A canvas print (sometimes referred to as a giclée print) is an image printed onto 100% cotton canvas material which is then stretched, or ‘gallery wrapped’ around a wooden frame to be hung on a wall as an art piece. Canvas printing intends to reproduce the look of original oil or acrylic paintings on a stretched canvas and they give an impressive effect.
Reproductions of original artworks used to be printed on canvas via a method called ‘offset printing’ using 4 colour plates but since the 1990s, canvas prints have been mainly produced using large format inkjet printers.
These large format printers are capable of printing directly onto the canvas rolls and can measure up to 1.5 metres (59 in.) in width by almost any length. The canvas material used is usually 100% artist cotton canvas and with a good inkjet printer the details of the printed artwork can be extremely clear. The inkjet printers also use up to 9 colours and a UV clear ink finish to protect from sun fade.
Once the image is printed on to the canvas it is allowed a short drying time then the canvas is stretched around a wooden frame (LJA Canvas Art uses European knotless pine stretcher bars) and stapled on the reverse.
This creates a Gallery look to the piece as the image is wrapped around the sides of the frame. The staples are then covered with artist’s backing tape for a nice neat finish.
To make the canvas last even longer each corner has small tensioner bars in each corner of the frame to ensure the canvas does not sag over time.
