As a photographer with years of experience perfecting and promoting my art, in my experience, canvases are much more profitable for my business. So why doesn't everyone join this new trend? In my experience, the reason my many photographers choose not to print on canvas is simply because they don't have the experience to stretch the canvas themselves, and a typical frame shop will charge a hefty fee for this simple service. Along the same lines, it doesn't take a specialized skill to buy a mat, glass and frame kit and produce a finished product in a garage or office. However, I maintain that if a digital artist or photographer only knew how to stretch the canvas, they could produce a beautiful final product for much less cost than a traditionally framed εκτυπωση σε καμβα.
There is another way that a digital artist or photographer can increase their profit margin on the final product with a canvas: if you make a gallery wrap with your canvas, you can hang it on the wall without any additional framing and still consider yourself a finished piece. In essence, you will often be able to sell your canvas print without any expensive frame at a price comparable to that of framed paper print. A gallery that wraps around your canvas basically means that the image on the canvas wraps around the frame, making even the sides part of the image art.
The main considerations when creating fine art canvas prints are the materials you choose to create them. The main components are the canvas itself, the sealer and the stretcher bar. When selecting the canvas to use for printing, you must ensure that its image properties have the highest level of excellence. In my experience, matte canvas is far superior to gloss or semi-gloss. If you are using a matte canvas, you should make sure to also use a matte black ink in your printer. When you stretch the canvas, a high-quality canvas will have no edge cracks.
The sealer you use to preserve and protect the image is just as important as the canvas it is printed on. When the sealant adheres to the printing surface, it makes the canvas more flexible. A high quality canvas associated with an exceptional sealer will ensure there are no cracks. The stretcher bar you use must have a raised lip to avoid any ghost effect (see the contour of the stretcher bar through the image), as well as very resistant.
It may appear that all of this information is fairly comprehensive of the learning curve. The good news, though, is that you don't have to go through the trial and error process just to master the canvas stretch. At ZaZa Gallery you will find a graphic demonstration of the canvas stretching process from start to finish, as well as helpful text instructions. This site provides many resources for someone who wants to get into canvas printing or refine their process. At this point in my photographic career I choose to print exclusively on canvas and I do not regret it. The encouragement I can offer to those considering fine art canvas printing is that the reward far outweighs the investment.
