DSF

Hi all,
I hope you all had a good Christmas and are looking forward to a prosperous New Year.
Next year I am looking at getting into Canvas Printing.
I get quite a few requests but have very little knowledge.
Searches seem to guide me to people selling Canvas prints rather than tutorials.
Could anyone please point me in the direction of some help regarding the basics and equipment required?
A few things that spring to mind are:
What would be a good starter printer? Would it be best to buy used and progress if we get on?
What size? I read one loses around 4in on the wrap. Also I see plastic banners popping up around here probably 3 feet high by several feet in length with metal eyelets for string stating things like Happy 40th Birthday and advertising such things as driving lessons on people fences and porches. Thinking ahead I would imagine a 48in would be a good place to start. Can anyone point me in the direction of a supplier for such blank banners and would the same printer I want to buy for Canvas do this job?
What is the best kind of ink for canvas printing? Do I have to coat the canvas afterwards or does that depend on the ink used?
What is the best canvas? I have seen rolls that are quite hard and more like a card than paper and others that are soft cloth. I cannot imagine a printer feeding the softer alternative.
What EXACTLY is a stretcher bar? (told you, very little knowledge)Does it actually stretch the canvas?
As I have a Morso guillotine that cuts Picture frames perfectly, would I be able to make my own frames and use the pliers I have seen to stretch the canvas? Or does it have to be a stretcher bar?
What size photograph would I need to blow up to say 20 x 36in? Would say a 1 meg 7 x 5in blow up ok, or would it pixilate? Is the enlargement based on the scanner resolution rather than the actual photograph?
If anyone who is doing Canvas printing at the moment would be good enough to send me their suppliers website I would be very grateful.
If anyone knows of any printers, equipment going at a good price ditto applies.
I have looked on Ebay and seen a few that may be suitable but would welcome people opinions re things such as reliability , heads blocking, cartridge replacement costs etc.
Well that’s about it for now.
As it is my birthday in a few weeks and the kids are asking me what I want I could get my orders in for things like Canvas pliers, a decent stapler and any other bits and bobs. Then it is up to me to bite the bullet get a printer and get practicing.
Thank you for reading my novel and thank you in anticipation for any replies I may get from the great members of this forum.
Looking forward to reading your replies.
Tony M

Tony, There are a few videos on You Tube that might give you some ideas http://www.youtube.com/results?search_q ... 775E1qg3_c

Thank you Ian
I will check those out.
BR
TonyM

Hi TonyM

Wow, there are a lot of questions and I will try to answer a few of them.

In terms of printers, I use a Roland Versacam for my canvas. I think Pisquee uses a wide format Epson which are better in terms of quality but uses different inks which although probably better suited to Canvas, are not as versatile. I use EcoSol Max inks which I do not coat. The ink does not crack on the canvas when stretching over where as some other inks will unless coated (others will be able to advise on this). Also, with the Roland you have a much more versatile machine and things like banners can be printed and have an outdoor life that other inks do not. Basically Eco Inks are as close to being UV without being UV.

One added benefit is that if you purchase a print and cut machine then you have a very versatile machine. The downfall is that a wide format Roland is considerably more expensive than an Epson. I think a Roland 36inch machine starts around the 10k mark. I have the 36 inch version but it is configured to print white and metallic colours and is about 14 grand I think. You can rent direct from Roland at about £350-550 per month with a deposit.

For supplies I tend to use http://www.picturemaster.co.uk/ which was recommended on here. You could make the frames yourself but to be honest when you see the prices that these guys charge for frames you may consider it not worth making yourself.

I never insert stretchers because most digital canvas are not flexible and do not stretch. So the whole stretcher bit is pointless with certain types of digital canvas material. Again, I am not sure if this changes if you coat them.

In terms of material (hard or soft) it all depends on your printer and your personal preference. If the material comes on a roll then it "probably" is a digital material. Once you have the machine you will just need to try them out and see what you like.

For supplies of banner material https://shop.grafityp.co.uk/default.aspx is your best bet and you will need an eye letting tool. Depending on if you want to fold and stitch your banners or if you want to tape them depends on if you will need a welder or a heavy duty sewing machine or just very strong tape. Personally I double side tape my banners. There is one hanging off my local church which as been there over 2 years now and is still in tact.

Lastly, in terms of resolution, this is tricky. It all depends on the picture, the quality of the printer and what you can "get away with". Canvas material is very forgiving but this is only really something you will learn with experience.

Hope that answers a few of your questions.

Wow some heavy costs there. 350 to 550 a month or starting at the 10k mark. GULP!!!!!
I have been looking at printers on e bay 44in at around the £500 mark.
Perhaps i am just kidding myself?
Thanks for the reply anyhow.

Socialgiraffe you pretty much said it all there. I too have a Versacamm using original Roland Eco sol inks which as you say opens up a whole vista of possibilities. They can be had secondhand for around £4-5000 for the basic CMYK models. Regarding stretcher frames....I have used these from the outset for my canvases as it really does allow for making the canvas 'drum' tight and makes sure that in future customers can easily retension the canvas if it slackens due to central heating etc. Using stretcher frames means you really don't need stretcher pliers to begin with as you can do the initial tensioning by hand and then final tension with the frame wedges. I also use Brushmark varnish to finish off the canvses as it offers a degree of protection and IMO looks good with the 'brushmark' effect making it look more like a real art canvas.

Grafityp is the place for canvas although I have just ordered in from ArtBloc to see what theirs is like. Also I use a specific to purpose masking tape to cover the staples on the reverse @ £1.50 a roll. I also make them ready to hang applying sawtooth mounts which cost around £5 for 50. Eyelet machines go for around £80+ for a nice heavy cast iron one that will last. Add to that the cost of eyelets at around £20-£35 for 500 depending on size. Then a heavy duty staple gun at around £20-£25........phew doesn't the cost mount up when you actually look at in in one hit!!

Regarding possible sizes Tony as SG said above it all depends on the pixelcount in width and height. For example I just produced a lovely crisp 16x24 inch canvas from a 5 megapixel jpeg with no loss of quality. These days most photographs with a file size of 5meg will print nicely up to around 24x24 inches. As a guide for good crisp reproduction you can equate 100 pixels to 1 inch.

Should you decide to 'jump in' please feel free to drop me a message here if you have any questions. Good luck.

Hi TonyM

You may not be kidding yourself on the price of a second hand 44inch printer. But you are in the lap of the gods on quality of the printer. If you need a new print head then that could be in excess of £800 on its own.

What do people reckon to something like this?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Make-Your-Own ... 2c6471d43c
It seems to have everything even the training.
I cant see anything about such things as what the makes of the printers are etc.

TonyM;61906 wrote:What do people reckon to something like this?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Make-Your-Own ... 2c6471d43c
It seems to have everything even the training.
I cant see anything about such things as what the makes of the printers are etc.

I never knew they were all of 2 minutes walk away from where I live.

TonyM;61906 wrote:I cant see anything about such things as what the makes of the printers are etc.

The printer is either an Encad or a Chinese copy of an Encad.