The Framers Forum

Hi there, can anybody advise me on stretching photo's printed on canvas, so that they can be left with no frame. I have been folding the corners, whereas the framers down the road cuts the corners. Also is there some way to stop them warping?

I think we call this method 'block canvasses' Firstly don't cut the corners. This is 'cutting corners'!

Fold them as you would if they were being framed, one fold per side, say, top right each side, this causes less bulk, but it needs to be very neat, don't end up with 'ears'.

If the frame you are stretching them over is warped, use one that isn't, if it wasn't warped to start with you must have stretched too tight or with unequal tension.

If you are making the stretcher from battens that you cut yourself, round off all sharp edges and corners with sandpaper.

If the image goes around the sides be careful of cracking and exposing bare canvas.

Paintings on canvas should be stretched THEN painted, therefore no problem with cracking. You can't do this with a photo, the answer is usaually less tension to avoid damage, drumskin tight is probably not a go-er.

A lot of these things are done on inferior quality fabrics which are not canvas at all and can be a nightmare, good luck!

Hi Sheila
As John (another one) says, this can be a nightmare job. Do not cut the corners.
We call them 'box canvas'. Usually 'Giclees' (posh word for Inkjet images).

The quality of the canvas's are huge and varied, some are so very thin that any type of tension on them will cause a tear along the 'weft' of the canvas. They are also not particularly stable in that they can stretch.

One way round this, is to use 20mm x 10mm good quality pine to make the frame. Then place a 2mm MDF plate, glued and pinned on top. Making sure that the whole package is properly squared and all edges are rounded off.
One reason for using the MDF as a plate, is that it stops the piece sagging and stops people putting their fingers into the canvas and causing it to stretch.
Between the MDF and the canvas place an Acid free barrier paper.
Fold the canvas around the frame making sure that the picture rolls round and covers the back of the frame by at least 3mm. Then staple with stainless steel staples on the back of the frame.
Again as John says, make sure the corners do not bulk out, use 'hospital type corners' (as in bed making). With practice a very decent corner can be achieved that is hard to see.
We trim the excess canvas down to the frame and then tape over the canvas and into the rebate. Gives a nice professional looking finish.

To work out the size of the frame. Measure the image size and then take off 50mm on both axis. That will allow for the 20mm frame, 2mm for the MDF and 3mm overlap on both sides.

Make sure you also charge the customer accordingly.

Dont cut - you can get a good result by folding the edges a litle squarer than you would for a conventional canvas. I have found that the materials used are sometimes very stretchy - that tight canvas that you stretched yesterday looks awfull a couple of days later - You cant always take up this slack by knocking in the wedges - especially on the deep stretchers - you may find that you just have to restretch. I havent had any problems with canvasses that have been restretched - but you must be pushing the canvas too its limits - never a wise thing to do so be very carefull. The other wise precaution to take - especially with Giclees is to use a very soft surface to work on - large towel or blanket - you can easily damage the image by scuffing it around.

bracing bar(s) might help with warp prevention.

these things scare me. Some of the canvas prints, photos onto canvas, seem to be miserable quality inks which can take you by surprise in their propensity to rub off. We dont get enough of them in to say we have a lot of experience with them, one or two a week if we are (un)lucky, and so muggins here does them.
well, this is where the buck stops, so if anyone is going to ruin the customers job, it might as well be the bloke who has got to explain what happened. (cap in hand, grovelling mode, we've all been there... well, I have.)

The problem is, as said above, that some of these have quality issues -either the canvas or the ink or the printing process, whilst some are no problem at all. Some dont even leave enough canvas round the edges for a decent wrap, and in the worst scenario half of them are coming from ebay done on a kitchen table on a bottom of the range printer with cheap ink refills, stuffed into a second hand tube tube, and mangled by the royal mail before the customer even gets it to you.

I've just ordered up some of the proprietory stretcher bar from wessex this week, so we'll see how we get on. they come with corners and bracing bars you just morso to length. Looks promising.

I'll be glad when this craze is over! these gallery frames/wraps are nothing but dust traps in the average house, and we have already had a couple in to have frames put on them for that very reason! Second only to the local craze of painting every frame white, its top of my list of "that sinking feeling" jobs.

we have carpeted tops on the workbenches, and the soft surface is a great help.

I was advised the same about drum tight -its a non starter unless you want to try the following: rather than try to stretch tight, get it on the stretchers then lightly dampen the back with a water spray, and let a bit of shrinkage do the job. It seems to work very well.

on the plus side with these things, as they are printed from a computer, they are not "unique"they are generally easily replaced if a mishap does occur.

... which it will. Murphy's law and all that.

well the wessex cut to size yourself stretcher system seems very good. just unpacked some today in the company of a collegue from a well known framers in the next town up the road - cant really call us competitors as we soon discovered that only 10 miles apart our customers tastes are poles apart!

I reckon its very useful stuff indeed.

its certainly going to save me having to keep lots of different size stretcher bars in stock.
unfortunately it arrived sans the bracing strips but those are arriving asap.
I'd highly recommend this item, and without hesitation suggest that anyone who hasn't tried it orders a stick at 50p a foot and gives it a go.