Though canvases are more accepting of low image quality than other mediums, you’ll still need to have sufficient resolution. Finding a high-enough resolution will depend on the size of your image, the number of pixels in it and how large of a print you are looking to make.
Best Canvas Print Sizes
Canvas giclee prints are excellent options for wall art. You can get personal images and artwork printed onto these durable and ready-to-hang decor solutions. Canvas giclee prints are exceptional bases for many art types.
One of the most important aspects of getting a canvas print is choosing the correct size. You should choose dimensions that fit your room without overpowering it. Learning about common dimensions and ratios can help you select the most fitting canvas size for your image.
Why Is Canvas Size Important?
The proper canvas size is essential for appearance and functionality. Your wall art should strengthen the room and add a beautiful focal point. Overly large canvases might feel overwhelming or detract from other room elements, while too-small canvases can make your space feel bare.
These are other examples of why canvas size is so important:
- You can fill white space: Wall art allows you to personalize your space with images of your choosing. Canvas giclee prints are excellent options that offer cost-effective, lightweight and high-quality displays of artwork. With the proper sizing technique, you can fill empty wall areas with aesthetically pleasing and exact placements.
- You can accentuate furniture: Measuring canvas size helps you highlight your furniture. The right dimensions will accompany your furniture rather than overwhelm it. Proper canvas sizing allows you to create a unified and compatible room.
- You can complement other decorations: In addition to furniture, your canvas print sizes impact other wall art or room decorations. Finding the right size lets the new canvas giclee print take up necessary space without overshadowing other features.
What Are Common Sizes for Canvas Prints?
You can find the best fit for your artwork or image by exploring standard sizes for canvases. Different dimensions might suit particular project types more closely. For instance, a small canvas might not fill a wide, empty space, while a larger canvas might be unsuitable for a smaller image.
Here are five common canvas print sizes and their advantages:
1. 10″ x 8″ Canvas Prints
A 10″ x 8″ giclee canvas print is about the size of a standard sheet of paper. Their petite size makes them popular choices for smaller locations, such as desks or bookcases. They also work well as wall art for more enclosed areas, such as entryways or small rooms.
In addition, 10″ x 8″ prints are extremely versatile. You can customize the prints with features like:
- Orientation: 10″ x 8″ canvas prints work in both portrait and landscape orientations.
- Image type: These prints can accommodate many image types, from family photos to artwork renditions.
- Purpose: You can hang this canvas size on your wall, use it as a desk accessory or give it as a gift for someone else.
2. 24″ x 10″ Canvas Prints
A 24″ x 10″ canvas print is another popular selection. This type features long vertical dimensions and shorter horizontal edges, creating a long rectangular shape. The format is ideal for displaying panoramic views and images — such as cityscapes — because it allows you to retain every detail of longer photographs and images.
The 24″ x 10″ style can fit nicely in home areas like:
- Above mantels: Fireplace mantels offer a unique opportunity for decoration. The 24″ x 10″ style fits nicely above the long frame. You could hang a family portrait or a beautiful panoramic nature view.
- In long hallways: This size’s extended dimensions are perfect for long hallways. You can fill the empty hallway space with a detailed and personalized image.
- Over long furniture pieces: 24″ x 10″ frames can also complement long furniture pieces. For instance, you might hang it over an extended couch or by a long dining room table.
3. 20″ x 16″ Canvas Prints
A 20″ x 16″ print is one of the standard canvas sizes that can suit many image types. You could display family photos, your favorite artwork or anything in between. Use it as a standalone decoration or pair it with other sizes. A 20″ x 16″ canvas print makes an excellent addition to many rooms, including:
- Living rooms: Your living room has many opportunities for customization. Many choose to fill white space above the couch or television with wall art. With a 20″ x 16″ canvas print, you can select an image that matches your preferences or room aesthetic.
- Offices: The right canvas print can boost your mood or motivate you while you work in your office.
- Bedrooms: These print sizes also fit nicely into bedrooms, where you may want to show off your individual style even more.
4. 20″ x 30″ Canvas Prints
The 20″ x 30″ prints are an example of large canvas sizes perfect for wall art. Many people use 20″ x 30″ canvas sizes for family photos because they can capture every detail in a broad frame.
These canvas sizes suit rooms like dining rooms, living rooms and other gathering spaces.
5. 24″ x 36″ Canvas Prints
Lastly, the 24″ x 36″ print is one of the largest options for wall canvas sizes. They are often used as standalone pieces or centerpieces with smaller frames surrounding them. Either way, they’ll leave a lasting impression on visitors. You can select stunning artwork or other memorable images to fill the dimensions.
This canvas size is popular for many spaces, including:
- Living rooms
- Bedrooms
- Gathering spaces
What Are Canvas Prints?
A canvas print is a beautiful way to display your photos, raise them off the walls and give them a unique texture. To make canvas art, your image is printed onto a sheet of canvas in sharp detail and vibrant colors. Next, the canvas is stretched over a wooden frame, so it stays taut. Then, your photo is ready to display.
So, should you frame a canvas painting? Canvas prints look great as they are, but many people like the look of a framed image, too. You still get the depth of a stand-alone canvas, since it leaves a slick floating edge between the frame and the fabric. The question of whether you should frame a canvas painting comes down to preference. Frames can offer versatility and a more polished look. You can also opt for canvases with deeper edges for a gallery-style effect.
You can find canvases made of a few different fabrics. Originally, canvas was made of hemp. Today, the two most popular materials are cotton and polyester, but you can also find blends:
- Cotton: Printing on cotton is generally considered the best option. While cotton is not as vibrant as polyester, it will still offer sufficiently bold colors. The most significant benefit is that cotton lasts much longer because the inks penetrate into the fabric, giving you a more high-quality finish.
- Polyester: Polyester is more affordable than cotton and will provide more vivid colors, but it typically results in a shorter lifespan — this is because the inks tend to settle on the surface of the polyester rather than soak into fibers. Therefore, polyester is more prone to wear but offers brighter colors.
While the inks used can include dye-based aqueous inks, solvent inks, toner and ultraviolet (UV) curable inks, Latex-based inks are the best option for color quality and vibrancy.
Why Are Canvas Prints Popular?
Canvas prints have surged in popularity as digital printing capabilities have expanded in the last few decades. You can find them in a wide variety of settings and sporting different types of subject matter.
Here are a few of the reasons that people have grown to love canvas art:
- It has a unique texture. Most printing methods don’t offer texture like that of a canvas. Canvases are soft fabrics, so you can see each thread’s crisscrossing pattern behind your image. It is consistent and visually compelling.
- You can get it in large sizes. Standard photo prints can be limited in size. If you want to print in a large format, you’ll need an incredibly high-resolution image. The nature of canvas, on the other hand, allows you to blow up the image to a larger size before pixelation or distortion occurs. Large-format prints are much easier to come by.
- It offers excellent color quality. Canvases have a handy ability to reproduce colors more accurately than other print methods. Paired with quality inks and fabrics, a digital print on canvas can give you excellent, vibrant colors to bolster your image.
- It is affordable. As gorgeous as they are, canvases are actually pretty straightforward. They’re much more affordable than some other specialty print methods. If you’re looking to create large-format work or fill a gallery with a high quantity of canvas art, this aspect can be significant.
- It works with many interior design styles. Part of the beauty of canvas is that it goes with almost any style of interior design. Whether you’re going for something modern, industrial, nautical, chic or anything in between, canvas prints are an excellent way to support that look. They don’t maintain elements of any particular style, and their simplicity makes them perfect for an array of options. Plus, they are lightweight and free of glass, making them easy to move or store. The more pressing question for décor involves your subject matter, but almost every subject looks good on canvas.
- It is easy to clean. Dusty artwork happens to the best of us. Thankfully, canvas prints are very easy to clean, thanks to the protective coating that comes on each one. It defends the painting from UV rays and fingerprints and provides a water-resistant base, so you can wipe down the surface with a simple damp cloth.
- It is well-suited for digital printing. With its ability to recreate bright colors and adjust to lower-resolution photos, canvas is perfect for digital printing. While canvas was originally used for paintings, it turned out to be an excellent option for photo prints as well.
Uses of Canvas Prints
Whether you’re a professional photographer or someone who wants to spruce up their surroundings, canvas art is the perfect medium. It can be as casual, high-end or unique as you want it to be.
Some customer favorites when it comes to canvas prints include:
1. Home and Office Décor
Home décor is nothing new to the world of canvases. The casual yet sophisticated look of a canvas print makes it excellent for melding with all kinds of décor. It offers a step up from your run-of-the-mill framed photos. You can print custom canvases that show off the people or things you love the most in a stand-out format.
Corporate décor is also a great place for canvas art. You can create large-format images to deck out your building walls or keep it simple with sleek and sophisticated artwork. Images of marketing materials, traditional art and an all-staff photo can work beautifully for business décor.
2. Framing Artwork
If you’re an artist or photographer, canvases can help you create a unique home for your pieces. If the gallery-wrap isn’t for you, printing a photo or painting on canvas allows you to use frames in a new way. They’ll leave a small gap between the image and the frame, adding depth and dimension to the piece. And of course, you can swap out frames however you like. You can make it fit the tone of your image or match your décor.
3. Gifts
Canvas art is an incredibly popular choice for gifts. Since canvases are so versatile, you typically don’t need to worry about it not matching someone’s style or looking bad with the image. They’re an excellent medium for photos of people to create a heartfelt gift they’ll be proud to hang on the walls.
4. Exhibitions
In photo exhibitions, you want to make your image stand out. What better way than by having them literally pop off the walls? Canvas prints are affordable, so they’re more viable to purchase in large quantities, and they’re lightweight, so you can easily move them from gallery to gallery. Most importantly, they offer excellent image quality and color, so you can be confident your photo will look as good on the canvas as it does on your computer.
Another way that professional artists can use canvas to their advantage is by adding texture — more than the texture of the fibers. If you print painting on canvas, you can go in and add swipes of paint in some areas where you want to add dimension for a truly custom look.
