How cute is this little guy?!

I don’t take to my blog to rant or retaliate, but a recent situation occurred that made me want to address a few points about printing your own canvas prints. Most photographers now release digital images to clients and with this we are now losing control over how our images are printed.  That is why I think it’s really important to write this post in attempts to educate people on what they’re getting from a cheaper lab.   Especially when it comes to canvas prints.

A week after having my baby I received a nasty email from a livingsocial patron complaining to me about a canvas print that she had printed from one of my images by a cheap on-line vendor.  Apparently there was a cropping issue that she blamed me for and wanted retribution.  I explained to her that since I didn’t print the canvas I wasn’t responsible for any problems occurring with the product and that she should contact the printing company directly.  Apparently this wasn’t the answer she wanted because she replied with a scathing email which I received while on maternity leave.  So, in attempts to prevent this type of situation from occurring in the future I wanted to explain the difference between the professionally printed canvases that I sell and the cheaper on-line/local options that are out there.

The first and probably most important difference is that I advise my clients on what size to print their images.  This is not only important in terms of understanding scale and how it will look on your wall, but final print size also affects your aspect ratio.  Meaning, your 4×6 image will look quite different when printed as an 8×10 or 11×14.  There will be a loss of frame due to the size that the image is being printed. There is a terrific explanation of this on a fellow photographer’s blog here: http://www.mcpactions.com/blog/2011/05/02/aspect-ratio-simplified/

I always recommend a size that works for the image that doesn’t result in a loss of content in the frame.

The second difference which also plays into the first is that when printing a gallery wrap canvas part of the image is used to stretch around the frame that the canvas is nailed to.  Meaning in addition to any cropping that occurs often times a second crop results when they use part of the image to wrap around the edges.  When professional photographers have their labs print a canvas print, they correct for this loss of image by adding or stretching the image beforehand so that the image appears centered and correctly in the frame.

The third difference and in my opinion the most noticeable is the difference in image quality.  While these alternative vendors offer great prices you are still getting what you pay for.  I contacted my professional lab and asked them in their own words to describe what sets their products apart from these cheaper vendors and here’s what they had to say:  “The main differences between our lab and other labs is that we have better image quality.  We can achieve this by hitting about double the colors as other labs (better color gamuts mean we don’t have to beef up the saturation to achieve this).  We open every file to ensure what is going to print looks great and we do not have chemicals involved (we have 99% water based inks).  We have a 100% digital printing process and our canvases are estimated to last 80-200 years.  Everything is also sprayed with a UV protective coat that doesn’t change the look of it and the paper and spray is acid free.”

In closing I just want to say I understand that sometimes financially we aren’t able to order canvas prints from our photographer and just want to save a little money, but please take these things into consideration before purchasing from a cheaper vendor.  And please don’t blame your photographer when you get a print back that you don’t like.  They didn’t print the photo.  I think in order to decide what option is best for you just ask yourself how long you’d like to have the canvas on your wall.  If you’re looking for something that you anticipate changing in a couple of years an online vendor might be a great option.  However, if you are investing in a piece of art that you want on your wall for several years.  Opt for quality.

PS – Interested in more information…check out this great post by Paint the Moon Photography on the difference between labs:

http://paintthemoon.net/blog/2011/10/photoshop-actions-why-your-print-lab-is-so-important/