Anyone else doing canvas prints? Need ideas for alternate frame

LiveAwake

I've been printing on canvas for a while now, and I really like the look it gives my work. However, I don't like how delicate the product is - you have to be pretty careful not to put any pressure on the front when transporting or hanging it, or the canvas can get stretched out and go limp or have dimples in it.

So, I'm looking to redesign and use some kind of supported surface behind the canvas. It would be pretty easy to attach some balsawood to four pieces of wood and do it that way, but I'm curious if anyone else has already pioneered a solution, or even if there is something out there that exists already for this.

A few requirements/preferences: Shouldn't be too heavy (so, I'm not just going to mount it to a piece of plywood).
Must have some empty space in the back to allow for mounting hardware without pushing the print away from the wall.
My current stretcher bars are 1.25" thick, and I like that thickness pretty well.
I also really like the beveled back side on my stretcher bars, as it gives a little room for hardware to be installed without protruding beyond flush in the back, so something similar would be great.

Thanks for ideas!

deb22

Hi Peter I love your gallery,The water fountain is FANTASTIC!!! I don't know if you are printing yourself or getting it done elsewhere. A bunch of us do our own printing on canvas and with the variety out there now I have not seen an issue with dimples as the canvas is very strong.If you are printing the size of a wall maybe but some of the people I know print VERY LARGE for commercial clients and have not encountered this problem. Canves done outside your home has not come down in price and they don't want you to know how affordable it is nowadays, Maybe someone here has more or better info for you I hope.

LiveAwake

deb22 wrote:

Hi Peter I love your gallery,The water fountain is FANTASTIC!!! I don't know if you are printing yourself or getting it done elsewhere. A bunch of us do our own printing on canvas and with the variety out there now I have not seen an issue with dimples as the canvas is very strong.If you are printing the size of a wall maybe but some of the people I know print VERY LARGE for commercial clients and have not encountered this problem. Canves done outside your home has not come down in price and they don't want you to know how affordable it is nowadays, Maybe someone here has more or better info for you I hope.

Thanks Deb - the fountain is one of the Benson Bubblers here in Portland, Oregon and it's many people's favorite as it is a very iconic "Portland" image.

I get my canvases printed from a guy who has a home-based business in Lake Oswego (near Portland). It's not exactly cheap, but I tried an online source first and the difference in quality is like night and day. I don't have the space (or the money) for a really nice wide-format printer, so I can't do the sizes I want to do myself.

The canvas is sturdy enough for most purposes, but since I move my canvases often, I need to be extra careful to avoid any stretching or dimpling from accidentally putting pressure on them when I move them. I think just a thin bit of balsawood behind the canvas would do, but there's no good way to add a balsawood front to the stretcher bars that I currently use, so I would have to redesign the whole thing if I go that route. I was just hoping there was already a solution out there that I could tap into rather than reinventing the wheel.