Prints on stretched canvas
Fat Sam
much the in-thing nowadays.
I checked around for prices, and it seems like I'm looking at about £40 each
for the size I want.
Well, I thought to myself, That's a lot of money which I can't really
justify spending just now.
So this got me to thinking, and I came up with a (not very good) plan.
I went into town to our local ats and crafts shop and bought a couple of
artists canvases. You know the sort, already stretched onto a frame, all
ready for someone to paint on with oils or acrylics. About £2 each, so
nicely cheap and affordable
I also bought some inkjet printer tee-shirt transfer paper.
Are you starting to see my train of thought here?
All sounds perfectly logical and sensible at this stage, right?
So I came home and prepared my first image, flipped it so it was a mirror
image of itself, and printed it out at the highest quality onto the inkjet
paper.
I then left it for 30 mins, as per the instructions to ensure the inks had
set properly.
While it was setting, I started to prepare the canvas.
I ensured it was spotlessly clean, and packed the hollow back part between
the wooden struts with a folded towel to ensure it didn't sag away during
the transfer process.
So, once everything was ready, I placed the transfer paper face down onto
the canvas, and ensured it was aligned correctly, put a thin cloth over it
to prevent scorching, and then spent the next few minutes with a warm iron
pressing the transfer onto the canvas, following the instructions on the
packet exactly to the letter.
Once done, I let it stand to cool, again as per the instructions.
Then came the moment of truth.
It was time to peel off the transfer paper.
I peeled it back, and it came away easily enough, but the scene I saw
underneath can only be described as a complete disaster.
It turns out these transfers work by turning your image into a thin rubber
film which gets transferred onto the fabric.
However, this rubber film doesn't seem to want to stick to primed painting
canvases.
It stuck in some areas and not in others. And as it continued to cool right
down to room temperature, it began to shrink, which caused it to crack and
then great swathes of it started to peel off.
To say I was disappointed is an understatement.
I thought I had figured out a way of getting a £40 stretched canvas print
for about £3. But alas, it wasn't to be.
I've been reading on other techniques that might work however.
You can get water slide decal transfer paper for inkjet printers which will
probably take better on these primed artists canvases.
Of course, it will always look like a transfer on the surface, but from what
I've read onlne, you can fix that quite easily.
You simply paint real turpentine over it and the image melts into the
surface of whatever you applied the transfer to, making it a part of that
surface.
And best of all, it shouldn't cost much more than about £3 - £5 to do.
So I'm gonna give that a go and see what happens. I'll report back here with
my findings.
In the meantime, if anyone knows of any other reliable ways to transfer a
print onto an artists canvas without the £40 cost, I'd be interested to hear
it.
Regards,
Sam.
--
http://www.norfolklupus.co.uk
http://www.flickr.com/photos/40919519@N00/
Fat Sam
> On Fri, 11 May 2007 19:52:34 GMT, "Fat Sam"
> <samandj...@tessco.net> scribbled:
>
>> In the meantime, if anyone knows of any other reliable ways to
>> transfer a print onto an artists canvas without the £40 cost, I'd be
>> interested to hear it.
>
It would seem so, but I'm determined to find an affordable way of doing one
with an inkjet printer, LOL.
I'll probably end up spending more than £40 in the process, but it's no
longer about the money now. There's a principle at stake now, and I won't
sleep at night if I let it drop.
Dave
>I wanted to get a few prints put onto stretched framed canvas, as it's very
>much the in-thing nowadays.
>I checked around for prices, and it seems like I'm looking at about Ł40 each
>for the size I want.
>Well, I thought to myself, That's a lot of money which I can't really
>justify spending just now.
>So this got me to thinking, and I came up with a (not very good) plan.
>
>I went into town to our local ats and crafts shop and bought a couple of
>artists canvases. You know the sort, already stretched onto a frame, all
>ready for someone to paint on with oils or acrylics. About Ł2 each, so
>I thought I had figured out a way of getting a Ł40 stretched canvas print
>for about Ł3. But alas, it wasn't to be.
>
>I've been reading on other techniques that might work however.
>You can get water slide decal transfer paper for inkjet printers which will
>probably take better on these primed artists canvases.
>Of course, it will always look like a transfer on the surface, but from what
>I've read onlne, you can fix that quite easily.
>You simply paint real turpentine over it and the image melts into the
>surface of whatever you applied the transfer to, making it a part of that
>surface.
>And best of all, it shouldn't cost much more than about Ł3 - Ł5 to do.
>
>So I'm gonna give that a go and see what happens. I'll report back here with
>my findings.
>
>In the meantime, if anyone knows of any other reliable ways to transfer a
>print onto an artists canvas without the Ł40 cost, I'd be interested to hear
>it.
>
>Regards,
>Sam.
>> Seems there's a reason they cost so much...
>
>It would seem so, but I'm determined to find an affordable way of doing one
>with an inkjet printer, LOL.
>I'll probably end up spending more than Ł40 in the process, but it's no
>longer about the money now. There's a principle at stake now, and I won't
>sleep at night if I let it drop.
>
Good! I'm subscribing to your posts.
Don't want to miss a single edition.
You should see the queue behind me
You had all of us expecting a perfect outcome
and then...Oh No!
Monthly or Weekly, Sam? :-))))))))
Dave
Roy G
"Fat Sam" <samandj...@tessco.net> wrote in message
news:6Q31i.5281$nN5....@newsfe1-win.ntli.net...
Don't know about your attempts ever working, and I have never actually
priced the Epson Photo Canvas Media, but it might just be a bit easier and
cheaper than doing it the hard way.
Roy G
Mike Russell
>much the in-thing nowadays.
[snip fun experiment]
The temperature and time are critical, as is the contact between the iron
and the transfer. I sounds like your temperature was too low.
Another thought would be to print directly to the canvas and then mount or
re-mount it - use a scrap from your earlier disaster and see if you can run
it through your inkjet. It may take two passes to get the colors saturated
enough.
--
Mike Russell
www.curvemeister.com/forum/
Rob
The Epson the canvas "paper" is about $66US a roll 13" x 20ft and my
guess is its about $6 in ink to print a A3
Total of about $10 for an A3 that's what something 5UK pounds
This does get stretched over a frame.
Fat Sam
I had considered printing direct onto canvas and stretching it myself, but
I'd need to invest in an A3 printer then, as my A4 just isn't big enough for
the job.
Rob
The print shop does have to invest in a printer as well then make a
profit - there not a charity, so the 40 quid is not all that much to
get a print done. On the assumption its an A3 print.
Ok then how much is it going to cost you to produce a print then offer
it for resale?? were not talking about intellectual property.
So
Materials -
paper
inks
Equipment
printer (capital expenditure, depreciation)
computer (capital expenditure, depreciation)
software (capital expenditure, depreciation)
Labor
Shop front
Add all these then add your profit margin then what does that come to??
I will not go any further your 2 quid print is looking good even if its
only A4 size.
Fat Sam
I wasn't doing this to resell and make a profit.
I'm just doing it to see if there's a low-cost way of doing something
similar at home.
So far, there isn't, but I'm enjoying the experimentation process.
No doubt I will end up going to a photo-lab and spending the £40 on a
professionally done print on canvas, but for the time being, it's just a fun
experiment.
Infinitech
> professionally done print on canvas, but for the time being, it's
> just a fun experiment.
Just in addition to what's been said, jast ask yourself a question "How do
old school photographers printed their awesome canvas portrait (you know
ones with the young boy dressed like that
http://favoritechoses.typepad.com/exclusive/images/andrea_et_lucas.jpg
it's the way they make it in France actually)
They used to peel off the paper (real photo paper), glue it on a real
canvas, varnish and so on.. maybe it can be made on inkjet paper, you have
to try...or ask an old photographer around you...
--
Infinitech
Rob
> Rob <me...@mine.com> wrote:
>
> <snip>
>
>>>I had considered printing direct onto canvas and stretching it myself, but
>>>I'd need to invest in an A3 printer then, as my A4 just isn't big enough for
>>>the job.
>>>
>>>
>>
>>The print shop does have to invest in a printer as well then make a
>>profit - there not a charity, so the 40 quid is not all that much to
>>get a print done. On the assumption its an A3 print.
>>
>>Ok then how much is it going to cost you to produce a print then offer
>>it for resale?? were not talking about intellectual property.
>>
>>So
>
>
> canvas texture. The Iron On T-Shirt Transfer Paper
Yes, but he could not justify the cost of getting a print done
commercially, resorting to the iron on transfer method, which I can't
see being successful.
Avery
Stop being so damn sensible!
Rob
> I wanted to get a few prints put onto stretched framed canvas, as it's very
> much the in-thing nowadays.
> Well, I thought to myself, That's a lot of money which I can't really
> justify spending just now.
> So this got me to thinking, and I came up with a (not very good) plan.
>
> I went into town to our local ats and crafts shop and bought a couple of
> artists canvases. You know the sort, already stretched onto a frame, all
> I also bought some inkjet printer tee-shirt transfer paper.
>
>
http://www.canson.fr/Distributeurs/Pro.php?lng=en&IDGamme=4&technique=11
Papers for printers > Textures and leisure > Coated Canvas
they also have t shirt transfers.
You may wish to read the other stuff.
You should be able to locate a source in the UK which does supply this
stuff as its Made in France or duck over for an hour or so and pick some up.
Art
Chinese artist paint it in oil for you.
These guys sent me some polite spam email; I considered having them do a
promotional item for me, so got some estimates. As I recall, prices went
from about twenty bucks for a 5x7 (landscape, quantity 20) to about $200 for
a single 20x30. They won't price til they see exactly what they're
painting.
So I've never used them, but from their web site, it looks like they do
beautiful work.
Email of the guy I talked to (Li) was oilstudio...@163.com
P.S. A quick search shows there's actually a lot of Chinese oil painting
factories out there. Who knew?
Talk about a high-quality print; I think this would be hard to beat.
--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com
Johan W. Elzenga
> If you're looking for serious quality on canvas, here's an idea; have a
> Chinese artist paint it in oil for you.
>
> These guys sent me some polite spam email; I considered having them do a
> promotional item for me, so got some estimates.
So you are one of those morons who keeps spamming worthwhile because you
react to it? Thanks very much...