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by Charlie Woodrich on Sat Mar 08, 2014 8:59 pm
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I need to produce a 30 x 20 gallery wrap.  I've ordered a few of these in the past from MPIX, but I did it out of convenience rather than a perception of product quality.  For the price they may be very good.  I'm just wondering if anyone has any experience in this area, and if other shops do a better job.

Charlie
 

by John Guastella on Sat Mar 08, 2014 10:49 pm
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A few months ago I had moderately large canvas wraps made by WHCC and two other print companies who shall remain nameless. The WHCC wrap was far superior to the others, not only in print quality, but also in overall fit and finish (tidiness of the wrap and the way the dust cover was installed). Their customer service also was first rate.

I don't have much experience with canvas as a print medium, but I wouldn't hesitate to use WHCC again. They will be my benchmark for quality until I find someone better.

John
 

by Lerkes on Sun Mar 09, 2014 6:43 am
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Charlie - I have used http://www.cgproprints.com/ and have been very happy with the results.

Steve
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by John Guastella on Sun Mar 09, 2014 12:04 pm
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I have used http://www.cgproprints.com/ and have been very happy with the results.
CG Pro Prints was one of the three I evaluated.  For the image I submitted, they were not even remotely close in quality to WHCC.

John
 

by Lerkes on Sun Mar 09, 2014 1:13 pm
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John - good to know. I'll give WHCC a try next time. I always hear good things about them here. Steve
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by James McIntyre on Sun Mar 09, 2014 4:22 pm
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Two of our best-known master printers (one of whom markets his own elaborately prepared canvas gallery wraps of his images) have recommended the firm PICTURE ELEMENT in Santa Clara, CA
http://www.pictureelement.com/
http://www.pictureelement.com/gicle_canv_pric.php
http://diglloyd.com/articles/GrabBag/PrintingOnCanvas.html
to their workshop students.  This may be a good solution for those not set up to manufacture their own large wraps.

I believe PE uses Breathing Color canvas owing to its high Dmax and wide color gamut.

JM
 

by E.J. Peiker on Sun Mar 09, 2014 5:21 pm
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James McIntyre wrote:Two of our best-known master printers (one of whom markets his own elaborately prepared canvas gallery wraps of his images) have recommended the firm PICTURE ELEMENT in Santa Clara, CA
http://www.pictureelement.com/
http://www.pictureelement.com/gicle_canv_pric.php
http://diglloyd.com/articles/GrabBag/PrintingOnCanvas.html
to their workshop students.  This may be a good solution for those not set up to manufacture their own large wraps.

I believe PE uses Breathing Color canvas owing to its high Dmax and wide color gamut.

JM
Anybody that still uses the giclee terminology, I am immediately suspicious of ;) :D
 

by James McIntyre on Sun Mar 09, 2014 5:55 pm
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E.J. Peiker wrote:
James McIntyre wrote:Two of our best-known master printers (one of whom markets his own elaborately prepared canvas gallery wraps of his images) have recommended the firm PICTURE ELEMENT in Santa Clara, CA
http://www.pictureelement.com/
http://www.pictureelement.com/gicle_canv_pric.php
http://diglloyd.com/articles/GrabBag/PrintingOnCanvas.html
to their workshop students.  This may be a good solution for those not set up to manufacture their own large wraps.

I believe PE uses Breathing Color canvas owing to its high Dmax and wide color gamut.

JM

Anybody that still uses the giclee terminology, I am immediately suspicious of ;) :D
E.J.

Your remark is entirely inappropriate, particularly from a senior editor of NSN.  You have insulted a well-established, superior printing company, 2 of the most respected American fine art landscape photogs, and myself.

Not the first time this has happened.

I made my remarks in good faith, hoping they would be informative and helpful.

I believe you owe an apology to all concerned.

JM
 

by E.J. Peiker on Sun Mar 09, 2014 6:52 pm
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It was obviously intended as a joke thus the wink and big grin.  But seriously, giclee is no longer a term that is in widespread use.  I mostly see it from people that are trying to sound sophisticated and actually don't know anything about printing these days.  It was heavily used back in the early days of photographic inkjet printing because inkjet hadn't established a high end reputation yet and people didn't want to use the term inkjet and fine art together in the same sentence. But those days are long in the past, thus my comment which was purely meant in humor.
 

by John Guastella on Sun Mar 09, 2014 11:13 pm
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Your remark is entirely inappropriate, particularly from a senior editor of NSN.  You have insulted a well-established, superior printing company, 2 of the most respected American fine art landscape photogs, and myself.
I think you need to lighten up a bit.

But thanks for the link to Picture Element - I would like to see how they compare to WHCC.

I wish they had their prices clearly stated on their website, though.  Shouldn't have to email them for that information.

John
 

by dbolt on Mon Mar 10, 2014 2:20 pm
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I have been pleased with Canvas Press (http://canvaspress.com/), both from the standpoint of customer service and their finished products.  Most recent has been 24x36" prints with 2" wraps.  I've tried other companies with recognizable names, but prefer Canvas Press.
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by Mark Picard on Mon Mar 10, 2014 4:02 pm
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E.J. Peiker wrote:It was obviously intended as a joke thus the wink and big grin.  But seriously, giclee is no longer a term that is in widespread use.  I mostly see it from people that are trying to sound sophisticated and actually don't know anything about printing these days.  It was heavily used back in the early days of photographic inkjet printing because inkjet hadn't established a high end reputation yet and people didn't want to use the term inkjet and fine art together in the same sentence. But those days are long in the past, thus my comment which was purely meant in humor.
What E.J. said!  +1+1+1+1
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Maine Photography Workshops
 

by Charlie Woodrich on Tue Mar 11, 2014 1:46 pm
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Thanks All!  Lots of good ideas.  I think I'm going to give WHCC a shot as they appear to care the most amongst the candidates above about color management.
 

by bradmangas on Tue Mar 11, 2014 7:25 pm
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I have been pleased with the canvas's I have received from Canvas On Demand, Artistic Photo Canvas, and Bays Photo over the years. I don't believe you would go wrong with any of those. I may be giving WHCC a try as well from the comments here.

Just a little weigh in on the glicee comment from E.J. I chuckled when I read it and completely agree. I say that without tongue in check and and no wink needed. Straight up, it is a bogus term with absolutely no customer related benefits beyond physiological. Yeah it is in fun and no personal attack is meant on anyone. Plus, no animals were harmed in the making of this comment. Take that Francois!(Hope there is no one here named Francois!) But, if there is, my humble apologies to you fine Sir.
 

by Lerkes on Wed Mar 12, 2014 5:24 am
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Charlie - lots of different opinions here, as usual. Why don't you have the same print made at a few different companies and see for yourself which one you prefer and then get back to us and tell us. Steve
Steven J Berkowitz, VMD
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http://www.pbase.com/lerkes
 

by dbolt on Wed Mar 12, 2014 9:29 am
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Steve,

Good suggestion, but also an expensive one. I've found that the smaller canvas prints from different print houses tend to look similar, or maybe I'm just not so pickie. However, the larger prints (2x3' and larger) is what sold me on Canvas Press.
Douglas Bolt
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by Bill Chambers on Tue Mar 18, 2014 11:21 am
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Sorry to be late to the party, but another excellent wrap company is Artistic Photo Canvas.  I have used them with excellent results.  They too use Breathing Color Lyve canvas and have an excellent profile. Their customer service is wonderful as well.  Located in Tampa. FL which I like since I'm in Florida.  http://artisticphotocanvas.com/

The only issue I have is that their professional discount is much lower than most unless you do a high volume which, unfortunately, I don't.
Please visit my web site, simply nature - Photographic Art by Bill Chambers
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by Charlie Woodrich on Tue Mar 18, 2014 2:01 pm
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Lerkes wrote:Charlie - lots of different opinions here, as usual.  Why don't you have the same print made at a few different companies and see for yourself which one you prefer and then get back to us and tell us.  Steve
Steve - I've reviewed the various websites of the printers and found that WHCC is very upfront about color management.  You profile to their settings and send them five files.  They print these files and return them at no charge.  That way you have some idea how close your color management is to their printers. Especially important if I'm going to drop ship the wrap.   At MPIX they address this in some obscure part of their website, and  I couldn't find that Cgoprints even mentioned it.

Charlie
 

by Charlie Woodrich on Sat May 03, 2014 5:29 pm
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Hello All!

Just reporting back with the results from WHCC. Instead of a gallery wrap I went with a 1 1/2" standout, and was pleased with the results. Their work quality is very professional; the color was spot on; the order processing is quick; they answer their phone and emails: and they have reasonable prices.
 

by Lerkes on Fri Aug 22, 2014 2:43 pm
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Charlie - I am ordering the same print (16x20) canvas wrap from WHCC, Costco, and GC Pro prints. I have already received my 5 free test prints from WHCC and I was very impressed with the colors and quality. I will let you know how they compare when I get them back.

Steve
Steven J Berkowitz, VMD
Kirkwood, PA
http://www.pbase.com/lerkes
 

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