Canvas prints in St. Augustine are faithful reproductions of a painting, photo or other image directly onto a section of stretched canvas. Typically the original image that is used for the reproduction is considerably smaller than the image that is displayed on the canvas. This type of process; taking an image and enlarging it for printing on canvas is known as wide format or large format printing. The finished canvas print can be any size or shape but most often they are square of rectangular and mounted in a frame suitable for hanging in the home, office or elsewhere.
In the past the material that was used for manufacture of canvas was hemp, this is no longer the case, canvas is made from cotton or linen as it is more economical. There are always innovations in the printing industry, a recent introduction is a canvas material which is derived from plastic; it is called Poly Canvas and is becoming common.
The material that is used for producing canvas prints in St. Augustine area is categorized using a numbering system. The system is such that the higher the number, the lighter in weight the canvas is. Intimate knowledge of the system helps those who produce these prints know which is the better choice of weight based on the desired outcome and which is most complimentary to ink that will be transferred during the printing.
The image is transferred onto the canvas using one of two reproduction processes. One is offset printing while the other is ink jet printing. Offset printing has for many years been the choice but it is losing out to ink jet. The offset printing process inks a plate which then transfers the image to a rubber mat, this image is transferred again onto the canvas. This process is still used extensively for the printing of paper products such as magazines and service manuals. Inkjet and sublimation printing are used in tandem with a computer, they are ideal for large format printing as they maintain the finer points found in the original.
Once the transfer of the image has taken place using one of the two printing processes the finished canvas prints in St. Augustine are stretched over a frame made from wood, the print is secured to the frame with staples or tacks. As the staples or tacks are hidden from view the print is ready for framing or hanging directly on the wall.
