How to Attach a Picture to Canvas & Make it Look Like a Painting
Because of advances in digital technology, it is now easier than ever to transfer a photograph onto canvas. Printing on canvas is technically called Canvas Prints, Canvas Art or Giclee Prints. If you provide either a scanned .jpeg or .tiff image to a printer at a photo printing shop, they can then feed it into a computer and print out your image onto canvas.
Some of the larger print houses offer various qualities of canvas, or you can even bring your specific canvas or linen to them to work with. The final outcome of the printed artwork will depend upon the quality or resolution of the initial scan. Some print houses will scan your image for you ensuring a high resolution. Some artists also like to paint onto the printed photograph with acrylic or oil paint, helping to add texture to the final work of art.
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Instructions
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Determine how large you want your final printed image to be.
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Call a print house and ask them what dpi (dots per inch) is the necessary resolution to print your image to the size canvas you would like. Usually, 300 dpi is standard.
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Bring your file to the printer. If you want your image printed on specific fabric, bring this along as well.
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Consider bringing your final Giclee print to a framer to help stretch the final image on stretcher bars or put it into a frame.
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Tips & Warnings
If you choose to paint on your print, it should be attached to stretcher bars which a framer or an art shop can do for a minimal fee.
There are numerous businesses that can process your prints online. Just type in "Canvas Print" into the browser to find results.
If you are working from an image on your computer, colors may vary from screen to screen. You may want to ask your printer to show you some test swatches during the printing process. Usually, you can make an appointment to come in and see what your printout looks like in various F-Stops, which will affect the printed color. Otherwise, the printer will print your image standard from what they see on their computer screen.
Printers do not yet have the technology to print with texture. Any texture that is in the final outcome will be as a result from the fabric of the canvas, or from the painted depth of the image you are reproducing.
