Can You Put Photos on Canvas for Wall Art?
Have a photograph you love and want to display it on canvas? Seems almost impossible, but with modern technology, you can print on almost anything. It is a bit pricey, but if you're willing to shell out some cash, you can turn your favorite photos into canvas artwork.
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Things You'll Need
- Inkjet printer
- Canvas inkjet paper
- Local print shop
- Photo editing software or Microsoft Word
- Jump drive
Instructions
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Make sure that your picture is high-resolution. When you blow it up, it stretches the image so that the pixels have to cover a larger area. If the image is low resolution, you begin to see individual pixels, which makes the image blurry. Only try this out with pictures taken by a camera at a high resolution.
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2
Decide on what size you want the picture to be blown up to. If it's 8.5 by 11 inches or under, you can print your picture on a standard injet printer using special paper. This is often called inkjet canvas paper or inkjet canvas cloth. If you want to print standard sizes, proceed to the next step. If you want to print larger than 8.5 by 11 inches, skip to Step 7.
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Edit the picture to the correct size. Most, if not all, photo editing software has this feature. If you cannot find it or do not have software to do the formatting, follow the links in the resources section to edit your photo using Microsoft Word.
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4
Insert your canvas into the inkjet printer as you typically would normal paper.
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Change the media type through the print settings. This will tell your printer how to pull the paper through correctly. You can do this by going to pulling up the "Print" screen. When your printing options come up, press the button which says "Print Properties." Next choose "Paper/Quality." From here, your options may be different according to your printer, but choose the paper setting which has the most thickness. This may be marked as "Canvas," "Rough" or "Cardstock."
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Simply print your image and display. It should print exactly as it appears on screen, so this should complete your process.
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Print to an image larger than 8.5 by 11 by first changing the image to a PDF. This prevents the image from being distorted as you stretch it. The instructions on how to print to PDF are linked in the resources section.
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Bring your file (via a jump drive or other file storage equipment) to a professional to complete the process. Only very expensive, large printers can complete the process. You can just bring the file over and get it printed. While you could go to camera stores such as Ritz or New York Camera and Video, many retail print centers now offer the same services, such as Staples and OfficeMax.
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Instruct them on how large to stretch the image. Remember to keep your desired size proportionate to the current size or else it will become distorted.
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10
Allow 3 to 5 days for processing time.
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Tips & Warnings
If you're getting your picture professionally printed, you can often ask for a test print on bond paper to see how it will look enlarged. You will not be able to keep the image, but at least you won't waste time and money on a print on canvas that turns out to be unimpressive when enlarged.
