Canvas Transfers

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Jean McLean

Jean McLean

CGF, Certified Grumble Framer
Joined
Feb 25, 2001
Posts
128
Loc
Millinocket, ME, USA
I hope you folks aren't getting sick of me but I have another question. When I read these posts, it makes me think of a question or two.

1. When a print is transferred onto canvas will it still fade as fast in normal lighting?

2. Do you use acrylic gel to apply brushstrokes?

3. Does applying the brushstrokes and gel give it longer before fading?

4. If they are not matted and framed under glass are they more delicate and subject to damage? After all, they are inks separated from the paper and not real paintings.

Sorry for all these questions but I do lithographs and Iris Giclee prints and am considering having some canvas transfers made but am not sure if I should or not. Thanks.
 
1.Yes
2.yes
3.no
4. The acrylic gel does not have any UV filtering properties. You can use a photo spray that will help with protection if you plan to treat them as a canvas. It is safer under glass but then why transfer them to canvas at all. Since you are not doing anything valuable you need to treat them as disposable art, and make customers aware of the light problems involved.

The problem we experience is in stretching. It seems no matter how tight we stretch the plastic coating causes them to bubble. I now mount them all to foamcore rather than stretcher bars. I got tired of restretching again and again.

Good luck..canvas transfers can be a positive addition to your gallery for the customer who wants their Monet poster to look like the original...almost.

Be aware that copyright infringement may prevent you from transferring every image.
Many artists do not want their work transferred. The companies that do this work will be able to provide you with a list,
 
Ainsley, are you yourself applying brushstroke ala gel medium, or is it coming to you that way? I guess I'm confused as in your post to my transfer charge question, I thought you said you had them shipped already stretched. We've not had any problems with bubbling, but maybe we're not speaking of the same processes?
 
Originally posted by Ainsley:

"...4. The acrylic gel does not have any UV filtering properties. You can use a photo spray that will help with protection if you plan to treat them as a canvas...."

Sprays for photographs basically give the surface a protective coating of acrylic, polyurethane or some other kind of varnish. If the spray contains "UV inhibitors", it might mean that the liquid in the can has chemical additives to reduce UV light damage *to the coating*. Such "UV inhibitors" might have nothing to do with protecting the sprayed surface from UV damage.

A UV inhibitor is not necessarily a UV filter.

If fading potential is a concern, then put it under UV-filtering glass. Ordinary glass filters about 47% of light in the 350-500 nanometer range (worst for fading), and UV-filtering glass filters about 97% of that damaging light.
Click to expand...
 
An alternative to canvas transfer is to have a poster mounted on fomeboard or MDF or something of that nature and then have it laminated at the same time as it is mounted with a UV protect laminate this method is used in Ireland quite a bit. Work that I framed using this method about 5 years ago have shown no visible signs of fading, if you use MDF the only drawback is that the final job will be a bit heavier than if you streach it. <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Jean McLean:
I hope you folks aren't getting sick of me but I have another question. When I read these posts, it makes me think of a question or two.

1. When a print is transferred onto canvas will it still fade as fast in normal lighting?

2. Do you use acrylic gel to apply brushstrokes?

3. Does applying the brushstrokes and gel give it longer before fading?

4. If they are not matted and framed under glass are they more delicate and subject to damage? After all, they are inks separated from the paper and not real paintings.

Sorry for all these questions but I do lithographs and Iris Giclee prints and am considering having some canvas transfers made but am not sure if I should or not. Thanks.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>



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Welcome to the Grumble, Dermot. And thanks for the information. There are quite a few "grumblers" who learn from other framers questions and the answers they receive. Linda
 
Hi Merps Mom
Yes I frequently brushstroke canvas transfers with acrylic gel after I receive them from Old Grange. It takes less time to get them back and I can do it to my taste.
Their artists do a good job but are typically backed up. I toured their facility several years ago..its fascinating. I'm sure its harder to find talented people with a knowledge of painting and art history to do the brushstroking work...so I do my own.

To clarify I call "canvas" a piece of fabric, typically linen, with an image on it. That does not mean its on Bars or stretched.
I sometimes get mine on bars but usually I prefer to mount to a rigid substrate. The bubbling I spoke of has occurred on pieces I had transferred on the west coast. It sometimes is a problem with giclees on canvas also...some of those coatings do not seem temperature stable.

Hope this is clearer.
 
Jim...I'm wondering if your suggesting to put the canvas transfer under glass if it is not on a stretcher? If it is on a stretcher you can't put glass over it?? It would bond to the glass especially if it has been brush stroked with acrylic gel. But then, you know that. So, I am a little confused about what your trying to say.

I am beginning to see no advantage to the transfers except to actually add paint right on top of it. That way it won't fade. I saw some Giclee's done that way in Vegas in a gallery. Otherwise, a canvas transfer exposed to the light has less protection than taking my lithos, double matting them and using conservation glass. The transfer will fade quicker. I guess I just reasoned myself out of doing it. I have some expensive Iris Giclee's that I will double mat and put 97% conservation glass on. At least I know this will last longer even if some people hate glass. Nothing is ever perfect eh?
 
OK... when you mount a canvas transfer onto foamcore, do you just use the same method you would with a poster? I was under the impression that the 'gooey' stuff that makes it a transfer would melt or something, and that they HAD to be stretched onto bars. I hope I was wrong, I hate stretching them- makes my hands hurt because they are so stiff!!
 
This discussion is looking like a pinwheel. Canvas transfers are a look-alike oil. The company which does them soaks the paper back off a print, "floats" the inked image onto a fabric backing, and secures it by their whatever method. This imparts a sheen to the print, it's rolled and sent to you, or has added options like brushstroking with a gel medium, or it's aged and cracked with another method. These things are imitations. You can stretch them like normal canvases, and we haven't had any trouble treating them as such. You can also drymount them, but heat will remove the sheen. Trust me on this
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The best thing to do to "mount" them if you don't want to stretch is white glue on the substrate, with a countermount on the back. MightyMuk, Yes, whatever is just fine. Substrate can definitely be foamcore, or the heavier MDF, but we don't like that option. Gatorfoam is fine, also.

If you choose to glaze them, they should be treated as any "oil": plenty of space between the surface and the glass. There is a whole chapter on glazing oils in the archives. Orton is a font on this one.

These things can be a great product if the customer knows it's a regular print made to imitate an oil. You can sell them based on the criteria that their favorite size or image is attainable to give the impression of something more upscale, or something like that. My customers get the above statement; and as long as we're all on the same page, we're all happy as can be. You can't CT limiteds without the artist's permission, and some publishers won't allow you to CT some artists. That's usually okay because there are bazillions of good images to play with.

This is probably too long, isn't it?
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Any additions?
 
Cold mount with PVA Glue, also great for stubborn Photo's

ON THE EDGE Picture Framing

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I tried Speedmount, and it was a dismal flop. The very reason we like it is why it didn't work: not hot enough, not long enough. Wet mount is the best for me, but I've not tried PMA.
 
Now that I access some little-used neuronic pathways, I seem to remember that Mizz po' framer did some CT's a while back where she laminated them behind some matte stuff so they'd have a little more protection without having to be glazed, plus it was an inexpensive treatment. There were some interesting texture happenings or something.

I'll ax her and see what wuz the details.
 
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