Which printers are best for canvas?

[AlmicheV]

Hi all. I am looking into printing on to canvas (true canvas if possible), but few manufacturers appear to test there printers on the material. Has anyone had experience printing onto canvas? I would prefer to use Canon due to cheaper running costs, but having enquired with them they are very non commital.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[Nifty]

For those of us who aren't familiar with canvas, any idea what the thickness is? I know there are manufacturers that make canvas for inkjet printers, but I guess this isn't "true canvas".

 

[Grandad35]

I know someone who runs a photo/print shop and works with a local museum to take photos of the museum's art works (18 MPixel DSLR) and print copies. The museum sells these prints to people who like the art, but can't afford the originals. The higher end prints are almost always printed on "canvas" to get improved archival properties, and the attached link is a typical canvas used for this application. The Entrada 300 (link given below) has a 300 gsm (Grams/Sq Meter) basis weight. If this was paper, 300 gsm would correspond to about 13-14 mils, but because it is a cotton rag paper it has a lower density and is even thicker. This link doesn't give the thickness, but I think that it is around 18 mils (but I could be wrong). You can find lots of similar products by googling for "cotton rag paper" + inkjet.
http://www.moabpaper.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=25

Nifty-Stuff - you are right, this isn't "true canvas". To work with an inkjet printer, the "canvas" must dry very quickly - does regular canvas meet this requirement? What happens when the rough surface of a real canvas is sprayed with ink? Would the image be sharp?

Given what these prints sell for, the canvas isn't a huge component of the cost - if there was something better to print on, I'm sure that they would use it. Just to give you an idea of what they have to go through to be certified to do this type of work - they have a certified technician come in every month to re-profile everything. They only use Epson printers and pigmented ink to get archival properties to match the canvas - just like you would want if you were buying this class of artwork.

Look at the web sites for the canvas suppliers. A lot of them provide ICC profiles for their products, so they have obviously successfully printed them on a number of printers. The printer models that have profiles are obviously commonly used to print these products.
http://www.moabpaper.com/index.asp?PageAction=Custom&ID=8

 

[AlmicheV]

Thanks for the info Grandad35, very useful stuff! It looks like Epson printers are the ones to go with, so I'll be looking for an A3 model that takes roll paper as well.

Thanks again!

 

[Grandad35]

AlmicheV,

I talked to my friend today, and he said that there ARE special "true-canvas" sheets that are specially coated so that they accept inkjet ink. He also said that they normally paint them (literally, using a brush) with a clear lacquer after they are printed to seal the ink.

http://www.shutterbug.net/news/081804legion/
http://www.lyson.com/printguard.html

 

[AlmicheV]

Thanx G35, that was above and beyond.

 

[Nifty]

Yup, grandad has always gone above and beyond helping others and we really appreciate his help and comments! This is exactly the kind of stuff that I was hoping to get out of a printer forum... lots of great people helping each other out... GROUP HUG!