Stretched photos printed on Canvas which is or gallery-wrapped, onto a frame and displayed is known as a canvas print. Their main purpose is usually for interior design, with stock images, modified with personal photographs and are usually intended to replicate the look of original paintings on a stretched canvas, usually oil or acrylic paintings.

 Printing

Original artwork has been printed on canvas for many decades using offset printing or reproduction.  Dye sublimation or inkjet print processes have been associated with canvas prints since the 1990s. These processes are often referred to as repligraph or giclée respectively. The canvas print fabric is usually made of Cotton or plastic based poly canvas, ordinarily employed in the creation of photographic images.

In Modern times, large format printers have the ability to print pictures onto canvas rolls ranging from 1.5 metres (59 in) or more. An example is the HP Designjet z6100 and the Epson Ultra Chrome 11880 which is capable of printing directly onto canvas. Such Printers allows artists and photographers to print their works at slow print speed settings, directly onto canvas media, to ensure print quality is not diminished.

 Printed wall art canvases usually weigh around 400 gsm and should be 100% pure white cotton, to enable a more exact colour depiction.

Construction methods

After the photos is printed, canvases are trimmed to size and glued, or stapled to traditional stretcher bars, or a wooden panel and exhibited in a frame, or as a gallery wrap, after printing is done. The frames are usually made out of solid pine and underpinned to make it stronger. A full-bleed refers to a print that is designed to continue round the edges of a stretcher frame. In a mounted print, this technique is used to enhance the three-dimensional effect.

As stated earlier, Canvas prints are usually used in home decor, either selected by professional interior designers, or by the homeowner. Home improvement stores such as IKEA are an example of the beneficiaries of mass-produced canvas prints or available through high street retailers or individuals own personalized photographs or drawing, usually uploaded via the Internet, or ordered direct from social media websites, made available on one-off canvas prints.

An inexpensive substitute to framed artwork is the canvas prints as there is no glazing necessary and the pine frame is not mainly visible, hence there is no for glazing or treatment.

An example is Alison's photographs on canvas…

* are mostly printed with archival inks to obtain a long-lasting color effect 

* are UV protected in order to protect the color from fading due to sunlight exposures 

* are easy and ready-to-hang because it doesn't require framing, mats or glass

* It reduces concerns and glare when displayed near windows or lights because of the lack of need to frame the canvas under glass

* offer a clean, modern presentation which equals many adorning styles, getting rid of the need to match matting colors and frame styles to the photograph and décor (which makes giving a photographic gift easier too!)

* are stretched around a 1 3/8” deep wooden support, with a portion of the image mirrored around onto the sides, for a strong and attractive presentation

* have a durable semi-gloss finish that is splash resistant and can be dusted with a soft cloth

* are available with your choice of hundreds of Alison’s images!  

A Canvas is made out of extremely durable plain-woven fabric usually employed in the making of sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, and other items which require sturdiness is required. It is used prevalently by artists as a painting surface, usually stretched across a wooden frame.

Stretched Canvas. 

Acrylic painting is usually stretched over a wooden frame known as stretcher bars, a gesso primer is used to create a surface receptive to the paint. Unlike oils, acrylics are most likely to adhere to an unprimed canvas, unlike oils, and are likely to produce dull colors and prominent canvas texture will be produced.

An artist who loves working with acrylics would have of surfaces like brickwork, paper, degreased leather, wood, or anything which is neither greasy nor too glossy to select from. Acrylic painters are fond of using technique favour canvas, with the paper being used by the artist who works with or employs the watercolour style.

Understanding the difference between cotton and linen canvas

Canvases are likely to have different meanings or interpretation to different people depending on how they view it. In the context of painting, the word ‘canvas' depicts a fabric used as a painting surface. The lack of correlation here is that sometimes the canvases are made from cotton fibres or from linen fibres, with each material having an impression on the details of the artwork.

Cotton

Cotton is a soft, fluffy fibre that grows in a boll or shielding capsule around the seeds of cotton plants. The plant is commonly found in the Americas, Africa, and India. Cotton is usually spun into yarn or thread in other to create a textile which is soft and breathable - the chances are you are wearing some cotton right now.

A major merit for artist who use cotton canvas is that it is affordable and it stretches very easily. When cotton is properly prepared, the canvas has a higher probability of lasting Afro a very long time and is popular amongst artists, especially students who use oil and acrylic painting surfaces, although when it comes to very large paintings, it is considered too flexible. Weight and surface texture are usually how cotton canvases are classified.

In terms of tightness, cotton comes out on top because there is a higher probability of stretching cotton tighter than linen without straining the wooden support around the canvas. With heavy-grade cotton, the lack of strength often found here is rectified.

Linen

Linen is popular for being strong and durable, and although it's known to be very expensive, it remains the preferred surface for many artists. Its elements comprise fibres of the flax plant. High-quality flax is found mainly in Western Europe. If one desired their painting to last, then a linen canvas is the best choice. The warp and weft threads are known to make up the linen threads. These threads usually weigh the same, which makes them less probable to expansion or contraction due to moisture. 

Linen is popular for its retention of natural oils, which aids to preserve the fibre’s flexibility and stops the canvas from going brittle. It is also regarded as having a more ‘natural’ weaved finish than Cotton – a variety of textures and weights are available in both rough and smooth finishes.

Priming & Sizing

A canvas can be Primed by applying a layer or two of gesso to the surface, be it cotton or linen which goes a long way of helping the painting in a number of ways. One of the most popular primers is the white layer gesso -which is beneath the visible surface of a painting. This primer has the ability to make all the colors in the painting a much brighter. A canvas which is not primed has the propensity to soak up all the paint, leading to some of it disappearing into the canvas or clot up on the surface of it. 

When using a cotton canvas, it is necessary to prime with either an oil or acrylic colour then an acrylic gesso primer is generally used.

Much difficulty is faced when using a linen canvas to prime and stretch properly, but once this technique is mastered, it offers the smoothest and stiffest painting surface.