Turning your photos into canvas prints can be an expensive investment. The process is made more difficult by the number of canvas printing companies who claim they offer the best product in Australia.

To help you make the right choice – we’ve created this quick checklist. Even if you don’t choose to purchase from BrilliantPrints – make sure that the company you use meets all these criteria.

Top signs of quality canvas printing

At BrilliantPrints we believe these are some of the most important things to look out for when choosing a canvas printing supplier:

• Hidden costs: If a canvas printing company wants to charge more for laminate, basic editing, or sending you proofs – you know that they are trying to take advantage of you. These things should be part of their normal customer service.
• Lack of experience: Printing a photograph on canvas is not an easy process, as it requires sophisticated equipment and specialised knowledge. If possible – choose a company that focuses entirely on canvas printing. Too many additional products mean they aren’t serious about producing stunning canvas prints.
• Guarantee: Buying over the internet can be a nerve-wracking experience. You don’t have the comfort of bricks and mortar, or a physical address if something goes wrong. If an internet-based canvas printing company does not offer an unconditional guarantee it is worth being wary. At a minimum, this kind of guarantee shows they stand behind their product.

The essential checklist for canvas-printing

Other things to look out for include:

Price:

A quick price-check of the leading canvas printing companies can be confusing. The price of standard sized prints can differ dramatically between websites. In deciding what price is appropriate, it is worth thinking about the following things:

• What services are included as part of the price i.e. editing or proofing?
• What kind of claims does the company make about the quality of their canvas prints? There is a real difference between the materials used by different companies.
• How much do they charge for delivery?

Cheap canvas printing companies can be useful– but the product and prices they offer should not be compared against dedicated, high-quality canvas printing services.

Service:

Many large canvas printing companies like a major Australian retailer linked to Gerry Harvey or Big W offer canvas prints, however they are not always able to offer the same level of customer service. You need to be confident that they will offer advice, check for mistakes, and offer a refund if something goes wrong. To get an idea about the service levels of a canvas printing company its worth looking at the following:

• Do they provide a physical phone number so you can talk to the people responsible for putting your photos on canvas?
• How easily can they be contacted? Do they pick up their phones quickly?
• Do you deal with the same person throughout the printing process? Or do you always need to explain yourself to someone new?
• Do they continually try to convince you to spend more money?
• Do they offer an unconditional quality guarantee? Do they require money before purchase?
• How do they deal with mistakes? Do they provide solutions or excuses?
• Do they keep you updated throughout the process?
• How flexible are they with unusual canvas printing requests?

For peace of mind, you should always pick up the phone and call. You can feel much more confident if they are prepared to talk to you for long periods, to offer advice and suggestions even before you’ve purchased your canvas print.

Quality

The difference between a high quality canvas print and an inferior imitation is usually very easy to spot. However, without having the final product in front of you, you need to make sure you are asking the right questions:

• Do they make their own stretcher bars? Most companies purchase these bars pre-cut. They are often of inferior quality. A company who uses custom-made stretcher bars can also be much more flexible in terms of the final size of your canvas prints.
• Are they using the best canvas, inks and timber? If a company is using high quality materials they will usually be very keen to tell you. If their website or their customer service representative is curiously silent, you can usually tell that they are using inferior product.
• Is their product ready to hang? Some canvas printing companies require you to insert your own hooks and string. A top quality printed canvas should be able to be placed directly on the wall after purchase.

A final word:

At BrilliantPrints we believe that printing on canvas is an art-form. We believe we offer the best quality product in Australia. However, we know that many of our competitors also offer great products. This checklist is an easy way to make an informed decision about getting your photograph printed on canvas.