Cheapest place to print digital to canvas in Denver area?

May 6, 2013 7:30 PM

Technically I live in Parker, CO. Friends and others have started buying my digital art doodles that I print locally on glossy cardstock. I've seen some artists have digital canvas prints but not sure where to go for a reasonable rate as I want quality but don't have a lot of money. I'm not even sure how it is done but have the CMYK files at a good resolution and am ready to go. I would like to try a few and see if I can sell them. Thanks for your time. It is nice for people to like what I draw but I want to give the best quality as it is not yet a living but a hobby.
posted by snap_dragon to Technology (4 answers total)

Best answer: Hi,

I seriously doubt a local shop will be cheaper than your many many internet options.

these guys are a good place to experiment with:

http://finerworks.com/prices.aspx#

get some small unmounted canvases to start with to check for quality and color matching.

We have a high end 8 color EPSON wide format printer at work and have printed canvas, fabric, fine art paper and production jobs and it rocks... but it requires a $2000 piece of RIP software to run so it's a mixed bag for the DIY crowd.

Make sure you get lightfast inks for your prints... many of the cheap options are not UV protected.

As an aside... printing on good quality art paper like somerset velvet etc... yields more expensive looking results than glossy paper or canvas.
posted by bobdow at 7:59 PM on May 6, 2013

Best answer: I'm not sure it'll be feasible to get canvas prints done cheaply enough that you can make much profit selling them to someone else! I also agree with bobdow that good quality art paper/giclee prints are going to be best, if that's something you're willing to consider.

In Denver, yellow dog printing is GREAT. Really great quality, really wonderful people, customer service, and really great prices: http://www.yellowdogprinting.com/go/corp/ You could also ask them if they do canvas prints, though I don't see them mention that online!
posted by violetish at 8:15 PM on May 6, 2013

Response by poster: Thank you both, you are very kind and really helpful. I just moved here and this helps me get a lead on what to do. (I mean I can't have my funked up Miles Davis or Sun Ra drawings looking all tripped out on crappy product. Those types of dudes woulddn't stand for it!!!)

Thanks again for helping this noob.
posted by snap_dragon at 9:01 PM on May 6, 2013

Once you've sold a certain # of pieces, it could make sense to invest in a 13 x 19 printer.
posted by sebastienbailard at 9:52 PM on May 6, 2013