The GetDPI Photography Forum

Great to see you here. Join our insightful photographic forum today and start tapping into a huge wealth of photographic knowledge. Completing our simple registration process will allow you to gain access to exclusive content, add your own topics and posts, share your work and connect with other members through your own private inbox! And don’t forget to say hi!

Canvas Recommendation

tsjanik

Well-known member
I've never done any printing on canvas, but I'd like to try some galley wraps. I have a Canon 24" printer arriving soon and would greatly appreciate any suggestions. My printing has thus far been with Epsons and Baryta/glossy paper and an occasional Epson Hot Press.

Any framing material suggestions also appreciated (I have no woodworking equipment).

Thanks,

Tom
 

Don Libby

Well-known member
Tom, strongly recommend Breathing Color as a source for canvas. I made the switch from Epson to Breathing Color canvas several years ago and continue to be happy with their quality and ease of stretching.

You asked for more info and will share more soon however pressed for time right now. I've been printing on canvas, protecting and stretching for several years and will give you hints on where to get the needed supplies (if Ken Doo doesn't beat me to it)

Don
 

kdphotography

Well-known member
Whoa, Tom! You back from Japan already? How's the new Pentax 645z? That must be the reason for wanting to get into some printing on canvas...:D

The only caveat is that you are somewhat limited with a 24" printer, particularly if you are interested in gallery wraps. That being said, you could also wet mount your canvas on gator board and frame normally.

Like Don, I'm a fan of BC canvas, particularly the Lyve Canvas. I suggest coating either Timeless or Glamour II. There are ample tutorials available, but hvlp spray coating is definitely the easiest and most efficient.

If you aren't stretching canvas in volume, the easiest method of stretching canvas is with BC's ezwrap pro system. It's simple, easy and it works. You can find basically the same exact stretching system elsewhere for less money, such as through itsupplies.com

Let us know how that Pentax 645z is working for you! :D

ken
 

Thomas Fallon

New member
YMMV, but we are dropping Breathing Color. Numerous quality control problems and constant issues with products out of stock. Canson was nice enough to send me sample rolls of a few papers and we were thrilled with the quality. BC customer service seems to be mostly customer lip service. Lots of apologies and promises that problems have been corrected. Things hve gone awry at Breathing Color in my experience.
 

tsjanik

Well-known member
Ken and Don:

I knew I could count on you guys. Don, as you predicted, Ken did beat you. I did do some research before posing the question and have seen some of the BC videos, but I thought I'd ask the experts at Get DPI. I'll try the Lyve; the Crystalline appeals to me since it doesn't require coating, but I saw some reports of curling causing head strikes.

I know you would advise a 44" printer Ken (you are the CEO of Dante's Inferno after all), but we just don't have the room. We may have an addition to our house in the near future and then I will have enough space (a new level of the Inferno, requiring house renovations). I would have purchased Guy's 7900 if he were anywhere near me. Despite the clogging problems, I know Epson and I love the output. I went with a 6400 because the price was too good to pass up.

The trip to Japan was canceled, but White Rabbit Express can get a 645Z for me. I'm not really in a hurry, I doubt the Z files are all that much better at ISO 1-200 than the D 's and that's what I use. Nevertheless, it's inevitable. I'll be sure to let you know Ken when my 645Z arrives.

All the best,

Tom


Thomas, as I was typing this while your reply appeared. I use Canson Baryta and love it and I was intent on trying some of their canvas. Thanks for the comments.

fommerforakil's comments also appeared as I composed this response but I assume something went wrong.

Thanks all

Tom
 
M

mjr

Guest
Hi Tom

I print on Lyve too using a 24" Canon and it's really nice to work with, great quality prints. I don't print a huge amount of canvas, if I did I would definitely find room for a 44" printer as Ken suggests, the 24" is really a minimum for landscapes in my view.

Have you looked at Wunderbars? I use them for mounting and they are extremely easy to use and give an excellent stretch, just fit them together, staple the canvas on and pull the pin in each corner, they tension themselves and as they are spring loaded, they maintain tension in different conditions, I think they are excellent although obviously more expensive.

Wunderbars, Switch and Corner Frames | Fujifilm United Kingdom

Mat
 

Don Libby

Well-known member
Tom, while Ken and I are brothers from different mothers and we have similar equipment and do things similar, we differ in what we do with our canvas prints...

Ken used the newer system of mounting/stretching canvas on the what BC offers (he also stretches paper that way!) I prefer the old fashion method of stretching using pliers wood stretcher bars.

My main supplier for medium duty stretcher bars is Dick Blick (here)

My main supplier for canvas is still BC and I prefer Lyve as I find it the closest to what Epson used to offer and very easy to stretch.

I've used many different pliers to stretch however the absolute best on the market is the StretchRelief found at BC. Go here for more information. The sad thing is these seem to always be on intergalactic back-order. I actually have 2-of these as I used to keep one in Jackson Hole while we had an apartment there. I ended up going here for the spare. They are both very similar and work the same way.

I've been printing/selling canvas for several years (going on 7 I think); I've always used Glamour 2 and have never had a problem. We used to display/sell in a small cafe where the elements weren't always the best (flying food etc) and the canvas always stood the test of time. In the end it's really easy to apply. I remember doing a test on a piece I had screwed up stretching (before the new pliers) and decided to make it a test bed. I placed the stretched image out on out back patio in direct sunlight (remember we live in the southwest) and let it set there for two-weeks. Sun beating down, birds and other animals doing their business and some rain. The print looked just as good at the end as it did in the beginning only the wood began to take a toll. Ken and I actually tested the effectiveness of Glamour 2 on a piece where we had Ken's son surf with it. The video is on BC as well as YouTube.

So, while Ken answered first - I gave you more links! :p

Don
 

tsjanik

Well-known member
Don,

Thanks for the detailed reply and all the links. I'm looking forward to experimenting with canvas. Your restaurant experience and comments are very relevant for my situation. Although I have some prints in galleries, their cut of 50% really hurts compared to my sales out of a local restaurant that takes only 10%. I've been asked to expand to a second restaurant and intend to use only gallery wraps there.

Thanks again,

Tom
 

Don Libby

Well-known member
Tom, good luck with the restaurant sales, the one thing I learned is that whether it's a café or restaurant - their main goal is selling food with everything secondary and they are only as good as the people working there. My experience show me that we had better sales when we participated as the wait staff and to a certain degree the owner wanted to push food.

That said - canvas is the most forgiving when properly protected as with Glamour II.

Best of luck.

don
 

DougDolde

Well-known member
All I can say about a 24" printer is I had an Epson 7900 that crapped out due to clogs too bad to clear, and requiring new printheads. That printer was gleefully tossed in the landfill. I've since acquired an HP Z5200 44" printer that has been just fantastic. I leave it on 24/7 and it wakes up periodically to do print head maintenance. Never had a clog, in fact theres no such thing as a nozzle check at least that I have found. It just doesn't clog.

I've been using BC Lyve quite a bit but found some Hahnemuehle Photo Canvas that was considerably less expensive and frankly I can't see any real difference except the Hahn is thinner.

I dry mount my canvases to Gatorboard using Dry Tac's Lamin-All which is a latex liquid adhesive. I apply it with a foam roller, evenly but amply. When it is totally dry I position my canvas on the board lining it up carefully at the edges. The Lamin-All is acid free and I believe puts an acid free barrier between the board and canvas. In fact I recently used 1/2" MDF from Home Depot because I was out of Gator. I shellacked it first to seal then used the same process as with Gator.

I invested in a Dry Tac vacuum heat press so thats where the dry mount happens as the Lamin-All is heat activated so bonds in the press. Once it's cooled I use a foam roller to apply Breathing Color Matte Timeless varnish. Haven't found a replacement for that yet and probably won't try, it's great stuff.

I am making my own frames out of quarter sawn white oak. Here's a 30x40 I recently framed.

View attachment 115338
 
Top