Canvas suggestions for newbie?

[PeterAit]

I want to give canvas printing and gallery wrapping a try and would like some suggestions for a canvas to use. I have been digging around the web and was thinking of Epson Exhibition Canvas but am open to other ideas. I prefer minimal canvas texture in the final print and (of course) and bright whites and a good Dmax. Rolls preferred. I am using an EPson 4880.

[Peter Le]

      Breathing Colors Lyve....is the best canvas I have found. Very tight weave...more like a painters linen.....they also have good profiles and customer service. But it is of course just my opinion....Peter

[kdphotography]

Another vote for BC's Lyve Canvas.

And a new printer!  The 4880 is pretty limiting with regard to size.  Canvas gallery wraps make for a great argument for a 9900!

   ken

[langier]

If you really get into canvas wraps, beware the hidden "canvas tax": a larger printer!;-)

I had an Epson 7600 and after the first few canvas prints, realized, I had to bite the bullet and move on up. The Epson 9900 with its rotary cutter is just the ticket for canvas production!

For canvas, I started with the Epson canvas, but it had issues that are now resolved. In the mean time, I tried Breathing Color, but when I enquired with some technical questions regarding technique and process, never heard back. So now I use Fredrix 777 and can't be happier. There's 2-3 other weaves available, but for photos, the 777 works well.

When I inquired about the Fredrix line, the company sent samples and their rep called. The more I talked with him, the more I realized he knew his product and the craft of printing! Besides being a dealer, he does fine-art printing on both paper and canvas. He knew the answers to my questions!

Needless to say, I ended up ordering about 70 rolls of 777, mainly 44 inch, for my printing project and everybody is thrilled with the results! The 9900 made it easy (no hand-cutting each print as it completed).

In any case, one of the keys to getting prints that pop on canvas is first a good profile and then coating the image. Not only does the coating make the print pop and enrich the 3/4 tones and blacks, it adds a scratch-proof protective layer that also allows the canvas to stretch without cracking and other issues. Coating is best with a machine or Ezglide, but can be done with rollers fairly well with practice.

[Don Libby]

Most of our work (95%) is printed on canvas.  We switched over to BC Lyve earlier this year and love it.  Highly recommend the folks at BC for their media as well as profiles and Glamour II.  Very top gun customer service.

While you may certainly print on your current printer you may want to begin to think larger.  I had a 4000 which quickly came too small and moved to a 9800 several years ago and earlier this year upgraded to the 9900.

Listen to us, we'll help you spend your money!


Don

[louoates]

I've been back with Epson for the last 18 months or so after a very bad experience with Lyve. I had purchased 2 44" rolls and 4 24" rolls of Lyve as a test and found many flaws in the 44" rolls causing many ruined large prints. Even small flaws are noticed in blue skies. One flaw in particular was a HOLE nearly 1/8" wide completely through the canvas. I sent BC an email with that image and other flaw images and never heard back from them. I called them a few weeks after that and got no satisfaction. I hope that was an isolated case as I see many satisfied users here. But I'll stick with Epson canvas now because I have never ruined a print due to canvas flaws. For some reason I never had a problem with the smaller rolls of Lyve.

[Peter McLennan]

I had some issues with my first attempts at canvas printing on Lexjet Sunset Deluxe Matte.  I found irregularities in the ink-receptive coating that produced streaks and marks not found in the source images.  Lexjet was very good about the problem, replacing two 44" rolls immediately.

I like this canvas a lot and I continue to use it exclusively.  Great prints, nice texture, durable media and very reasonable pricing compared to others on the market.

As others have said, the hidden tax with canvas printing is size of printer required.  You lose at least two inches on all sides of the image if you go for gallery wrapping.  If you directly mount the canvas on a substrate, of course this doesn't apply.

[explorerhv]

Have tried several out on my canon 8300, will put another plug in for BC Lyve - great tech support for us, we use their gallery wraps too, just finished a nice run of canvas last night on 17, 24, 36, and 44 inch rolls, no issues for us...

[neile]

I too used to use BC Lyve for my canvas printing (which admittedly isn't much), but found it expensive. I switched to Lexjet Sunset Select Canvas Matte and haven't noticed any difference.

Neil

[Inanda Images]

Another vote for Lyve;
I had some QC issues on some rolls which Breathing Color replaced no questions asked shipping replacement rolls to the Yukon. In Canada, once you have figured out the order system for Amplis I have had no issues. BC customer service worked for me and offered solutions and solved what issues I had.

Mark Prins
Inanda Images
Whitehorse YT