The most ideal business for canvas printing

Hi guys,

I am new to this forum and to the canvas printing business. I have ran businesses in the past and also have sold stretched canvas from print on demand type model. I really want to start my own little printing business specifically for canvas prints and stretched/wrapped canvas and have them shipped or sell locally.

Now, I just wanted to see what you guys would recommend in terms of equipment or share the ideal set up for this business. I was looking at the HP Designjet Z6600 but have no experience in any of these.

-Business would be projected to print 200-500 sets a day (would need at least 2 printers or more with one being a backup)


Also, anywhere you guys would recommend to learn more about how to operate printing business? Not interested in franchises, rather build one up myself.

Thanks guys!

Tom

I hope this isn't a case of confusing large format film photography with wide format printing. I find it a little irritating when I see digital photographers calling their photos large format photography, because it came from wide format printer. Canvas is a whole other can of worms, I won't put any of my photos on it.

Sorry for sounding crabby, and good luck with your business.

hi tom

check your PM box :)

good luck with your business, interior designers / decorators LOVE canvas prints.
and the more good printers, the better !

best of luck
john

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Thad Gerheim

I hope this isn't a case of confusing large format film photography with wide format printing. I find it a little irritating when I see digital photographers calling their photos large format photography, because it came from wide format printer. Canvas is a whole other can of worms, I won't put any of my photos on it.

Sorry for sounding crabby, and good luck with your business.

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Hi, sorry. I am new just trying to work and start somewhere. I will learn more before I post. Thank you.



jnanian - I will check, thank you.

Tom, sorry for the earlier post. But, now that I have that off my chest, I use a Canon iPF 8400 printer that I'm happy with and I know I guy that likes it for printing on canvas. He has been using Canon printers for years and finds them reliable. I have heard good things about HP printers, but I don't know much about them. The climate I live in is too dry (below 30% humidity) for Epson printers. I found that out the hard way!

Good Luck,
Thad

Tom, I have noticed canvas prints appearing more often in reception areas of doctor, dentist, and business offices. My wife's eye doctor has many very large canvas prints measured in feet, not inches. These large office spaces have large expanses of walls. A 16x20 print in a 24x28 inch frame looks tiny on a 32 foot wide wall. This may help when you select your printers.

I regularly receive emails from an online canvas print company. You will have lots of competition and costs are competitive. I wish you lots of luck and success.

Thank you everyone, I will look into those printers and make comparisons to see what fits best for my needs. It's also good to get real feedback from those that owns them. Thank you again!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jeep_Life

-Business would be projected to print 200-500 sets a day

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I don't think that many sheets of film are even exposed each day in the United States.

I do not print Canvas, but I will point out that when the company I had did, we had a lot of issues with head strikes which caused a lot of issues for us. Today I will print thick watercolour paper
but keep away from Canvas.

Way back in the day, around 1976, I sold Ademco mounting presses and we had made up a package of the press, a roll of canvas, a roll of Ademco thermal mounting plastic, a roll of Ademco laminating material, a sheet of foam and a perforating roller. The idea back then was to perforate the laminate, place it on top of a print, put the print with the laminate into the press. Close the press, wait 3 minutes, take the print out and peel the backing of the print away from the image layer. Then place a piece of canvas, metal, wood, glass, or whatever else you wanted as a base material for the print. Put a layer of the adhesive material, after running the perforator over it, place the laminated print on top, cover it with a layer of silicon release paper and the foam pad. Close the press for another 3 minutes, take it out and you know had a canvas, or wood or metal finished print. The top layer cut UV and was water, and hot coffee proof! I still have color prints from back then on the wall that are still as vivid as they were when mounted 40 years ago!