The material used will have a big influence on how your canvas print will look like. Quality canvas prints should be made of polyester/cotton blend canvas to make it water resistant when printed with UV inks. Canvas materials come in different textures, styles, weight and thickness. A suitable canvas material weighs 300gsm and 400 gsm to avoid shrinking or expanding after being stretched on a frame.
In framing, bars with rounded edges are better compared with those with sharp edges. Rounded edges bars can prevent cracking of your canvas. Frames should also be finger jointed for greater structural stability and warp resistance. Companies should also not use large amounts of tannin or tannic acid to avoid damage to archival products.
To ensure that your prints produce brilliant colors and are fade resistant for a century, make sure that your chosen canvas printing company uses high quality ink such as the Epson Ultra-chrome pigment based ink. Canvas prints printed with this ink will surely stand the test of time, provided that proper techniques and equipments are used. Application of protective coating is essential to protect your canvas prints from water, dusts, abrasion, scratches, UV rays, finger prints and other harmful atmospheric elements.
Finishes are available in matte, gloss or satin. Canvas can be coated using aerosol spray, liquid coating (rolling or spraying) or a liquid coating machine. Types of liquid coating include water-based and solvent-based coating. The first option is highly recommended since this type of coating does not emit fumes and is more durable. Solvent-based coatings on the other hand have the tendency to chip, crack or flake over time and during the stretching process.
