photo printed on canvas?

[Susan Liddle]

Just wondered if anyone has tried printing a photo on canvas photo paper, and how it turned out? I've checked some web sites and in the FAQ sections the info seems to vary - some say you need a 3 megapixel camera, others say a 5 megapixel camera, set to highest resolution.... just wondering what is actually needed in terms of resolution for a decent results. The intended end size would be anything from 11x 14 to 24 x 36. Since it's not on glossy paper I tend to think a smaller res. (250 dpi?) would be sufficient - at least for the smaller print.
Any thoughts or experience with this method of printing appreciated! Thanks in advance! :)

[Jackie Schuknecht]

I printed a photo on canvas with Hahnemule canvas and it was really tough to get the printer to take the canvas, I ended up taping a plain white sheet of paper underneath so the rollers would grab the canvas sheet. I used the Epson 2400 printer and it was very frustrating. Not sure what to tell you about the megapixels, I would think you would need more for a print that size. You can up-res in Photoshop in small increments and view at 100 percent to see what the IQ would be like.

[Nancy A Elwood]

I have used http://www.canvaspress.com and actually the bigger the canvas the less dpi you need. For my art show booth I have gone to mostly canvas and do up to 46x30. I have been very happy with the results from them!! I order them rolled because my husband does the stretching and framing.

[Susan Liddle]

Thank you so much, Jackie and Nancy, for the interesting and informative replies. Much appreciated.
I also have the Epson R2400 printer.
Wow, 46 x 30, that's quite an enlargement. Good to hear it worked for you! :)

[Doug Campbell]

The better Epson printers are designed to handle canvas. My best results have been with Premier Art water resistant canvas. I have used images ranging from 5 MP to 12 MP from the following bodies; D1X, D70, D50, D200 and D300. High resolution is the key, not Pixels.

[Tony Whitehead]

High resolution is the key, not Pixels.
Can you clarify this, Doug. I am a unclear what you mean. How do you measure resolution?

[Doug Campbell]

Can you clarify this, Doug. I am a unclear what you mean. How do you measure resolution?

As a Nikon user I'll use the D300S as an example. It is a 12.3 MP camera that can produce images from 2144 X 1424 to 3288 X 2848. It is a 12.3 MP camera regardless of the resolution the user chooses but the higher resolution image will have more detail and will produce a better image.

[Tony Whitehead]

As a Nikon user I'll use the D300S as an example. It is a 12.3 MP camera that can produce images from 2144 X 1424 to 3288 X 2848. It is a 12.3 MP camera regardless of the resolution the user chooses but the higher resolution image will have more detail and will produce a better image.
I think that explains the confusion, Doug. My D300 will be very similar - a full RAW image or Large JPG is 4288x2848 pixels (12,2MP), a medium size JPG 3216x2136 pixels (6,9MP) and a small JPG 2144x1424 pixels (3,1MP) - if you are shooting medium or small JPGs your 12,3MP sensor is gathering all that info but the in-camera JPG conversion is throwing away lots of pixels so you are not getting a 12MP image and your 12MP camera is operating like one of much lower resolution. Much the same as if you heavily crop the image in post. The resolutions are expressed in pixels x pixels which result in megapixels so I don't think you can separate megapixels from resolution. I'm guessing the 3288x2848 resolution must be a typo as that is approaching a square aspect ratio which doesn't fit the 3:2 sensor.

[Morkel Erasmus]

another thing I've found helpful in printing canvas (printed quite a few for an exhibit earlier this year):

you HAVE to OVERsharpen as the canvas sucks a lot of detail from the print
I typically oversharpen the full-res image by about 1px, 125%

[Nancy A Elwood]

I use the software plug in for photoshop, by Niksoftware, Nik Sharpener. It will sharpen according to media and does a excellent job! But when I send out to Canvas Press they take care of that.

[Don Lacy]

Hi Susan, Here is a print chart from West Coast Imaging http://www.westcoastimaging.com/wci/page/info/FAQ/faqprintlab.html a lot of other useful information on their web site when it comes to printing images.

[Doug Campbell]

I think that explains the confusion, Doug. My D300 will be very similar - a full RAW image or Large JPG is 4288x2848 pixels (12,2MP), a medium size JPG 3216x2136 pixels (6,9MP) and a small JPG 2144x1424 pixels (3,1MP) - if you are shooting medium or small JPGs your 12,3MP sensor is gathering all that info but the in-camera JPG conversion is throwing away lots of pixels so you are not getting a 12MP image and your 12MP camera is operating like one of much lower resolution. Much the same as if you heavily crop the image in post. The resolutions are expressed in pixels x pixels which result in megapixels so I don't think you can separate megapixels from resolution. I'm guessing the 3288x2848 resolution must be a typo as that is approaching a square aspect ratio which doesn't fit the 3:2 sensor.

I understand all you are saying. My point was people still concentrate too much on MP's alone. A 12 MP point and shoot will never achieve the same IQ as a 12 MP DSLR. Hope that clears it up. Typo should have been 4288.

[Tony Whitehead]

I understand all you are saying. My point was people still concentrate too much on MP's alone. A 12 MP point and shoot will never achieve the same IQ as a 12 MP DSLR. Hope that clears it up. Typo should have been 4288.
Agree entirely, Doug. Thanks for the clarification. At times fewer megapixels on the subject can give better IQ which is why I often prefer my D700 over the D300 :)
In my experience canvas will reproduce images that wouldn't look so good as a photo prints. The rough surface seems more forgiving of images with fewer ppi.