The art and photography world has many longstanding debates. One of those debates is if canvas prints and art prints are tacky. Some argue that canvas is a great way to display beautiful art and photographs, while others argue that the texture of the canvas is not right and makes the art look cheap.
We definitely disagree with this line of thinking, but this debate will likely continue for years to come. We encourage you to study the facts and make your own determination. With years under our belt in the printing business, we can provide you with the unbiased truth about using canvas as a printing medium.
Our Personal Opinion on the Matter
It goes without saying that canvas prints are one of the fastest-rising trends in the home decor world currently. However, with such a quickly rising trend, there are many companies offering tacky and cheap canvas prints.
Unfortunately, that often means that if you do not know what to look for to differentiate between high-quality canvas prints and low-quality prints, then bad actors that continue to pump out low-quality prints continue to operate and will take advantage of well-meaning and well-intentioned customers.
Sadly, another point is that these tacky canvas prints are also often overpriced. While there are some great companies providing high-quality canvas prints, there are just as many providing cheap quality prints.
All this aside, canvas prints in and of themselves are not inherently tacky. They can elevate nearly every room in your home no matter the interior design. Whether you love the rustic farmhouse aesthetic or the clean simple lines with a vibrant splash of deep colors and organic form inherent in minimalism, high-quality canvas prints can operate in nearly any room.
What is tacky, however, is when you order a poor-quality art print from a company simply trying to make a quick buck off of you by using low-grade materials, churning them out as quickly as possible and you are left with an inferior print that is of so low quality that you'd rather hide it somewhere than display it in your living room.
How to Tell if Your Print is High Quality
There are a few key points to look for when determining if a company is using high-quality materials when printing your image. By following the below bullet points, you can easily have some guidelines and a better understanding of what differentiates high-quality prints from poor-quality prints.
Here is what to look out for:
- The quality of the canvas material (blended cotton is much better than a polyester blend)
- The quality of inks being used (like our Epson Ultrachrome GS3 eco-solvent inks)
- The printing process (Advanced, cutting-edge printers like our state-of-the-art Epson S60600L Production Presses)
- The depth of the canvas (.75” or 1.5” canvases are ideal for a gallery-quality canvas print)
- The style of wrapping (this includes blur, mirror, white, black, and gray)
- The construction of the support frame (a handmade frame made with pine board ensures your canvas print won’t start to warp 50 years from now)
We’ve all seen generic, dull, and floppy canvas prints being sold off the shelf at the store. These prints often give a bad first impression of the beauty that is possessed in a real high-quality canvas print. Many times, folks can’t tell the difference between an original work of art, and recreation on canvas due to the state-of-the-art technology that is used in professional canvas printing.
Even working with canvas every day, we still have to stand centimeters away from a canvas print to tell if it is an original decoration piece or a reprint of the piece on canvas. This quality is achievable by using all American-made materials to create our canvas prints.
Canvas prints create a cozy, warm, and welcoming atmosphere in any space, which makes them pair well with many types of home decor, interior design, and furniture. The ability to customize these canvas prints allows you to print anything from your favorite piece of art to family portraits. These gallery-quality canvas prints are the exact opposite of tacky.
How to Tell If Your Print is Cheaply Made
Unfortunately, there are a multitude of companies printing your beautiful and cherished memories onto a cheap canvas with bad inks that fade away in less than a year.
These companies are producing their canvas prints at such a low price that they are able to oversaturate the market with poorly made canvas prints. We advise you that it's always a good idea to compare and contrast multiple companies to see what they offer, both at a price level and at a materials level. Doing this will help you "sus out" which companies take pride in their work and others that are just after a quick buck.
Some key factors to look out for when purchasing a canvas print that indicates the company uses low-quality materials and is simply after money are as follows:
- Compromising on quality by using a cheap polyester blended canvas (cotton blended canvas is leagues ahead)
- The use of Aqueous latex inks (up to 40% off the ink is lost in the drying process when these inks are used)
- Support frames are made out of cheap plywood and other wood that absorbs moisture
- Thin frames that are less than .75” thick
- Companies using standard printers rather than state-of-the-art inkjet printers (detail will lack greatly with a standard printer)
- The coarse canvas that will show an unrefined texture for your final print
If you use a high-quality canvas photo printing company, you do not need to worry about a single point that is mentioned above. Your reaction upon receiving a high-quality canvas print should be pure joy and instant love. In order for your canvas photos to turn out perfectly, turn to a company that cares about you and cherishes these memories forever.
A gallery-quality canvas photo is made with 100% American materials, handmade frames, water-resistant inks, and advanced automated stretching. The best part about using a high-quality company to print your photos to canvas is it is only a couple of dollars more than the poor-quality canvas prints you’ll find elsewhere.
An added benefit is that many high-quality canvas photo providers offer a 100% money-back guarantee. We want you to know that we are not happy until you are happy. Since canvas photos are all about memories, there is a certain level of human care that goes into the process.
What Type Of Photos Make Good Canvas Prints
Our favorite thing about canvas prints is that they can make almost any photo look great. From portraits, art prints, nature scenes, and more, canvas can elevate the quality of most any photograph!
Thanks to our custom cotton blended canvas, we combine the classic subtle texture and feel of a canvas print, along with incredible image quality. Believe it or not, some of the best prints we ship every day are photos that were taken with a smartphone!
How To Hang Canvas Prints
Hanging a canvas print is just as easy as ordering it! When you unbox your new canvas you'll find a sawtooth hanging kit already pre-installed on the frame. (You can also upgrade to our Hanging Kit, which is a premium wire attached to the frame for you).
All you need to do is find your open wall space, screw or hammer in a small screw or nail, and gently hang your canvas on it. And you're done! All that's left to do is admire your canvas print for years to come.
To Conclude
Don’t let any old canvas print that you see at a discount store create your entire opinion of canvas prints, canvas photos, and art printed on canvas. By choosing a company that loves to create gallery-quality canvas prints, you will receive a canvas print that is beyond your expectations.
Canvas prints provide the perfect customizable piece of home decor, office decor, or business decor. They also make for a great gift to your family and friends without breaking the bank. When ordering a canvas print, photo print, or art print, make sure the company has the best intentions in mind of creating a beautiful print just for you. We now offer metal prints and many other photo gift options as well!