Oversize Prints - Paper vs Canvas?

[fairfaxian]

Looking to get a rough cost comparison for oversize prints between Archival Paper & Canvas prints.

My Canon Pro 1000 makes beautiful prints up to 17" wide, on archival paper. I typically mat & frame my prints, as they look best that way. (pre-cut 8ply mats, basic ready made black frames). This is an affordable process for 17x22' prints.

I would like to offer larger prints, which I would have to order from online (or local) vendors. Framing (paper prints) is very expensive, and larger than 17x22 is beyond my capability. I could sell prints with backing board & mat only, but that would require protective sleeves for display -more time & cost.

It seems like stretched canvas prints are more affordable, and don't require framing. (this also gives the purchaser their personal choice in frames) I'm assuming that canvas prints need to get a protective coating in addition to being mounted on stretcher bars (wood frame?)

There are MANY online vendors, and I am concerned that the prints might vary widely from the results I get on my Canon Printer (very accurate).

Thanks!

 

[dccberry]

There are probably good sources for canvas printing and stretching. We do it in-house up to 44" wide and offer the stretching as well for clients. A properly stretched print is less expensive than full framing, but it is not inexpensive- pretty labor intensive. We do coat all canvas prints with a clear matte acrylic, and I would not let one go out the door uncoated, as they are pretty fragile otherwise.

I use CPQ imaging for anything I outsource, and they do offer gallery wrapped canvas prints. They are reliable and professional. cpq.com

 

[nickbatz]

Looking to get a rough cost comparison for oversize prints between Archival Paper & Canvas prints.

While I now have a 44" printer and make my own floater frames, I start by having my pictures dry-mounted on acid-free backing board at a framing shop, and it costs about $100 for the large ones (44"x60").

And I personally wouldn't touch boards with adhesive already on them ever again, even though it could be less expensive. I had a bad experience with that one time, and that was the only time. Adhesive board has its application (namely temporary display, I guess), but I wouldn't sell anything done cheaply - although I'm sure you'll get different opinions here.

Point being, it's not a cheap solution if you do it properly.

My other opinion is that what to print on is an artistic choice, and if the difference in price is a significant factor then you're not charging enough for your prints!

In Los Angeles there's at least one very good print shop (Art Printer in Marina Del Rey), and I learned the hard way that it's worth driving half an hour to a place that knows what they're doing. It's no coincidence that the lesson about running away from a shop that wants to use pre-adhesive board was at the same time.

I now have my own printer and don't use them anymore, but I do drive to an excellent framing shop for dry mounting (Sherman Gallery, also in Marina Del Rey).

 

[Schleiermacher]

I have only ever done one very large canvas for a buyer who wanted the best and was willing to pay for it. I used Bay Photo in California, and they did a beautiful job on a 48"x48" canvas. Client wanted it unframed, but they offer framing. Shipping was in a custom built crate, and it arrived without damage. Client loves it. You can specify things you want, so, for example, I asked for removal of any color cast from the b&w image.

I did order a small 8x8" proof before committing to order the big one since it was my first time with Bay Photo. Very happy and would use them again.





--
Schleiermacher
www.mmathews.zenfolio.com
----------------------------------------------
'At our best and most fortunate we make pictures because of what stands in front of the camera, to honor what is greater and more interesting than we are. We never accomplish this perfectly, though in return we are given something perfect -- a sense of inclusion. Our subject thus redefines us, and is part of the biography by which we want to be known.' --Robert Adams, Why People Photograph

 

[bmw44]

I've used Crescent boards with adhesive on them many times. I have never had any problems. The trick is to leave the print and board under a weight for at least 12 hours to set the adhesive. If this is not done, you will run into problems.

 

[fairfaxian]

Thank you. Beautiful print! Yes, I have used Bay Photo. Before Covid, they had a local drop-off location in SF. Now, everything oversize requires crating & shipping - $$$

I have only ever done one very large canvas for a buyer who wanted the best and was willing to pay for it. I used Bay Photo in California, and they did a beautiful job on a 48"x48" canvas. Client wanted it unframed, but they offer framing. Shipping was in a custom built crate, and it arrived without damage. Client loves it. You can specify things you want, so, for example, I asked for removal of any color cast from the b&w image.

I did order a small 8x8" proof before committing to order the big one since it was my first time with Bay Photo. Very happy and would use them again.

 

[nickbatz]

I've used Crescent boards with adhesive on them many times. I have never had any problems. The trick is to leave the print and board under a weight for at least 12 hours to set the adhesive. If this is not done, you will run into problems.

You'll also run into problems if you use a place that has no idea what they're doing!

My guess is that your prints aren't up to 44x60, that the Crescent boards aren't pH neutral with adhesive blessed by rabbis, and that you don't want them cut flush with a reverse bevel so the foam doesn't show when you glue them to the floater fames I make.

Also, dry mounting the way Sherman Gallery does it is ready to go right away - no leaving it twelve hours under weight.

 

[bmw44]

I've used Crescent boards with adhesive on them many times. I have never had any problems. The trick is to leave the print and board under a weight for at least 12 hours to set the adhesive. If this is not done, you will run into problems.

You'll also run into problems if you use a place that has no idea what they're doing!

My guess is that your prints aren't up to 44x60, that the Crescent boards aren't pH neutral with adhesive blessed by rabbis, and that you don't want them cut flush with a reverse bevel so the foam doesn't show when you glue them to the floater fames I make.

Also, dry mounting the way Sherman Gallery does it is ready to go right away - no leaving it twelve hours under weight.

I have no problem with dry mounting. We used to do that all of the time many years ago when my brother and I owned a photo lab. Though the largest prints we made back then were 30 X 40.

Do you know how your lab does dry mounting? Do the use a heat press or do that using laminating rollers with an adhesive film? By the way, I do not use foam core but instead crescent mat boards, which I believe are acid free. And you are correct that I have not mounted anything using the crescent boards larger than 17 X 25.