Standard Canvas Prints vs. Premium Archival Giclee Prints

As you can see from our website , PrintThatImage.com is now offering two different types of canvas printing solutions: Standard Canvas and Premium Archival Canvas

Today I wanted to go over the difference in the two products so that you, as an artist, can decide what works best for your situation.

Let me start out by saying that you can print your artwork on either canvas product and end up with beautiful prints that art show shoppers will love. In fact, prints on each canvas are virtually indistinguishable to look at.

However, here is a list of differences in the canvases that you should be aware of so that you are not misled when purchasing canvas prints or reselling to collectors:

Premium Archival Canvas is CERTIFIED ARCHIVAL, Standard Canvas is not:

What does this mean to you as an artist? Well, prints on standard canvas can not be called "giclees" for this reason. They are printed on the same printers, with the same archival inks, and coated with the same archival coating as our Premium Archival Giclees, but the canvas is not "certified archival" by the Fine Art Trade Guild.

I have spoken with the manufacturers of this canvas (they manufacture both of our canvases actually) and they have assured me that prints on our standard canvas will last at least 30-50 years, and likely longer, without fading or discoloring.

In other words, your art prints will hold up for a long time on either canvas. However, if you're working with a gallery to sell high end giclees, our Premium Archival Canvas is the one to go with. For art fairs, art shows, and lower price points then go with standard canvas. I would also suggest Premium Archival Canvas for embellished giclee prints that you are marketing as limited edition, one of a kind prints.

Premium Archival Canvas giclees are stretched on higher quality stretcher bars:

After asking local artists in Fort Lauderdale and Miami how we could improve our giclee prints, one response that came back consistently was "nicer stretcher bars". So we obliged, and now all of our giclee prints are stretched on 100% douglas fir stretchers. The gallery bars are extra wide at about 3" across (still 1.5" thick standard gallery wrap depth though).

We import our standard canvas stretchers from overseas which means you get the absolute lowest prices, but they are made from a less dense pine. These are lighter weight, and not finished quite as smooth as the higher quality bars. Still, they are perfect for keeping our prices affordable to even the most starving of artists! And of course, you can always upgrade to nicer stretcher bars - just let us know.

Standard Canvas Prints are More Affordable:

Obviously this is an important consideration when you're making a living as an artist. Think of standard canvas prints as your bread and butter product, and use our Premium Archival Giclees for your highest end product offerings. It's important that you can make your work affordable to a variety of buyers, and Standard Canvas will allow you to do so. Building a profitable structure to your print editions will help you to prosper as an artist rather than just "get by."

For more on structuring and pricing your print editions please pick up my free guide on the subject (Sell More Art - An Essential Guide to Pricing Your Fine Art Prints). It's a 4 page article you can read over lunch (it's delivered to your Inbox immediately) to help you make more profit and sell more art at your next show.

I hope this has clarified any confusion on the canvas printing services we offer - our goal is to allow you to print and sell your art, at prices you decide, with plenty of profit in there for you to pay the bills :) Thanks for reading!