Gallery Wrap Canvas Print

[Tim Aucoin]

Just thought I'd share a video I made for my Franchise Forum. It shows the process of Gallery wrapping a canvas print. It's a pretty cool product. Video is 9 minutes or so, but well worth the watch!

Wondering if anyone else has used these? They go by different names depending on where you look:
- Stick & Stretch Frames Pro
- Picture Wrap Frames Pro
- Gallery Wrap Pro
- etc...
Product is available in sizes ranging from 6" to 60".

As usual, any and all comments welcome!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0egG0APVoGY

 

[Malkin]

Very timely. Thanks!

 

[GAC05]

Nice video.
What material did you use for the print?
I like the subtle Big Squeegee product placement.

wayne k
guam usa

 

[rcook99]

Tim, I first have to ask for the artist of the backround music! (Nevermind I just noticed the name at the bottom after watching it a second time.) LOL Ok now that aside! I run my Canon IPF 8000 but have never done any canvas stretching or gallery wraps. Is this kit something that you sell? If not where can I order one? I would love to give it a try as I do some printing for a local gallery and they don't have but a few canvas prints. I love the whole production video you made it was awsome. Nice work and Happy Holidays.

Thanks
RC

 

[Mike Paul]

Nice vid Tim

 

[feckmo]

Great video, thanks for posting! I've seen these at Breathing Color, but I didn't realize they were available elsewhere. Where'd you get them? And how's the stretch? Is it similar to what you'd get manually or on a machine?

Thanks again!

 

[cgsigns_jamie]

Tim!! You're the man!! I've been searching for an easy gallery wrap frame forever.

In my Google frenzy I found this:
http://www.hahnemuehle.com/site/en/216/gallerie-wraps.html

I assume that's the system you're using?

I see Adorama sells kits, I've bought tons of gear from them and had no idea they sold canvas kits.

 

[Tim Aucoin]

Tim!! You're the man!! I've been searching for an easy gallery wrap frame forever.

In my Google frenzy I found this:
http://www.hahnemuehle.com/site/en/216/gallerie-wraps.html

I assume that's the system you're using?

Almost! The ones at this link are the 1" frames. In my video, I am using the 2" frames... thicker boarder and heavier, more sturdy wood. Same company makes both. I'll post up some info and answer more questions tomorrow! I may contact the company and see about being a western distributor. The company that makes these is Canadian based out of Ontario. I need to do a little leg work on this so as not to step on any toes.

 

[bob]

If you know how to do a gallery wrap you can do one with conventional stretcher bars faster than it took the demo guy on the video to put his stretcher bars in the little red plastic corner widgets.

It's not rocket surgery and it doesn't require special anything, just a set of stretcher bars, a staple gun and a bit of experience. Use a system like the one shown on the video and you'll never learn how to do it correctly.

 

[GypsyGraphics]

i did watch the whole video and that's very cool... but can i just comment on the printer..... ooooooh aaaaaah!

sooo... do you love it, or is it too soon to tell?

 

[Tim Aucoin]

Nice video.
What material did you use for the print?
I like the subtle Big Squeegee product placement.

The print was done on Intlicoat Magic 17 Mil Acid Free Stretch Canvas GFCVM. I quite like this product!

I never noticed the Big Squeegees in the video until you mentioned them! Cool!

Tim, I first have to ask for the artist of the backround music! (Nevermind I just noticed the name at the bottom after watching it a second time.) LOL Ok now that aside! I run my Canon IPF 8000 but have never done any canvas stretching or gallery wraps. Is this kit something that you sell? If not where can I order one? I would love to give it a try as I do some printing for a local gallery and they don't have but a few canvas prints. I love the whole production video you made it was awsome. Nice work and Happy Holidays.

Yeah, I really like Izzy's music! He's gone, but not forgotten! He is actually from a place on Oahu called Makaha, where my wife & I love and have vacationed many times!

I order these from a local supplier (All Graphic Supplies), plus I can order from Canon Canada. In the US, they are carried by Hahnemühle USA, and I believe some pro camera shops carry them. There are 2 sizes... 1" & 2". I've wrapped many 1" size using a good solvent photo gloss paper, and they work superbly!

Thanks for the comment on the video production! Not quite high end (yet), but I love making them. I use iMovie to produce them.

Great video, thanks for posting! I've seen these at Breathing Color, but I didn't realize they were available elsewhere. Where'd you get them? And how's the stretch? Is it similar to what you'd get manually or on a machine?

Thanks again!

I've never stretched manually or by machine, so I'm not sure. I do know that they are quite tight, and can be adjusted as needed. I can only imagine that it's easier to tighten than if a canvas were stapled onto the frame...??

If you know how to do a gallery wrap you can do one with conventional stretcher bars faster than it took the demo guy on the video to put his stretcher bars in the little red plastic corner widgets.

It's not rocket surgery and it doesn't require special anything, just a set of stretcher bars, a staple gun and a bit of experience. Use a system like the one shown on the video and you'll never learn how to do it correctly.

Thanks for the input Bob! This method works great for me and my customers love it! They like the way it does the corners very clean vs. the (old fashioned) stretch and staple method! I went slow in the video so people could see the steps. It is actually very fast to frame these once you get the hang of it! No, it's not rocket surgery (and it's not rocket science either), but why is the "old" way the only correct way? New methods come along and when they are as good if not better than the old method, then they naturally get accepted! This product will not disappear any time soon!

i did watch the whole video and that's very cool... but can i just comment on the printer..... ooooooh aaaaaah!

sooo... do you love it, or is it too soon to tell?

I do love it GG! It prints SO MUCH FASTER than my Roland! There is a bit of a learning curve both on medias that will run on it and with the Onyx Postershop Pro 10 RIP, but for a techie person like myself, it is a very small learning curve! The color depth is amazing, and did I mention that it's very fast?!! :Big Laugh

 

[Brandon708]

Tim, Thats a pretty cool product. I'm going to get into canvas printing and I need to get my website up for that too. Where can I get these frames at?

Thanks,
Brandon

 

[Tim Aucoin]

Tim, Thats a pretty cool product. I'm going to get into canvas printing and I need to get my website up for that too. Where can I get these frames at?

Thanks,
Brandon

Hi Brandon,
I've seen a few places in the U.S. that sell these including Hahnemühle USA, but the interesting thing is that my cost local is almost half of what the suppliers on line are charging! I'm going to contact the manufacturer about the possibility of distributing this product, as I think there will be high demand once word gets out. Let's see what they tell me!

 

[Brandon708]

Hi Brandon,
I've seen a few places in the U.S. that sell these including Hahnemühle USA, but the interesting thing is that my cost local is almost half of what the suppliers on line are charging! I'm going to contact the manufacturer about the possibility of distributing this product, as I think there will be high demand once word gets out. Let's see what they tell me!

Ok great. Let me (us) know when you hear anything.

I usually just make the frames myself but this method seems pretty easy. I could even make these myself if I gave it a shot. This method seems to be a quick and clean way of wrapping a canvas print.

thanks for sharing.

 

[jiarby]

Liberty sells these type of kits in the US...
http://www.libertyphotoproducts.com/catalog/Liberty-Gallery-Wrap-System,959.htm

If you really want to start doing these you will want to but standard stretcher bars and save 50%. These systems are easy, and convenient.... but more expensive.

 

[sfr table hockey]

Hey Tim,

I do a pile of Canvas Giclee for my artist customers who get their originals scanned and then from there they can get them printed. I am not sure the artist crowd would want that type of bar for the canvas but for almost all other things I think it looks quite slick.

One area I am not sure they would work as well would be when the printed picture has a black boarder ( or any color boarder) around the edge so that once stretched the edge is black instead of the image wrapping around. Doing this would be a lot harder to get lined up exact like you can when you cut your own bar and stretch by hand. I already have all the tools for picture framing (as this is one of my main jobs ) so its not hard to make my own stretcher frames. But if you had to buy the miter saw, pinner etc. to make your own or buy bar you are using, I think your way is a simple way to do it in house.

For customers who just want prints on canvas, I think it would be ideal.

We could talk some time about cost of regular stretcher bar compared to the ones you are getting.

Do they make the frames in larger size like 48"? Although for those you need a brace in the middle for support.

Also is your printer waterbased or solvent? If waterbased do you varnish them?

 

[wes70]

Thanks Tim! I've seen these "kits" at AGS, but never gave it much thought. Gonna give it a go!

 

[d fleming]

I've done lots of wraps. I use drop lumber from the shop, the table saw, print on matte banner stretch and staple. Doing one now for my father for Christmas of old family photos I've cleaned up in photoshop.

 

[bob]

...
Thanks for the input Bob! This method works great for me and my customers love it! They like the way it does the corners very clean vs. the (old fashioned) stretch and staple method! I went slow in the video so people could see the steps. It is actually very fast to frame these once you get the hang of it! No, it's not rocket surgery (and it's not rocket science either), but why is the "old" way the only correct way? New methods come along and when they are as good if not better than the old method, then they naturally get accepted! This product will not disappear any time soon!...

It's not the 'old' way, but it is the correct way. The reason being that when doing it properly you don't slit the corners leaving the print open for possible tearing at the ends of those cuts when stretching or especially during any subsequent restretching**.

Moreover, doing it correctly doesn't require any corner braces or special glue coated stretcher bars. You can use plain old vanilla stretcher bars or, if you want a more massive look and a sturdier bar, you can whomp up your own from brick mold available at any home center or lumber yard. Also, no matter how many stretcher bars I have lying around, I never seem to have the size I need for the job at hand. Far simpler to ease down to the local frame shop and pick up what I need as opposed to sending off for a proprietary product.

**Restretching a print on stretchers is easiest done by merely spritzing a mist of water on the back side. If it's actual cotton canvas, it'll tighten up right smartly. If it's not actual cotton canvas, you should be ashamed for not using the proper media.

 

[jdoug5170]

Bob

I have done a few canvas prints and stretched them the "old" way and have been very happy with the results, and the sales!

My question for you is....do you have a system for folding the corners...this is my biggest challenge....can't seem to do it the same way twice!

Doug