Name: Josh

Job: Framer/Shipping

Experience: Trusses (the foundation for the roof of a house) and demolition. While working in demolition, I stepped on 3 nails. That hurt.

Favorite Canvas Press Order: Family pic where the father looks extremely awkward

Funniest on-the-job Story: The day I ordered FedEx Express and 5 minutes later the dude was there.

Favorite Color: Green

Dream Vacation: Camping in Yellowstone with nothing but a hatchet, knife, rope, tent & a cooking pot

Pets: Belltor (Australian Sheppard) and Bluntly (Blue Healer)

Music: Melvins, Blue Scholars

Reads: The Teachings of Don Juan: Yoqui Way of Knowledge, Tao of Physics, Be Here Now

Last Movie You Watched: RocknRolla

Guilty Pleasure: Nicotine

On a Saturday, I can be found: Working at Hayashi Sushi and Grill, in bed, or at the park

2009 Resolution: I don’t make any promises.

Canvas Press recently completed a 53 piece order for The McCombs School of Business MBA Program Office at The University of Texas at Austin. The prints ranged in size from 16″x12″ to 63″x48″ and revolved around 6 themes.

• On-Campus Architecture  Austin-based photographer Blake Justice chose Gallery Wrapped – Colored Border canvases to display his staircase, door and hardware images. He achieved a matted look for his prints by leaving extra white space on the front of the prints. The black border on the canvas sides complemented the thin black outline framing each of his photos.

• Iconic Austin Landmarks  6^th Street, Austin City Limits, the downtown skyline, the Katz’s Deli Cadillac, the Lone Star bus at the Broken Spoke, and Fran of Fran’s Hamburgers are a few subjects displayed in this series. It seems there is never a shortage of quirky subjects on the streets of this capital city.
  

  

• Prominent Alumni  Cheetos Brand Manager Marisa Jarrat and Whole Foods National Marketing Director Heather Kennedy are two alumni whose name, position, company and graduation date are featured on the alumni wall in the main reception area.
• Faculty   “CEOs don’t make, sell, or service anything. Their primary job is to create a culture in which all of those things are done well.”     – Management professor James W. Fredrickson
  

  

• Texas Wildlife  Landscapes across Texas and, yes, lots of cacti. Ouch!
• Students’ School-related International Travel  Students travel to the Great Wall, Chile, Delhi, the Kremlin and Athens through McCombs School classes.

A local courier delivered this large order to the home of the longhorns and installation was done with the aid of a professional framer. Security hangers were used for several of these prints. These hangers are useful for heavily trafficked spaces such as schools and hotels. Security hangers are available upon request.

While I personally bleed burnt orange, as a company we do not discriminate amongst institutions of higher learning and would love to help your school fill its empty walls.

Name: Caroline

Job: Operations – I handle the day-to-day business, customer service, image formatting & printing, sometimes even a little shipping.        

Experience: I have a degree in photography from St. Edwards University. I’ve worked as an assistant for several wedding & portrait photographers in Austin. Now I own my own photography business.

Favorite Canvas Press Order: There is a woman who travels the world with her husband. They always take a cute photo together in front of something iconic where they are. She then has them printed in black and white with red text saying the place and year. She’s ordered at least 10 canvases so far in varying sizes. I can only imagine how neat they all look together and I can’t wait for the next order to see where they have been!

Funniest on-the-job Story: I was the last one out and closing the shop by myself. I went to shut the loading dock door which is suspended about 20 feed in the air. I reached for the rope but it was not there. I looked up and it was neatly wrappe din a loop on the latch – also 20 feet in the air. I’m 5’3″….. looking at even our tallest ladder makes me uneasy. After moments of wondering what on earth I was going to do I called Renee – to chastise her for her superwoman strength – she had flung the door and rope so high. After a good laugh she told me to use one of the long stretcher bars to knock the rope down. Fortunately it worked!!!

Favorite Color: Green

Dream Vacation: Around the world trip/cruise – I’d like to see every continent, of course photographing it all.

Pets: An orange tabby cat, Rudy

Music: I am a huge Bon Jovi fan. I almost died when we got an order for 55 canvases of the band.

Reads: Why couldn’t I answer this a few months ago when I was reading something intellectual like Garcia-Marquez? Now I’m into James Patterson, one of the Women’s Murder Club books.

Last Movie You Watched: W. I finally got around to seeing it and really enjoyed it. Not too negative, not too positive – pretty good job Olive Stone.

Guilty Pleasure: Crime dramas – I could spend a whole day watching Law & Order, NCIS, Bones, etc.

On a Saturday, I can be found: vegging out

2009 Resolution: The clichés – lose weight, get in shape, get organized

Name: Travis

Job: Stretcher Extraordinaire

Experience: Commissioned portraitist and muralist, freelance artist

Favorite Canvas Press Order: Any personal shot, landscapes from around the world, not the stock images of sunsets or what-have-you

Funniest on-the-job Story: We were busy, maybe with the 50 piece Bon Jovi order when the most obtrusive and deafening alarm went off. It sounded like a giant cricket had found a megaphone and was standing right next to my ear. When we made sure we weren’t in any danger, we continued on Bon Jovi for about an hour all the while being berated by the vicious cricket.

Favorite Color: Ultramarine blue

Dream Vacation: I want to become nomadic and explore the entire globe.

Pets: The most adorable Bichon named Finley.

Music: My Morning Jacket & Modest Mouse

Reads: Just finished a Hyruki Morakami novel and started The Gift by Lewis Hyde.

Last Movie You Watched: Religulous

Guilty Pleasure: Mocha, hot or cold, double, single, day or night

On a Saturday, I can be found: In my makeshift studio also known as my bedroom.

2009 Resolution: Go with the flow and if it’s not flowing the way I want it to, changing the flow.

Framing stretched canvas is quite different from framing a traditional photograph. Stretched canvas does not require a mat or glass and it fits into an open back frame. You can take your Standard Stretch canvases to a professional frame shop or use these instructions to do it yourself and save money.

With a Canvas Press Standard Stretch canvas, the image is on the front while the sides are white. The wood frame the canvas is stretched around is ¾” thick and we staple the canvas on the back. You may see a small amount of white when looking at the canvas straight on because of the canvas folds; however this will be hidden by the decorative frame.

Go to your local frame shop or craft store with a selection of ready made, open-back frames. The standard sizes are usually 8×10, 11×14, 16×20, 18×24, 20×24, 24×30, and 30×40, some stores will have other sizes like 10×20. You may want to see what is available in your area before placing the order for your canvas.

If you require a custom size cut and assembled by framing professionals you can still save money by finishing it off yourself. The frame will have a lip that the canvas rests on, depending on the frame it may cover ¼” to ½” of the canvas. Keep this in mind when cropping your image and make sure there is room for this overlap.

You will also need clips to secure the canvas to the frame. These are usually found on the same aisle as stretcher bars. They should come in a pack of four, the exact amount for one frame.

Once you have gathered these supplies you are ready to finish assembling the framed canvas. Set the canvas inside the frame so it is resting on the lip. Every frame will be slightly different, some fit tightly while others are loose. Just be careful not to scratch the ink on the canvas when placing it in the frame.

Now you can apply the clips to secure the canvas. Slide the pointed end down along the edge and against the frame like shown in the pictures below. Pull the remaining clip over the stretcher bar and press firmly in place.

The frame is complete. There are many different ways to hang the finished piece. You can hammer a sawtooth hanger onto the part that sticks out the furthest, be it frame or stretcher bar. Another option is to attach a wire across the back. Many frame shops will clean up the look of the back by taping or stapling a solid sheet of black butcher paper. You can also set your framed canvas on an easel for display.

One of you recently posted a comment on our blog asking,

Is there any way I can save pictures taken out of focus on my d60 Nikon?

Those nifty crime shows have led us to believe any blurry image can be made sharp with the right computer software. While this is not true, you can use Adobe Photoshop to add a small amount of sharpening.

Filter< Sharpen< Unsharpen Mask

Sharpening more than 150% at a radius of 1 will cause your images to look grainy and computer generated.

Tips for Preventing Blurry Snapshots

1. The lens on Single Lens Reflex (SLR) cameras should be set to auto instead of manual focus.
2. Take multiple shots. 9 times out of 10 you will have one print that is not blurry in the bunch.
3. Find a source of stabilization such as a tripod or fence.
4. Take a step back. It is hard for your camera to focus if you are extremely close to the subject.
5. Point-and-shoot cameras usually have face detection software therefore you do not need to adjust your camera settings.
6. When using an SLR try manually selecting your focal point.  This allows you to control your focus.

Canvas Press CEOs Doak and Jenny Walker are proud to announce the birth of their daughter Autumn Lael Walker. Autumn arrived after much anticipation at 2:01pm on March 3, 2009 weighing 8lbs. 7ozs. She already has her dad singing The Temptations 1965 hit “My Girl”. We wonder how long it will take her to learn to stretch a canvas. Hmm…..

CANVAS PRESS AFFILIATE NEWSLETTER- MARCH
We knew that the CanvasPress.com program was going to start well but it even surpassed our expectations. Don’t you love it when that happens? Right now we have an AOV of nearly $200 and our EPCs are incredible for such a new program.
So what’s going on for March?

COMMON PRINT THEME:
Spring flowers are the most common theme Canvas Press prints in March.

COUPONS:
I’ve included a new set of coupons to this newsletter as well as information on a coupon that we’ve extended.
Coupon: 10% off your order – Use promo code saturday at checkout – Valid March 7,14,21,28
Coupon: $20 off $200+ – Use promo code canvaspress at checkout – Valid March 1-31
PPC MARKETERS:
Every PPC affiliate that has taken on this as a campaign has been very happy with the results they’ve generated. Let me know if you are interested in a killer keyword list to help you get started as well.
CONTENT:
Keep your pages fresh and the search engines’ crawlers happy with Canvas Press original content.
PROGRAM BENEFITS REMINDER:
Earn between 10%-14% commission per sale!
60 Day Tracking Cookie
Discount and Dollar off coupons
Auto-Deposit Feature
Parasite Free
Open PPC policy- **killer keyword list available
Dedicated Program Management by Snow Consulting

If you have questions prior to joining or after joining, please feel free to contact me.

We look forward to partnering with you and sending high commission checks!

Randy Norton
affiliates@canvaspress.com
CanvasPress.com (ShareASale)

Recently the Canvas Press staff has noticed an increase in corporate logo and mission statement orders. Companies upload their high resolution logo files and we print away. This is a guarantee your office will be uniquely decorated.  New Leaf Construction, http://newleafspaces.com/, sent the following email about their logo-to-canvas experience:

Hello..

Just a note to let you know that we are very happy with the canvas.. We are using the canvas in our front reception area instead of a fabricated sign. see photo attached. We also appreciate you working with our graphic designer on the specs so it would turn out well.

Thanks again and we will be glad to recommend you to others that may be interested.

Best regards

Candi

We appreciate your feedback. Keep them coming!