There is a lot of mixed information with regards to canvas printing - different sources are giving mixed information on the subject of permanence, usage of OBA's in canvas, usage of canvas varnish, resolution, etc. We have decided not to listen to anyone... and do our own tests. I will keep you posted - We will produce some canvas prints which will show how different options/factors may or may not affect the longevity of your canvases. First subject will be usage of OBA's free v canvas that do contain OBA's. I will also write some more information on what the OBA's are - for now just a quick explanation - these are optical brightening agents that are designed to produce much better contrast & colour - widely used by many manufacturers in their canvas & papers. (including Hahnemuhle, Epson, Breathing Color). We would concentrate on the real life effects - showing photos of the products for your won comparison and judgement.

In the meantime any questions on both subjects are more than welcome. Also if there is anything you'd like us to trial for you - i.e. I had a nice conversation with the client of ours on the image enlargement using Photoshop vs other vendors products we'd be more than happy to do that. And the printed results will be most valuable outcome.

Most images we receive for printing on canvas have .jpg extension. In fact our ordering system will only accept this type of files. There is no size limit set up on our side - it depends a lot on the actual speed of your internet connection. As most people have ADSL broadband connection - the letter 'A' stands for asymmetric as we can download with much greater speeds than upload (actually the difference is about 8 times). We have received files in excess of 40Mb via our website. However if you would like to create canvas prints from larger files or use other files extensions it is also not a problem. For all professional users and also if original image has been created in a different than .jpg format I would suggest not to change it to .jpg. Why? Very simple reason - jpg is actually a lossy compression, even at high/highest quality it still performs compression resulting in some image data being lost irreversibly. So if you take your photos in raw format please do not use jpg extension when saving your files out from Adobe Photoshop. Preferrable option will be either .tiff where either no compression can be chosen or LZW lossless compression or .psd file where again all image data is 100% kept. This is especially important when images are going to be enlarged in order to produce bigger canvas prints. So if you prefer to send us your file in a different than .jpg format I would suggest to create .jpg version and use it in our canvas photo prints ordering system, and once you are happy with the cropping and size just put a comment in the last step saying that you'd like to upload image in a different than .jpg type. We will then provide you with the details how to connnect to our ftp server - this will accept any type and size files. As ever - please don't hesitate to contact us in case of any question.  

With the launch of our new canvas prints ordering system we have also increased our size range. We are now able to produce 'off the shelf' canvases from 6" x 6" - these are just £14 delivered! Our intention was to give full control over the canvas designing process to you. This is why the size of the canvas can be chosen in 2" increment. This way we can always produce the canvas that will suit your photo.  Check out our canvas prints sizes page.

The maximum size of canvas prints that we can produce immediately is now 72" long. The maximum width is 40". Frame is also reinforced by the usage of crossbars. We have recently produced this stunning size canvases and are really pleased with the results. As we print at 1440 dpi it actually takes almost 1.5h to print canvas this size. It is very chalenging to varnish and stretch such a large canvas but that's what we like the most :-).

Please enquire if you need a canvas prints larger than 40"x72".

It is quite amazing to see that many of our competitiors still do not use or even discourage from use special type of varnish to protect your canvas prints. As you can imagine the only reason for that is purely cost and additional time required to apply the varnish. On other hand I would strongly advice not to have a canvas print which has not been varnished.  There is more information on that in many places on our website -  Canvas varnish.  Just to summarize here are main advantages of using canvas varnish:

- it protects againt UV, mould, mechanical damages

- makes canvas print damp proof - they can be easily cleaned with a damp cloth,

- it extends their life and stops colours from fading

- it enhances colours and contrast of you canvas. 

Also to find out all on this subject throughout the website please type 'canvas varnish' on the front page. This will find all entries containing advice on usage of varnish on canvas photo prints.

Please remember that not only we always use varnish on your canvas but also offer 4 different types - Gloss, Matt, Semigloss and Semimatt. In most cases gloss/semigloss finish is a practical option. Matt and semimatt version is often used where canvas is in direct sunlight on any other source on light - using matt varnish will minimize 'glare'. Also matt varnish is often used by professional customers where colour reproduction is absolutely crucial. Please bare in mind that glossy varnish does affect colours although in a positive way - they are becoming more vivid, and dark tones are becoming even darker.

By default we are using semigloss version of the varnish, if you'd like us to use any different please make this note in the comments box when you place your order.

There are many views on what image resolution is actually best for canvas printing. Let's have a closer look at this issue. In general canvas prints are designed to be looked at from quite a distant position. If that is the case we can get away with very low resolution providing the viewing distance is substantial. Most of outdoor advertising is printed from images even as low as 50 dpi - as they are designed to be seen from 10 metres+ away. But when you actually look closer you can see dots making up the image quite clearly. At this stage we need to distinguish between original image resolution and printing resolution as they are two different things. In traditional printing image is always rasterized - it is converted into series of dots with varying size usually in four colours - cyan, magenta, yellow and black. These dots placed close to each other bounce off certain wavelenghts of light creating in this way different colours. The size of the dots is determined by lpi (lines per inch) and is directly responsible for the output resolution.

In canvas printing similar process takes place - printer internally calculates where to place the dot from one of the eight colour heads and the size of it is determined by the output resolution selected by the user. But this still isn't the most important aspect - as we have control over it and can always make sure that it is done right. 

There is one resolution which we as a company printing your photo do not have influence on - it is the resolution at which you send us your photo - which is in most cases same as captured by your digital camera. I have already mentioned that on our blog Taking better photos for canvas prints. It is always most sensible to choose best resolution in your camera as it may be beneficial in the future. Of course better resolution means more space on the memory card but these are really coming down in prices so honestly speaking it shouldn't be an excuse :-).

The hard formula for the canvas printing is to have 100 dots per inch (dpi). So for 12"x16" canvas ideally we should have 1200x1600 pixels image. More on resolution also on our Canvas Resolution Guide page. Your image contains specific amount of pixels which predefines the right size when it comes to printing. It has been a rule of thumb that on average 100 dpi should be optimal value.

In our experience more flexible approach also works. As canvas prints are intended to be viewed at significant difference (not less than 0.5m) even smaller than 100dpi resolution is also fine. It also depends a lot on actual photo contents i.e. if a subject has lots of sharp details then enlarging it will cause loss of quality. Our new canvas prints ordering system is actually calculating effective resolution based on your selected canvas size as well as magnification level. It  helps to assess very quickly what size will be appropriate for your photo. Our staff always checks your particular image even after order have been placed and we will always contact you if we think that selected size may not be appropriate. 

Here is a example of impact on photo quality caused by enlarging the photo above its optimal resolution.