From Custom Décor to High-volume Art, Canvas Adds Style

Including canvas wraps in any décor plan is an effective way to add a touch of style to every space, from the bedroom to the boardroom. Families want portraits in their homes while hoteliers want to brighten their lobbies, and print service providers can offer their customers many different solutions to create the perfect piece of art. Check out these three ways to include canvas printing in your product offering:

Specialty Canvas – Earlier this year, Fredrix unveiled Metallic Pearl and Metallic Gold canvases, which give photographers the opportunity to create glamorous portraits for weddings and engagements or eye-catching artistic photography prints. Fredrix Metallic Pearl Canvas adds a beautiful, ethereal, shimmering quality that will delight even the hardest-to-please bride. Fredrix Metallic Gold, a 2019 SGIA Product of the Year for Media – Textile – Canvas, offers an elegant gold finish that is perfect for high-end retail art, especially when printing with black ink. Both the Pearl and Gold are compatible with solvent, latex and UV-curable printers.

Work Space Canvas – Studies have found that art in the workplace can boost productivity, reduce stress and increase communication, so corporations are including art to enhance the employee experience. Working with local businesses and hospitality groups to design and create art that fosters creativity in the workplace and tells the story of the company culture and values. Fredrix offers a variety of aqueous and latex/solvent/UV-curable canvas products that are perfect for outfitting art-inspired work spaces.

Inkjet Canvas Decor by MyPix2

Custom Canvas –Photographers and PSPs printing with aqueous technology, can offer gallery wraps in portrait and photo packages, providing customers the opportunity to turn their family photos into art. Sunset Production Matte Canvas is a 100% polyester canvas that provides the look of cotton canvas with a 2-over-1 weave that delivers a consistent, repeatable print solution. Sunset Select Matte Canvas is a poly/cotton blend that meets the demand for a wide variety of art-reproduction and photo printing requirements. Use GOframe stretcher bars give the finished gallery wrap appearance.

To learn more ways to include canvas printing in your portfolio, contact a LexJet sales specialist at 800-453-9538 or visit LexJet.com.

You may also be interested in:

Good, Better, Best: High-Volume Canvas
Speedy Canvas Wraps Are on a Roll with GOframe

Looking for Canvas? We’ve Got a Full Line of Products In Stock

Having trouble finding the right canvas? LexJet has lots of options in stock to breathe new life into your canvas-printing business. We’ve got a full line of canvas options for high-volume and consistent production of fine art, photographic and commercial graphics.

In our portfolio of LexJet Sunset and Sunset by Fredrix canvases, you’ll find a variety of finishes and textures that are in stock and ready to ship. LexJet is also the exclusive source for Fredrix canvases within the United States.

We’ve got many archival-quality canvases that are acid-free and pH-neutral, as well as OBA-free options. In fact, our Sunset by Fredrix Matte Canvas is now certified by Wilhelm Imaging Research to last up to and beyond 200 years.

canvas

Here’s what some of our customers have said about using products from LexJet canvas line:

  • “We’ve tried a lot of canvas materials, and Sunset Production Gloss Canvas SUV was clearly the best material. Most of the canvas material we’ve tried, if you rubbed it or looked at it wrong, the ink would fall off of it, and when you stapled the canvas, it would tear, which was a big problem. This stuff is great, and it’s inexpensive.”   — Phil Crawford, Berea Printing
  • Sunset by Fredrix Satin Canvas SUV is the best canvas to date. Our color came out perfect; we have never seen a truer white hue before.  We have received numerous customer compliments, so they can definitely see the difference. Thank you for helping our business produce the highest quality at the best price.”   — Zach Gardynski, New Era Portfolio

Whether you print with aqueous, latex, solvent or UV ink, you’ll find a canvas that’s right for your next gallery wrap, framed or mounted canvas project. Call LexJet today at 800-453-9538 to learn more about our complete line of canvas media.

Get Recognized with a Sunset Print Award at Photo Competitions across the U.S.

Sunset Print Award

The Sunset Print Award, which debuted in 2009, will once again be presented at local, state and regional photography competitions across the U.S. in 2015, starting in January.

“The Sunset Print Award has become the coveted award in the photography market, and from my perspective as a board member of the Professional Photographers of Michigan we couldn’t be more appreciative of the award,” says Tina Timmons, owner of The Portrait Gallery in Vassar, Mich., a previous Sunset Award Winner who also prints for other photographers for competition.

The winners of Sunset Print Awards at each competition will then be eligible for the National Sunset Print Award, judged by a panel of expert judges in November at LexJet headquarters in Sarasota, Fla. Click here to read about this year’s National Sunset Print Award competition and the winners. And, to see all the winners since 2009, and the stories behind the images, click here.

Winners at each competition where a Sunset Print Award is presented also receive a beautiful crystal trophy (pictured above), a lapel pin and a $250 gift certificate good toward the purchase of Sunset award-winning inkjet photo papers, fine art papers, coatings and canvas.

Go to www.sunsetprint.com/competitions/ to see the most current list of competitions presenting a Sunset Print Award, and check back here regularly, as more are being added over the next month.

To find out more about the Sunset Print Award and upcoming competitions, as well as a gallery of previous winners and information on Sunset inkjet media, go to www.sunsetprint.com, or contact a LexJet print expert at 800-453-9538.

Supplementing Photography with Printing

Banner Stand GraphicsProfessional photographer Dan Johnson, based in Grand Rapids, Mich., has built an amazing photography studio and an outstanding portfolio of top-notch work over the years. A creative artist, Johnson is also a creative businessperson.

In past posts at the LexJet Blog, we’ve covered Dan’s work at the annual ArtPrize competition, his method of building a spray booth to coat prints, and the portable photo booth he takes to special events he’s photographing.

Johnson’s most recent initiative is to supplement the traditionally slow winter months with additional income from printing. Recently, Johnson launched GoProPrints.com, a site that touts his printing capabilities geared toward photographers, businesses, churches and schools.

“We have the equipment so we may as well print for other people as well. So, we licensed the name, GoProPrints.com, and got the website started to see if we can build it into a workable system to print for other people,” says Johnson. “It’s a way for us to offer printing to other people without using our photography studio name. Over time maybe it will grow enough that we can hire salespeople to sell printing services to businesses.”

Johnson says that printing provides a “nice supplement” during the winter months, increasing revenue during that time. He adds that the most popular products are canvas wraps, banners and banner stand graphics. He uses LexJet TOUGHcoat Water-Resistant Polypropylene for the banners and Sunset canvas for the canvas wraps.

“With all the stuff we can get from LexJet we can offer a lot of different types of applications,” Johnson adds. “The website helps get us started toward marketing to different segments and gives us a presence that lends some credibility to what we do on the print side.”

SGIA Expo Redux at the LexJet/Fredrix Booth

LexJet and Fredrix at SGIAIf you missed this year’s SGIA Expo in Orlando last month, don’t fret… Check out the video embedded below to take part, at least vicariously, in the excitement in and around the LexJet/Fredrix Print Canvas booth.

The booth featured world-famous artist Wyland’s work on a variety of LexJet Sunset and Fredrix canvas, including sneak peeks at the latest generation of inkjet canvas that will roll out over the next few months.

Another big attraction at the booth was the ongoing demonstrations of the GAPP Canvas Stretch Master. The Canvas Stretch Master can wrap up to 60 canvas prints per hour. It’s pneumatically operated, easy to install and use and takes up relatively little shop space.

To see how the Canvas Stretch Master and Studio Canvas Master canvas stretching machines work, be sure to check out the videos at LexJet’s YouTube site:

Canvas Stretch Master Demonstration

Studio Canvas Master Demonstration

If you have any questions, give a LexJet customer specialist a call at 800-453-9538. In the meantime, enjoy a taste of SGIA at the LexJet/Fredrix booth…

New Sunset Canvas from LexJet Designed for Production

Production inkjet printable canvasPrint shops and art reproduction companies looking for an economical inkjet-printable canvas alternative for longer production runs that provides consistent quality can now add LexJet Sunset Production Matte Canvas to their arsenal.

“Of course I really like the price of this new canvas from LexJet, but it still provides good color reproduction. It has a little more tooth to show the canvas texture for mass production projects that require that look,” says Richard Herschberger, owner of Herschberger Galerie in Arthur, Ill. “I also like the fact that I can get it in 60-foot rolls so I’m not changing it out as often; you get more bang for the buck that way.”

LexJet Sunset Production Matte Canvas has been engineered for the latest aqueous printer and ink set technologies from Canon, Epson and HP. It is a bright-white, water-resistant 100% polyester matte canvas with the look and feel of a traditional 2-over-1 weave for all types of art and décor applications. It’s designed to work flawlessly with Sunset Gloss Coating and Sunset Satin Coating, either sprayed or rolled on.

“The new canvas effectively rounds out our award-winning Sunset Canvas line because it gives companies with high-production environments the perfect balance between price and quality in a highly repeatable, consistent large format inkjet print solution,” says Alex Ried, LexJet product manager. “That’s what we were aiming for when we developed it, and our feedback so far indicates that we hit the target.”

LexJet Sunset Production Matte Canvas is now available and shipping from LexJet’s Nationwide Delivery Network, which provides the vast majority of the United States with one-day ground shipping on all LexJet products. It is available in 60′ roll lengths and 24″, 36″, 44″ and 60″ widths.

For more information about LexJet Sunset Production Matte Canvas and the Sunset Canvas line, contact a LexJet customer specialist at 800-453-9538.