Do you ever wander what goes on at some companies.  How do they get things done?  Do they really take care of my order or is my order number just a few more dollar signs that are going through the machine?  Over the next few weeks I am going to show you around the shop here at Canvas Press and show what goes into making these beautiful canvas prints for you.  Hopefully you will see that we really do look at every single image that comes through to make sure that the quality is perfect for the size of the photo canvas you chose.  My other hope is that I can show you how much pride we take in delivering you QUALITY…above all else.  So if you have never ordered from us before or if you are thinking about purchasing a canvas print in the next few weeks I think you will find this interesting.

In this first look at what goes on behind the curtain I want to show you how we get your photo on the canvas.  It’s all about the printers.  We use the top of the line Epson GS6000 printers that print with Epson’s Eco-solvent Inks.  What does that mean?  Let me see if I can make this exciting.  The eco-solvent inks are heated up during the printing process…that and the special coating on our artist canvas (more on that in a sec) allow the inks to absorb into the canvas and bind to the canvas fibers making it super durable, flexible and it protects the inks.  Many of our competitors printers leave the image laying on top of the canvas print which is a perfect recipe for fading and cracking (among other things).  As I was saying about the actual canvas we print on, it is an artist quality canvas that is a gorilla strong 20.1 mils thick.  The canvas comes ready to print directly from the mill with a protective coating that keeps the ink looking vibrant for about a century or so.

You may already know this other little nugget of information about us.  We give each and everyone one of our canvas prints a 100% 30 Day Satisfaction Guarantee and a 100% Lifetime Craftsmanship Guarantee.  That is how much we believe that what you are buying from us is better than anything out there.  Now, to take us out I will show the rockstars (the printers make us call them that…it’s kind of pathetic) doing what they do best.

Have you been looking for a way to bring an Italian theme into your kitchen? What better way to celebrate delicious cooking than a custom wall mural! Custom wallpaper murals are more exclusive than posters, and can be printed with removable adhesive backing that prevents damage to walls and ensures that any artwork you put up can be moved. It isn’t as much of a commitment as painting your walls with a template, and costs much less – without the potential mess of paint.

This view of Tuscany would be an excellent kitchen wallpaper mural. Original photo credit courtesy Vema

Wall murals, which are usually printed on easy-to-clean vinyl or canvas, are now offered by a variety of companies. You can choose from in-stock designs, or have a custom wallpaper mural printed using a photograph or digital file of a painting, as long as the file has a high enough resolution for the size you need. To make it easy, as a custom wallpaper design company, Canvas Press will offer a free file consultation before you get started to make sure your great idea will work!

Since they can be printed in almost any size, from small posters to entire walls, wallpaper murals are just the thing to fill that empty space in your kitchen. Nearly anything you can think of can be printed for your new wall mural. From pictures of wine bottles to seed packets and other kitchen themes, your imagination gives the directions.

Of course, you aren’t just limited to the kitchen. If you’ve been thinking of using wallpaper to make an accent wall in the living room or dining room but were afraid of committing, wallpaper murals are a great substitute. In addition to pictures and photographs, classic or bold and funky patterns can be printed on custom wallpaper. If you redecorate, the wall mural can be removed in a snap and moved to another room or stored away. You can make an even bigger statement with your focal wall by printing graphic art on a mural, like the classic French Boulangerie poster or the work of an artist in the public domain.

This gorgeous graphic art is in the public domain and would make an amazing modern accent wall. Photo credit courtesy Jon Sullivan.

Another great place to consider custom wallpaper is the bedroom. Since the bedroom should be a relaxing space, why not bring in that influence with murals? You don’t have to have a cabin in the woods to enjoy a rustic retreat. Scenic pictures of mountains, lakes, and forests can be printed on custom wallpaper and hung above the bed to remind you of relaxing outdoor spaces. Another way to bring in a calming influence with wallpaper murals is to go with an Asian theme – from simple to complex, there are many designs here to work with that will make your bedroom feel like the perfect place to retreat.

Even if you don’t have a lot of space to work with, you can still use a custom wallpaper mural to decorate and remind you of the things that you love. For instance, putting posters hallways doesn’t always work; they may get bumped off the walls or be too big for the space. But since wallpaper murals lay flat against the wall, they could be the solution for your problem areas. You can even put a simple wall mural in your walk-in closet – wouldn’t this graphic design of Audrey Hepburn be fantastic inspiration?

Image credit courtesy Openclipart.org

No matter which room in your house needs a finishing touch, wallpaper murals are definitely up for consideration. Since they are affordable and removable, they aren’t as big of a commitment as many other design decisions. With higher quality inks and materials than store-bought posters they add class to your decorating style – not to mention, wall murals can be completely customized. If you think that custom wallpaper murals might be the way to go for your next project, you may want to contact Canvas Press for more information!  Canvas Press has an entire library of photography and famous artwork that will fit almost all tastes and desires.  Give us a call to start your next project – 888.784.5553

Photo Credits:

Tuscany scene – photo  courtesy Vema

Flower in bowl – photo  courtesy Jon Sullivan

You don’t often find a President and owner of a company who still likes to get out and keep his hands in the every day tasks of the job.  That is where Doak is different.  You will find him staying up to date and even finding better ways to do things here at Canvas Press by getting in there and actually doing it.  Whether it is printing, stretching canvas or cutting wood you can find Doak out in the warehouse at different times pitching in where it’s needed and making sure it’s done right.  I have only been here since September and I have to say that it is pretty cool to have the owner of the company out in the back sweating away with the rest of the crew making sure everyone get’s their canvas prints on time and done right.  I will complain about the music choice in the warehouse…you see Doak musical tendencies are all over the board and he has an affinity for movie soundtracks.  So we were listening a few different soundtracks…not all that bad, but one can only take the musical stylings of the Harry Potter soundtrack for only so long.  Maybe that’s just me.

I digress.  I just wanted to say thanks to Doak and let all of you know how lucky you are to have someone who passionately stands behind their product.  So much so that they are willing to get in there and do it themselves to make sure it is done right.  Here are some action photos I caught of him in action.

Buying gifts is hard enough…especially for guys.  You put so much thought and effort into thinking of that perfect gift that will just blow your loved one away.  Mother’s Day is no different.  It is so easy to fall into the same old routine and give Mom a bouquet of flowers and a card…and there isn’t anything wrong with that.  Flowers are nice.  But then they die in about a week.  Here is a terrific idea for a well thought out gift that all moms will absolutely love…they may even shed a tear over it.  Beautiful, custom canvas prints from Canvas Press.  Just think about it…what do moms cherish?  Their family and the great memories that are made with them.  Here are a few ideas for some photo canvas prints you can make for your mom.

1. Grab a shot from a recent vacation or Mom’s favorite place on earth and we can print that photo to canvas.
2. What’s Mom into?  Does your mom like to garden or do some painting or even sew?  Think of a way to capture her favorite hobby and print that photo on canvas.  For example, Mom’s treasured flower garden is in full bloom.  Take a close up photo and we will make it a canvas print she will love.
3. Immortalize some of your child’s artwork by scanning it or taking photos of it and printing them as a collage on a canvas.  Give us a call and we can help you with that project.  That way she can see her a some of your child’s artwork on a true artist’s canvas.  This makes a great gift “from the kids” by the way.
4. Inspiring words.  Is there a favorite quote that your mom or wife loves to quote or even lives her life by?  Then sit down at the computer pick a great font and type it out.  If you don’t have any cool fonts don’t worry…I have more than enough to go around.  Just give us a call and I can help you make that quote into a canvas print that will be both inspiring and a piece of art she can enjoy.
5. And of course the best of the best.  Photos of the kids or grandkids.  This is so easy and it can easily elicit those tears that tell you that you just hit it out of the park with this Mother’s Day Gift.  It’s almost like cheating, but a great shot of one of the kids or all of the kids as a photo canvas is possibly the perfect gift for Mom.

Whatever you decide make sure you treat your mom right on Mother’s Day.  We are here to help you in any way we can.  Give us a shout at 888.784.5553 if you need any help at all.  And you can always head over to the Canvas Press website when you are ready to order.

A canvas print from your last beach vacation is sure to wow mom and relax her from time to time.

Mom's love flowers. Give her some in a unique and memorable way.

An inspirational quote on a canvas is a great gift for any time...especially for Mother's Day

Canvas Press announced a new photo contest today on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/canvaspress.  Enter your best nature photo for your chance to win a 16×20 1.5″ photo canvas and 30% off all your orders from Canvas Press for one year.  Here is how to enter your photo in the contest.  Go to our Facebook page and then click on the Photo Contest tab toward the top of their timeline and follow the instructions to enter.  If you aren’t a fan of our page you can like them first then enter your photo.  We will be taking photo entries until April 26th at midnight.  Voting will then begin (also at midnight on the 26th).  Voting ends on May 4th and the winner with the most votes will be announced at 4pm (CST) on May 4th.

So, show us the birds, the bees, the flowers and the trees are all welcome in the photo contest.  That is translated to: Wildlife, Flora, Landscapes, and even Weather photos.  We can’t wait to see what you all enter into the contest.

For businesses looking to maximize their design budget and the interior designers who help them get there, ordering wallpaper murals to display artwork and branding just became a little easier. Many established printing companies are adding wallpaper murals, murals printed on vinyl or canvas with an adhesive backing, to their product lines. Businesses and interior designers can take advantage of this trend to display artwork and marketing messages with a look that’s more upscale than posters and more cost-effective than other traditional promotional display options.

Painted murals have been a tradition in Europe for many years since they are inherently eye-catching and easily incorporated into almost any architectural space, while preserving or integrating potentially historic building designs. Because businesses in the U.S. tend to lease their commercial spaces and because trends in the U.S. evolve more quickly, painted murals have not been as popular here. The growing popularity of wallpaper murals, which present a way for interior designers to capture the classic look of a painted mural without permanent changes to a space, is about to change that for all businesses, from retail stores to offices to hospitals.

Wallpaper murals are almost infinitely customizable. As opposed to painted wall murals where the designs available are limited to a paint color selection and the artist’s capabilities, wallpaper murals use high quality inks that can match any color scheme, and the different materials available can also be incorporated into existing material palettes. Many retail stores are using custom wallpaper to print logos and pop out signs, but wall murals can also be used for pictorial representations that fit with a space’s overall design, from paintings and photographs to abstracts. Because they are removable, many shops are using wall murals rather than permanent wallpaper to display motif prints as focal points or secondary patterns – and they can be placed nearly anywhere.

Motifs can be printed on wallpaper murals for an upscale look without the permanence of traditional wallpaper.

Placement flexibility is another significant benefit of wallpaper murals. Wallpaper murals can be ordered in poster sizes up to commercial wall wraps and every size in between, and can be oriented vertically or horizontally. Like traditional wallpaper, it can be sized to fit walls that are linear or curved and cut around doorways. This is useful in any openly viewed space with door frames present, from dressing rooms to hallways. Custom wallpaper can even be used to wrap columns, an application many designers have used to great effect. Custom wallpaper can also be framed to draw attention to a promotion or to the space where it’s located.

An office conference room is a perfect for a well placed wallpaper mural.

Since most custom wallpaper has removable adhesive backing for re-positioning and removal, custom wall murals can be removed without damage to walls or the mural itself. Commercial spaces that frequently rotate promotional messages can easily move them to other spaces as branding priorities change. For this reason, many retail stores are using wall murals for seasonal and holiday promotions. Once a timed promotion ends, the murals can easily be swapped out and out-of-season messages can be stored.

Hallways in schools and education buildings can inspire students by providing the right message or work or art.

Whether as a permanent design piece or a seasonal promotional message wallpaper murals can create powerful impressions in any commercial space. Wall murals are the rare solution that manages to be customizable, flexible, and reusable while preserving the design budget.

Kids are creative, and if you’ve ever asked your child for input on how they would like their room decorated, you know that their creativity isn’t bound by adults’ ideas on interior decoration! It’s hard enough if they want wild colors that would take days to paint over once they tire of the color scheme, but children usually want familiar characters or themes in their rooms, too. This usually entails either holes in the wall from pictures and posters or mom and dad spending hours painting with templates. Did you know that there’s another option? Removable adhesive wall murals can be printed with kids’ favorite themes, don’t damage the walls, and can be taken down when appropriate. Best of all, they are completely customizable. Aside from some copyright limitations, almost any illustration or photograph can be printed on a wall mural. As Dr. Seuss wrote in Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!, “Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try!”

Your kids will be delighted to personalize their rooms with a wallpaper mural, and even happier to provide ideas. Since murals are removable, there are no concerns over the permanence (and mess) of wild paint colors and the fact that eventually kids will outgrow most themes. Wall murals can even be reused in another child’s room! Removable custom wallpaper is also clean-up friendly; for most smudges, a slightly damp rag will do the trick.

Undersea themes are popular. Busy patterns hide smudges too! Photo credit courtesy NOA

For boys’ rooms, think of age and gender appropriate ideas to share with your child to give him some direction. Popular themes include outer space, like astronauts and planets; sports themes, with goals, hoops, balls, and other equipment; or dinosaurs in a prehistoric jungle. In some cases you can have your child’s favorite image printed if the copyright is expired, or you might find that the custom wallpaper printing company has the perfect image to use.

Space photos are popular for boys, and most pictures from NASA aren’t copyrighted. Photo credit courtesy NASA & The Hubble Heritage Team

For girls’ rooms, princesses, castles, and fairies can come to life with a custom wallpaper mural. Other options to think about are flowers or flower gardens, complete with butterflies. If your little girl is a budding equestrian, you can even order a wall mural of life-sized horses!

All of these can be done very easily by calling the team at Canvas Press to get your project started today.  You can go online to the website to learn more about the wallpaper services at: www.canvaspress.com/wallpaper or you can give us a call anytime toll free at 888.784.5553.

It’s hard to believe that another school year is nearly done.  And with the end of the school year comes the end of a chapter in many kids lives.  Graduation.  They could be graduating from High School or College, either way it is a pretty big deal.  I remember my graduation from High School and all the gifts from well wishers.  If I remember correctly I got about 4 Cross pens, a dozen towels, a hamper, and a dorm fridge.  All very nice gifts and yes, they all came in handy…minus the three extra Cross pens.

Coming in handy is nice…but if you really want to make your graduation gift stand out, then think about giving the graduate or even the graduate’s parents a custom photo canvas.  You may have to do a little due diligence to get a photo to put on the canvas, but who ever said giving a thoughtful gift was easy.  These days you can most likely get a photo emailed to you by the grad’s parents or from the grad themselves.  Then just head on over to canvaspress.com, upload your photo, choose your size and we will take care of the rest for you (you still get to be the hero though).

If it is just too difficult to track down a photo to use don’t worry, gift cards are the next best thing.  Give us a call (888.784.5553) and we will get you hooked up with a gift card your favorite grad or his/her parents.  See, either way, we’ve got you covered.

Here are a few ideas for photos on canvas for the graduates:

1. Walking the stage.
2. Photo of the family (to take with them to college or into their first place after college).
3. Photo of them with their friends.
4. Them with the family pet.
5. Them with their boyfriend or girlfriend (how about a nice 4×6 photo)
6. Photo of their dream car (guys) or inspiring piece of art (girls or guys)

Now here are a few ideas for the canvas print for the parents of the grad:

1. A High School Senior portrait.
2. A College Senior portrait.
3. Walking the stage.
4. Cap and Gown portrait.
5. A collage of photos from 1st grade through 12th.  A family member probably has access to these photos.  You want to see tears in their eyes, this one is guaranteed to do the trick.

You are now armed with several ideas for canvas prints to give to a grad.  We wish you…and all the graduates this school year all the best.

Give one of our gift cards if you don't quite have the perfect photo...yet.

We were thrilled when we got connected with Kristina and Tina over at Mom’s Who Click.  It is a fantastic blog and resource for anyone who digs photography and being inspired by photography.  They recently did a review on one of our canvases and are now hosting a giveaway.  You can enter to win a 16×20 1.5″ canvas print just head over to their blog…I’ll make it easy for you with a link directly to their blog: momswhoclick.com.  Then just follow the directions on how to win.  Oh, and be sure to check out the rest of their fantastic blog.  I have found myself checking it regularly because they have some really cool posts.  Good Luck to you.

By Caroline Cohoon  March 9th, 2012

I recently discovered an app that I am in LOVE with, and the best part is, it’s free! The name is WiFi Photo Transfer, by Voxeloid Kft.

I take tons of photos on my iPhone and they seem to just sit there. I hadn’t found an easy way to get photos from the phone to a computer without syncing up all my photo libraries or jumping through a bunch of hoops, like emailing the images to yourself… ugh, how frustrating! With WiFi photo transfer, you can connect directly to your Apple product (I’ve used this on the iPhone 4s and iPad 2) when you are on the same network, and download batches of your images.

When you pull up the app on your device you’ll see this:

Then type the IP address onto your web browser of your computer, and you’ll see your photo albums. I’ve created multiple albums to better organize my images, it makes it much easier to find things that scrolling through the entire camera roll.

Select the album you want the images from. You can choose to download one at a time, but the benefit of this app is that you can batch up to 100 at a time and download them as a .zip folder. I’m pretty sure there’s a typo on the website, the button is definitely on the RIGHT, not the left… Unless I’m missing something… ?

I take a lot of photos of mine, and my family and friends’ pets… Don’t judge, you know you do too! Yes, that’s my big orange cat inside the laundry hamper… and he’s the one who opened all the cabinets and drawers. Anyway, moving on! After clicking the blue “download in .zip” button I select the images I want, or if you know you want a range of images let it check off all those boxes for you! Remember, you can do up to 100 at a time.

Save the file to your computer then open up the .zip folder to view all your images. They will be in FULL resolution, from my 4s the images are 2448×3264 pixels, and you can make HUGE prints from that! For all you Instagram users, THIS is the way to save those images for printing, NOT off the Instagram website. Trust me.

So, try it out! You’ve got nothing to lose, and a whole bunch of great new photos ready for printing to gain!