Paper in prints will
never go the way of the
buggy whip. As long as
artists create originals
on paper, there will be a
need to faithfully
reproduce them as
prints on paper.
Nevertheless, canvas art
prints have made huge
strides towards
becoming the dominant
substrate of choice for
artists, publishers,
galleries and collectors.
Giclée printing pioneer,
Harvest Productions,
has seen canvas grow to
about 80% of their
output. Given they are
likely the largest giclée
printer in the industry
with 18 units working
multiple shifts, this is an
omen of paper’s
popularity continuing to
decline. A review of
recent issues of Art
World News and Art
Business News
magazines shows a
similar trend. More
canvas is offered by
publishers’ display ads
than ever these days.
The trend towards using
canvas versus paper in
the giclée process has
been growing for some
time and shows no sign
of abating. The
evolution is not
surprising. The
confluence of new
Is Paper Passé?
Page 2
canvas substrates,
improved pigmented
inks and coatings, plus
lower canvas prices and
higher perceived value
has heartily pushed the
preference to canvas
over paper.
It’s not just in the
limited edition giclée
end of the market where
you find canvas making
a strong move to
favorite. Many poster
publishers are now
offering canvas
products either in the
form of giclée style
printing or as canvas
transfers or both.
For example, Haddad’s
Fine Arts has Giclée
Studio and Canvas
Transfer links on its
site. Recent full-page
ads from Image
Conscious tout its new
canvas transfer service
for galleries, dealers and
frame shops. It will
send the just rolled
canvas, or rolled canvas
and bars to be stretched,
or a stretched canvas.
New developments are
likely to continue. One
of recent interest is
called Rigiclée.
Vignettes Art, a fine art
publishing and printing
company, developed it.
As the name implies,
the proprietary process
allows for printing on a
rigid substrate. For
artists who work on
illustrator board or other
flat surfaces, this means
they don’t have to deal
with the “tooth” of
paper or the “weave” of
canvas in translating
their originals to prints.
We’ll cover more
details of Rigiclée in a
future issue.
For consumers, canvas’
seeming superior value
is a key driver in the
move toward stronger
sales. With no glare
from glass, canvas
displays better in
galleries. When the
lowered cost of framing,
or with the gallery
wrap, zero cost in
framing is factored, it
fuels further financial
incentive to consumers’
preference for canvas.
For consumers, not
having to pay for glass,
matboard and extra
length in moulding
means paying either less
for the finished piece or
allocating more money
into buying art versus
framing.
Succinctly put,
CANVAS RULES…for
now. Stay tuned, more
to come.
Art Print Issues
This photo of the Vatican is
courtesy of www.bigfoto.com.
Artists are welcome to use
their images free of charge for
inspiration.
Plan to be spontaneous
tomorrow.
If you think nobody
cares about you, try
missing a couple of
payments.
I'd kill for a Nobel
Peace Prize.
So, what’s the speed of
dark?
Borrow money from
pessimists--they don't
expect it back.
Half the people you
know are below
average.
99 percent of lawyers
give the rest a bad
name.
I'd asked around 10 or
15 people for
suggestions. Finally one
lady friend asked the
right question, 'Well,
what do you love most?'
That's how I started
painting money.
Andy Warhol “
The Wit & Wisdom
of Canadian
Comedian Steven
Wright
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