Question for you photoGs: Picture on canvas?

[sr20s14zenki]

Just a quick question, i hope im posting in the right place. Are there any places in calgary that will take a photo and put it on canvas? I have all digital copies on memory card and would really like our family photo blown up on canvas.

Thanks guys.

[quazimoto]

There are places such as costco that do an ok finish and other places that can provide you a higher end finish. Costco is basically average in my opinion when it comes to this kind of stuff.

It really depends on the size you want, size of the file you are working with, etc. Canvas is not an easy print job since it will turn already sharp photos soft due to the texture/grain. Costco is where I would tell most average people to go to though

[funkytuqe]

Cosco hey? I'll have to check that out.

Has anyone used these guys? How do their prices compare?

http://www.calgaryoncanvas.com

[Ichigo]

Walmart does it as well, dont know about the quality though.

[mr2mike]

Found another simpler Canadian site for canvas prints

www.posterjack.ca

Haven't used them yet. But their pricing schedule seems simple and competitive. Shipping is $8.50 for every Canadian order and they do the following formats.
JPEG, TIFF, BMP, PNG, etc. We do not accept PDF files due to virus issues. If you would like a PDF file printed, please Contact Us.

You can upload files up to 40 MB in size. Should your images be larger than 40 MB, please contact us for details on how to process this order.

[Go4Long]

that looks like a good site...my prices are pretty similar...

[Mitsu3000gt]

Why is there such a huge price jump between 24X36 and 32X48? Do they need to use a special paper size that is not nearly as cheap or something?

Also how would the printers they have compare to the high end Epson/Canon stuff?

[Go4Long]

the bars do get a whole lot more expensive the larger you go, especially in the style that they're doing there, if you look those aren't your standard 1/2" thick stretcher bars, it's probably a system similar to what I use, comes in 1 1/4" thick and 1 3/4" thick...

canvas size is pretty much a wash really, if anything the wider rolls are marginally cheaper per square foot than the smaller ones, but in a lot of the big stuff you end up with more waste as well unless you're really careful with the sizes you offer.

As for what printer they're using, I browsed through to try to figure out what they're printing on but couldn't find it. They could very well be printing on an 11880 or something similar, which uses all the same stuff as a 9900 in a 60" wide package. I can't comment on the quality of their printer without knowing what it is

[Mitsu3000gt]

I ordered a few test photos just because it's so cheap and they deliver to my door. I'll let you guys know what the quality is like.

[mr2mike]

Awesome. Want to hear what you think.
When you do the review, can you include what type of photo you uploaded? (Size in MB and format)

Thanks

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by mr2mike
Awesome. Want to hear what you think.
When you do the review, can you include what type of photo you uploaded? (Size in MB and format)

Thanks

I just uploaded maximum quality JPEGs, all about 8 to 11 MB each. Each one converted from RAW using Nikon Capture NX 2. Their ranking system listed them all as "Ideal" quality. I've printed the same picture from JPEG and TIF before and I couldn't tell the difference, at least in 12X18. The TIF files were over their maximum and I didn't want to have to mail them anything just to satisfy my curiosity.

I ordered three 8X12 prints, a couple 16X24 prints, a 18X36 double wide, and a "Frameless Mount" in 16X24.

I was going to buy their foam core mounting, but then I looked up how foam core mounting is done and for the $21/print they want to mount it I will try do it myself.

[mr2mike]

Nice.

My gf shoots in RAW format so this will help me if I decide to go with this company.

Thanks

[quazimoto]

Honestly the companies prices are so cheap it begins to make me wonder. Even my wholesale cost is higher. Granted I know the canvas I am getting is higher quality semi gloss with thick stretcher bars that have two interior supports as well as rigid corner supports, proper backing, hanging materials and has a uv protectant on it. It just makes me wonder why in the heck they'd do it for so damn cheap. I mean when you consider all the costs involved and labor to put everything together, it's a big boggling.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by quazimoto
Honestly the companies prices are so cheap it begins to make me wonder. Even my wholesale cost is higher. Granted I know the canvas I am getting is higher quality semi gloss with thick stretcher bars that have two interior supports as well as rigid corner supports, proper backing, hanging materials and has a uv protectant on it. It just makes me wonder why in the heck they'd do it for so damn cheap. I mean when you consider all the costs involved and labor to put everything together, it's a big boggling.

We will see, maybe it's crap, maybe they do enough volume they make good money still at the low prices.

[blitz]

Originally posted by mr2mike
Nice.

My gf shoots in RAW format so this will help me if I decide to go with this company.

Thanks

Can't print RAW files though, you'll either have to convert them to jpeg or Tiff.

I've also never noticed a difference between getting Tiff's or jpegs printed. Even on 24-36 size. I'm sticking with jpegs from now on.

[Thaco]

i did mine at costco, turned out very well for the price IMO.

[Go4Long]

Originally posted by Mitsu3000gt


We will see, maybe it's crap, maybe they do enough volume they make good money still at the low prices.

if you want to do a comparison with the 9900 lemme know...I'm kinda curious too

honestly it would take a WHOLE lot of sales at the prices they're selling their basic prints for in order to be making any money as far as I can see. By the time you calculate ink and paper costs, and depreciation of capital assets(ie the printer), plus your various other overhead, it just doesn't make sense to be selling a 24 x 36 for that cheap even if it is on a garbage paper using cheap inks...

And printing from a good quality jpeg is good, the only time I've noticed a significant difference when going from a jpeg vs going from a tiff is when the original file is smaller.

I've printed a 16 X 20 canvas off of a jpeg that was 400kb though, and the results were actually much better than I thought they would have been, I wouldn't do it unless I had no choice...but sometimes it works out.

[quazimoto]

Yep your right Steve, the cost is VERY puzzling. I get some incredible pricing on higher end canvas gallery wraps that are roughly 20% higher than that.

Steve I don't think you'll notice a huge huge print quality difference until you see companies using a Durst Theta 76 or something similar. Your epson will produce better quality than most photo labs in the city without question.

The cost of gallery wraps is a complicated thing to calculate especially when you figure its the cost of

a) canvas
b) ink
c) stretcher bars, glue, staples, backerboard, hangers.
d) labor

The only way you can pull that kind of a price of with reasonable profit room is to use cheaper canvas, crazy amounts of bulk ink and have workers that think hourly wages in china are aok.

[Go4Long]

their prices on canvas aren't THAT cheap...I was referring to their poster prices. My canvas prices are honestly only a couple bucks more for the smaller stuff...and the 24 X 36 I can do for the same price.

I use hahnemuhle canvas, the hahnemuhle bars, and the real epson inks, plus a spray on sealant.

I don't make much money on em mind you. but it's enough that I feel ok with doing them.

[Go4Long]

On another note, I can't make sense of what they're saying about their printer in the poster section...the say it has 16,896 ink nozzles, which makes it an HP Z6100, but then they say it has 16 print heads, which makes it one of the HP Scitex commercial printers, but they don't have that many nozzles....so I dunno.

I would say it's likely the Z6100 and they're mixing up the print head information.