Guide to Picking the Right Canvas
We print directly on canvas! This is an exciting prospect over the traditional methods of pressing photographic images onto a canvas. We offer two of the best types of canvas available, but there are more options should the need arise. However, we find that these canvas properties work for us quite well.
There are two major points to consider when choosing which canvas best fits your artwork or image needs:
- The Finish, Matte or Semi-Gloss
- The "Tooth" of the Canvas
Canvas Finishes
Matte canvas is a very popular choice for photographers. Oil and acrylic artists generally expect their final paintings to be sprayed with a varnish which results in a glossy or semi-gloss surface.
The result of this is that the industry standard for painted oil or acrylic art is a semi-gloss or glossy finish. However, matte canvas provides a surface that can be sprayed to ANY finish; be it semi-gloss, or glossy. Therefore, if you plan to spray your canvas, the original finish does not really matter.
Matte Canvas:
Semi-Gloss Canvas:
- Epson Fine Art Canvas
- Lexjet Satin Canvas
Canvas Tooth
The term "tooth" is a definition used by the fine art industry to denote how tight the canvas weave is and how rough it may appear.
A strong tooth canvas will have a weave that is less tight, less uniform. Basically, you can see the uneven texture on the surface. This is desirable by any artist who is looking for stronger texture of the canvas weave. This strong tooth will create a greater number of random reflections off the canvas. This in turn gives the image a very painted look and appearance.
A weaker tooth canvas will have a very nice texture to it, but will not have the coarseness of the strong tooth. Some images fair better with a weaker tooth, especially those with very fine detail that could get lost in a stronger tooth canvas. Typically, semi-gloss, luster or glossy canvas will have a weaker tooth versus the matte canvas. To create a strong painted look one can apply a glaze to either of these canvas types. This will provide brush strokes and personality beyond what the giclee printer can do.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How to Decide Which Paper is Best for You
There are four main areas you should consider when choosing a fine art paper:
- Whiteness
- Texture and Surface Stability
- D-max and Color Saturation
- Thickness
Whiteness
Fine art papers come in basically, three flavors of whiteness:
- Bright White
- Natural White
- Warm
Bright White means the paper was processed with brighteners, any one of many chemicals that will bleach the cotton fibers to appear a brighter white. This process is both beneficial and causes some people to worry a bit. The benefit is a more, pure-white appearance. The worry, shared by some in the industry, is that the paper may yellow as the brighteners fade over time. Because the manufacturer relies on brighteners in order to make the paper white, the cotton fibers don't have to be as white to begin with, thus if the brighteners fade, the rag underneath is more yellow than natural white stock.
Natural White has the exact opposite set of problems and benefits that accompany the Bright White papers; namely that it isn't as bright a white, but it won't yellow over time very much. To achieve a natural white the manufacturer relies on the cotton fibers themselves to make the paper white. This is very much an archival option. The choice for some, between Natural White and Bright White can be a difficult one. To make things simple; Natural White has subtly pleasing warmth to it and because it has not been bleached in the manner of the Bright White it is very desirable in many fine art circles.
Warm papers have few if any brighteners and have very few problems with yellowing because they are...yellow! While we stocked warm papers in our dark room in years past, we actually seldom used them as we found the yellow to taint our prints in a fashion, which we personally, did not care for. We currently do not stock any warm papers but they can be special ordered.
Having discussed the fact that many of these papers are bleached to reach a certain level of brightness it should be noted that most papers in the fine-art or giclee’ arena have life expectancies well over 120 years, so any concern over longevity should be minimal. What is most important is choosing a brightness value that most closely resembles the levels on which your artwork originated. If you have questions or concerns please call and we will be happy to discuss the options with you.
Texture of the Surface:
The texture of the surface is important for several reasons. First, the texture will greatly determine the reflectivity of the image. Second, the texture has a role to play in the overall stability of the final print. In other words, how easy does the surface mar or show flaws. Surface stability is subjective, and is best discussed either over the phone or in person due to the complexity of the information. Surface textures are generally separated into three areas:
Smooth fine art paper is not completely smooth. It is smooth relative to other surfaces, but it does have the slightest texture or "calendaring" to it. However, when compared to other papers, the smooth watercolor papers are smooth.
Velvet is so named because it is not completely smooth, but it is not textured very much either. It rests halfway in between the smooth and textured surfaces.
Textured paper has the rough look that is commonly associated with watercolor papers. Many artists prefer this paper texture for reproducing their artwork. This is also an excellent choice for photographs; especially those images that fall into the fine-art category.
D-max and Color Saturation:
D-max is how deep the blacks are on a particular paper stock. Depending on the nature of your artwork, a decision can be made as to what paper will serve the depth of black you require. Papers generally fall into two categories, those with an excellent D-max and those with a good D-max. Color saturation seems to align with the nature of the D-max. You may have prints that require extremely deep color saturation versus prints that are more natural or neutral in the intensity of the color saturation.
Thickness (weight):
You will find on our paper-pricing page the name, weight (gsm) and price of the different paper and canvas stocks. Paper is weighed in grams per square meter (gsm) and this does have a bearing on how thick the paper is. For example, standard copy paper is 80gsm. Most businesses use this for internal file copies. Letterheads usually come in 100gsm, which feels a bit thicker. Business cards are often printed on 350gsm paper stock. Therefore, if you need a certain thickness for your prints then definitely look for the “gsm” number when determining what thickness you want your print to be.
Top of page
