2002 · 23-11-2008 6:08pm

I've used foto.com and was very happy with the results. They often have offers to.

rameire · 30-07-2009 4:34pm

ok,
was going through updone.
and was waiting about a week after submitting my photos,
heard nothing back, so i emailed them, and i got a reply saying they dont send wood to ireland.
am just wondering have other people had the same problem.
also wondering if people would still recommend the places listed above or do they have any new places they would recommend to get canvas's printed and mounted.

post can be edited if deemed Inappropriate.

Deoir · 07-12-2009 9:40am

rameire wrote: »

ok,
was going through updone.
and was waiting about a week after submitting my photos,
heard nothing back, so i emailed them, and i got a reply saying they dont send wood to ireland.
am just wondering have other people had the same problem.
also wondering if people would still recommend the places listed above or do they have any new places they would recommend to get canvas's printed and mounted.

post can be edited if deemed Inappropriate.

I got the exact same reply, does anyone know of someone in Cork that would be able to frame them if I decide to take just the rolled canvas?

Thanks

stcstc · 07-12-2009 11:46am

talk to a picture framer most of the should be able to stretch it for you, although there is a skill to it and some may make a mess of it

smelltheglove · 07-12-2009 1:35pm

For those looking to stretch themselves Stewarts have great new stretcher bars in stock, more expensive than some I have come across although since what Steve says earlier is correct, if your finger dont hurt its wrong, it actually makes it easier. I am not great at stretching, I get my husband to do it for me most of the time, these new bars stretch the canvas themselves, there is an attachment put in each corner, as soon as you have stapled the canvas in you release a pin which releases the pressure and the image becomes tighter. Hopefully I will be picking up my set today and will let you know how I get on.

As with detail v non -detail, I'm stuck in the middle with these, not getting into canvasses I have done for others I will merely us my own as examples, I have a non detail at my front door, always commented on when I open the door to someone who hasnt seen it before, simple black background with a happy child in a nice pose, the other in my bedroom was shot by dodgykeeper, lost of detail, some editing to make it suit a canvas of its size and again a stopper for anyone who sees it, no I dont have lots of people in my bedroom, we show it to family and friends who come over to stay.

My opinion is, one detailed image might not suit canvas but another does, it depends how sharp this details is and whether it is to be part of the main image or is just background detail.

Here is a picture of my detailed shot, not the best picture but just one to mail to a family member that did not see it, I printed it as a surprise for my husband so stretching which is not the best was done by myself rather than him.

warrenaldo · 15-01-2010 2:38pm

I just ordered my rolled canvas. Can anyone recommend anywhere in Dublin that will stretch it cheaply.

Or, if anyone has any good ideas to frame it, just the way it is?

enda1 · 02-02-2010 11:30am

Hey all!

I may be in the wrong thread but will give it a whirl.
I am looking to get some photos printed onto a vivid metallic medium.

The reason I'm looking for metal is because the pictures are of modern buildings and have some great rich colours which I feel could look great in a super glossy type finish.

So has anyone any experience with online shops who can print onto aluminium/steel or else maybe I'm sniffing in the wrong direction and some other medium would be better?

stcstc · 02-02-2010 11:37am

i can print on aluminum, its quite expensive but possible

i can also laminate stuff to still products like diabond

give me a shout if i can help

smelltheglove · 02-02-2010 12:57pm

I've seen Steves and can vouch fir the quality.

enda1 · 02-02-2010 1:22pm

stcstc wrote: »

i can print on aluminum, its quite expensive but possible

i can also laminate stuff to still products like diabond

give me a shout if i can help

Hi Steve, that sounds interesting.
Have you a link to your work on Flickr or anywhere?

I would be interested in around a 60x40cm print to begin with with the intent of expanding to about 5 prints in total perhaps.

So perhaps you could give me an idea of cost and delivery/collection?

stcstc · 02-02-2010 1:31pm

havbe a look at my website, there are not really images of them, but will give you some ideas best thing is to come have a look at some stuff. as show digital images of prints generally doesnt do them justice

positron · 11-04-2011 2:55pm

Apologies for digging up an old thread, but this seems to be the ultimate canvas printing thread around here...

Looking to do a couple of canvas prints (probably 12x16 or 16x24). I see Aldi has an Easter special offer (codes EASTER10 and EASTER20, and works out €30 and €50 respectively). I don't know but I am assuming that's mounted, not just a print. Steve (stcstc)'s prices are similar too (€62 and €80). Any other options I should consider before I commit to one of the above - don't have much funds really...! (I would be very happy to give stretching a go myself tbh...)

PS: One of the pictures I am hoping to print is this - do you it would work?

Thanks!

stcstc · 11-04-2011 7:44pm

well there are 2 prices on my site, one stretch and one for just the print

smelltheglove · 11-04-2011 8:08pm

Thats a beautiful picture. 2 points, dont give stretching a go yourself if you are on a tight budget, can you afford another print if you mess it up? Its not as easy as it looks, I need my hubbie close to hand to give me a hand most of the time and Ive been doing it at least 2 yrs now!

Another point, are you hoping for the image to wrap around the canvas? If so you may need a wider crop of the shot if you have one, if not you can try it on a thin frame rather than a deep edge.

Id also say go for Steve!

positron · 11-04-2011 10:47pm

Thanks guys!

That's the uncropped version unfortunately - thanks for pointing out the wrap thing - I may need to clone and add some more to the right I think. Thanks again, that's very important. I am used to tight cropping using the zoom to save time cropping in lightroom, but I will keep this in mind taking photos in future.

I always wanted to be able to mount canvases, so I would love give a go at some smaller prints, I will try and get hold of some strecher bars and practice on old kitchen towels or cotton shirts etc.

Thanks again!

PS: stcstc, I might be in touch soon..!

oterra · 12-04-2011 7:16pm

Another option for wrapping the image is to mirror the sides in photoshop. This enables you to utilize more of the image without cropping.
This is very effective in Gallery style frames, especially the chunky ones.
Just a tip I got off a photographer and now use it where appropriate.

stcstc · 12-04-2011 7:40pm

i use mirror wrap all the time,i have an actions to do it

oterra · 12-04-2011 8:24pm

Do you try to avoid using White on the sides or is there a good method for this. Sometimes I find the White creeps to the front if not stretched enough.

smelltheglove · 12-04-2011 8:36pm

Personally I would prefer the wrap arpund, i.e. no white on the sides. I enlarge the picture a couple of inches above the frame size, i.e. today I printed a 20x30 inch canvas but actually printed aroun 22.2x32.2 to give me that little bit extra wrap around.

I usually take my pictures wide enough for canvas, even though I will crop tighter if the client comes back looking for a canvas I will have an original slightly wider to work with. A crop takes less than 20 seconds so I dont mind it at all. From time to time I may not go wide enough so rather than mirror or clone I will just select as much of the image as I can to each side that I can expand without distorting.

oterra · 12-04-2011 9:21pm

smelltheglove wrote: »

Personally I would prefer the wrap arpund, i.e. no white on the sides. I enlarge the picture a couple of inches above the frame size, i.e. today I printed a 20x30 inch canvas but actually printed aroun 22.2x32.2 to give me that little bit extra wrap around.

I usually take my pictures wide enough for canvas, even though I will crop tighter if the client comes back looking for a canvas I will have an original slightly wider to work with. A crop takes less than 20 seconds so I dont mind it at all. From time to time I may not go wide enough so rather than mirror or clone I will just select as much of the image as I can to each side that I can expand without distorting.

Yea I agree it is another option avoiding mirroring or cloning. For me many of the photos are supplied to me at the wrong orientation or ratio so to mirror is sometimes the only way to fit the photo to frame.

Canvas Prints

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