Let me start out by saying that we understand that not everyone out there has Photoshop on their computer and that is ok.  I just wanted to share some basic advice and thoughts on getting your photos or artwork ready to be printed as canvas prints.  We are always here to help so don’t worry if you aren’t able to follow any of these nuggets of wisdom I am about to lay down ;-D  Most of this really has nothing to do with editing a photo in Photoshop.  Here we go.

• Always try to have the best version of the photo you want printed on canvas.  That means the highest resolution.  If you have a photo you downloaded from Facebook or somewhere on the internet chances are the resolution of that photo is pretty low.  That doesn’t mean we can do anything with it, but we may not be able to make a 4′x5′ canvas print out of it…although anything is possible with some creativity.
• If you have taken a photo with your smart phone be sure to download the “original size” photo to give you the best chance and a bigger photo on canvas.  We have printed some photos taken on iPhones to 24″x36″.  Pretty impressive.
• How do you want your photo to “Crop”?  That is how much of your photo can you lose without it effecting important parts of your image?  Most 35mm cameras take photos in a 2:3 ratio.  So if you don’t want to crop anything out of the image you want to choose sizes like: 8×12, 11×16, 16×24, 20×30, 24×36, 30×45 etc.  You can always play around with our drop down sizing until you get the whole photo in our crop box.
• What kind of Border Type would you prefer.  We offer three different border types for a canvas print.  Image Border (which is the default), Mirror Border, and Color Border are the options.

1.  The Image Border is where the actual photo will wrap around the sides of the canvas.  It is a very cool look, but if you have important parts of a photo that you want to see on the front of the canvas then that might not be the best choice for you.  On our site you can tell what will be wrapping around to the sides of the canvas by the gray border that is around your image.

2.  The Mirror Border will let you keep more of your photo on the front of the canvas.  This border option we select a portion of the edges of your photo, we flip it, and print it on the sides of the canvas.  This option works fantastic for landscape photos and portraits where people aren’t too close to the edge of the photo.

3.  The Color Border will also let you keep more of your photo on the front of the canvas.  If you chose this option you will be able to select a complimentary color from a palette that will appear next to your photo.  That color will then be printed on the side of the photo canvas.

Once you have determined those few things you can make sure your photo will look the way you want it to on canvas.  We are always here to help you out during the process.  We want you to enjoy this for generations to come.  Hope to see your photo soon on canvaspress.com

In this digital age where photos are stored on computers and on smart phones and in the cloud…doesn’t it make you miss the days of turning in a roll of film and actually getting prints back.  It is pretty crazy to think that those days weren’t too long ago…like maybe 5,6,7 years ago.  Now we rarely get prints made from our digital cameras and iPhones.  Instead of having boxes and drawers full of photo envelopes, we have folders and folders of photographs.  Well, recently we had a customer named Nola who was going through one of those boxes or drawers of old photos and came across a photo of her Mom and Dad that she absolutely loves.  She wanted to get this photo printed on canvas so she could have that reminder of her parents close to her, plus it is a very stylish photo that will look great in her house.  So in reality it serves triple duty.  Family history, a conversation piece, and a unique piece of art.  She started with a small 4″x5″ photo and ended up with a 20″x30″ photo on canvas.

We can help you with a project like this.  If you have an old (or relatively old) photograph that you would like to turn into a photo canvas then you can either scan it in on a flatbed scanner at the highest resolution that your scanner will allow and save it as a JPG.  Then you can just upload the photo to us directly on our web site.  If you don’t have a scanner at home, not to fear.  Give us a call (888.784.5553) and we will be happy to scan your photo and print your canvas for you…free of charge.  We can scan up to an 8.5″x11″ photograph.  If you have something larger we have another solution for you.

We want to thank Nola for trusting us with her family heirloom, and we hope this gives you some ideas to dig around in those photo drawers, albums or shoeboxes and find a photo that you want to print on canvas.  We are here to help.

Just wanted to let all of you know that you can get 30% off plus free shipping on canvas prints, metal prints, and photo paper prints right now on the Canvas Press website.  You just have to use the promo code SUMMER30 when you checkout for the discount.

We thought this would be the perfect time for you to get some of those summer vacation photos printed on canvas or if you are really on top of it…Christmas Gifts.  Has anyone seriously thought about Christmas already?  Other than some of the retail shops?  I digress.

Our Summer Sale will run through July 31, 2012 at Midnight (CST).  So you have a little time to decide what you want as your photo canvas print…or take this chance to try one of our super cool Alumiprints.  Ordering is easy:

Click “Create Your Art” to get started
Browse for the perfect photo or artwork you want to print to canvas and click Upload
Once your photo finishes uploading you can choose the size and border type of your canvas from the drop down menus.
Click on the Crop Image button and on the next page you can add your photo to your cart.
Once you are in your cart is where you will be able to use the promo code for the 30% off and free shipping.  The promo code (SUMMER30) is not case sensitive so no worries about that.

As always, we are here to help you out in any way that we can.  We can’t wait to see what you order.

Hello everyone, it’s Eric.  I just got back from photographing a wedding for a member of my family.  The wedding was in a small town called Celina in Ohio.  I have been here at Canvas Press now for about 9 months and I am used to seeing wedding photos turned into canvas prints and beautiful photographs that go out the door every day to our amazing customers…but rarely do we get to experience first hand the impact and importance that a photograph or photo canvas can have on people.  First a little back story about me.  I have been a professional photographer for the last 12 years before I joined the team at Canvas Press.  I have photographed mainly weddings and portraits (families and individuals).  Ok, back to the story.  I got the opportunity to photograph a family member’s wedding this past weekend so I got on a plane and flew up to Ohio from Austin.  The bride is my cousin and I was so honored to be able to photograph her day for her.  It was also special because my family was able to be there too (which is always fun because they get to see me work).  I have to say being able to photograph someones wedding who you have a personal connection with (like family) is so special and also a little more nerve racking because I put even more pressure on myself to make sure that I get that one or maybe two photos that could be hanging in their home and their parents’ homes.

We had a fantastic time though.  We went all over the small town taking photos with just the bride and groom and some with the whole wedding party.  I was told over and over that day how much this means to them to have me there to capture their special day and they can not wait to see the photos.  It feels so nice to know that something that will be hanging in their homes, whether it is a canvas print or…whatever…it is a nice feeling to know that I am connected to that.

Over the past 12 years I have always told the brides that I am going to photograph that one of the reasons why I shoot weddings is to preserved and capture that family history and make a story out of it.  That was never more evident and on the forefront of my mind as it was this weekend.  And if Canvas Press is able to print just one of those photos on canvas…well that would just be the icing on the cake.

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

Let’s reminisce for a little while…shall we.  Remember the days when cameras actually took pictures with a thing called ‘Film’?  Ahhh yes, good old film.  Those were the days.  The days when film would stay in your camera for months with 12 shots left and you had no idea what was even on that roll of film.  Do you remember the anticipation and excitement you felt when you went to the photo lab at the grocery store to pick up the photos from your vacation…mixed with some random photos of the family dog?  You may even have a couple of drawers (or shoeboxes) full of photos and film negatives.  It is nice to have that family history safely vaulted away, but there are also some hidden gems in those photography archives.  There may come a day when you are walking down memory lane, looking at those old photos and you decide you would like to make a few of them into canvas prints or even printed onto photo paper.  The problem is finding a local photo lab that can help you out.  Most 1 hour photo labs have closed…so how do you transform your film into a photo on canvas in this digital age?  You have several options.  Let’s take a look.

1. You could buy a scanner.  Preferably one that allows you to scan both regular photos and film negatives.  I would suggest you make your scan from your negative.  There is a little more technical work that goes into it but you will end up with a scan that is richer with detail.  Making a scan of a photo is ok, but it is also like making a copy of a copy.  There is the possibility of losing a little detail in the photo.  Regular scanners are pretty reasonably priced, but scanners that can also scan photo negatives and cost around $100 to over $1000.  If you do buy a scanner you need to scan your negative or photo at the highest resolution possible.  This could create a large file.  Once you scan your negative you will need to open it in Photoshop and Invert the image (since a negative is an inverted image already).  Then you can size the photo to the size you would like your final photo canvas or photo paper print to be.

This is the Pluteck OpticFilm scanner. It runs just over $300

2. You can send your negatives to a professional lab to be scanned.  Their rates could range from $20 to $100 for a high resolution scan.  Then they will send you a cd of your image and you can process the image in Photoshop and size it however you would like before you make your print from it.

3. What if you don’t want to pay for a scanner or you don’t have Photoshop to edit the photo with after it has been scanned?  Well, just send it to us.  We will do it for FREE.  When you order a canvas print or a print on photo paper we will gladly scan your digital negative in and do the sizing and processing on it at no cost to you.  Plus, if you need that copy, we would be more than happy to include that scanned photo or negative on a cd for you to keep.  Be sure to ask us to include that for you.

Here at Canvas Press, we know how much those memories and your family history means to you.  So the next time you are looking through all those old family photos and beautiful kodachrome negatives…remember we can help you transform those into amazing pictures on canvas for the perfect gift or for a one of a kind wall collage in your own house.  Give us a call and Caroline or myself (Eric) will take care of you.

For this blog post Caroline tell you a little bit about how Canvas Press can turn some low quality, low-resolution images into some stunning canvas prints.  Take it away Caroline!

Have you ever finally tried to actually PRINT one of your digital photos, only to be told it isn’t high enough quality or to get it back and find out it looks pixilated and distorted? It happens way too often and most people don’t understand why.

Your computer screen (or cell phone) might show a sharp, clear photo but the display is actually a very low resolution since it’s based on a projected light source, as opposed to a print of ink on paper.

Most digital cameras today have very high resolution capabilities (LOTS of MegaPixels) but they can take lo-res images, it just a setting you can choose. Once an image has been saved in low resolution you can’t go back. That’s why we always stress to check your camera settings and make sure you start by taking the highest resolution possible. You can always shrink down copies later for sharing online and via email.

However, life happens. Maybe your camera settings are off, or maybe, you are like me. Yes, I have a degree in photography and all the latest and greatest high quality gadgets, but I make mistakes too. My mistake? Not doing a backup! After formatting images from a family get together I uploaded lo-res copies to Facebook to share with everyone and left the high quality versions on my hard drive. Which promptly crashed.

So now, I was left with only those tiny, poor quality copies on Facebook. You can upload (and download) hi-res images to Facebook and other online sites, but for privacy, security, and my own impatience I sized the images to 600 pixels before uploading, so that’s all I’ve got now.

Of course, one of the best pictures I’ve had with my little sister happened to be from this collection of photos. I was crushed because I knew it would make the PERFECT gift for our Mom’s birthday. It would seem like a lost cause, or something that you print as a 4×6 and slap in a cheap frame.  However, I knew that at Canvas Press we were doing some pretty amazing things with up-sampling images for printing on canvas, and I had hope!

At Canvas Press, we’ve developed a method that goes way beyond filters and plug-ins for enlarging digital files. Images that in the past we would have turned away are suddenly looking pretty good and pretty big sizes! By using our professional eye and experience in photo retouching we can take a low resolution, pixilated image and actually turn it into a beautiful photo on canvas. What is great about the canvas too is that the texture of it blends the ink which hides some grain and imperfections you might see on a photo print. Plus, a slightly soft, smooth photograph printed on canvas  can give the impression of a painting- what a bonus!

So I let our image specialists work their magic on my image and I was stunned by the results.  Here, you can see the original image:

On this site it might not look so bad, but it is only 600×400 pixels. For just an 8×10 canvas we print at least at 1800×1440 pixels.  Here is a close-up to show you what happened when we first blew it up to that size:

…and after our enhanced techniques for restoring a low resolution image, here is a close-up of the results:

Pretty amazing! Sure it is a little soft and lacks in some detail but it was certainly good enough for what I wanted to do. We turned it into a canvas and it was the perfect gift for Mom.

I know many people have been broken hearted to find out their favorite photo isn’t good enough and when it’s all you’ve got, that can be tough to hear. If you’ve had your favorite image turned away by another printer that said it wasn’t large enough, or you had poor quality results, please give Canvas Press a try! We’ll give it our very best and we won’t turn you away until we’ve exhausted all the possible options.