Another 7900 roll paper question

[natas]

Hey guys,

So I am about to do my first canvas print. The paper is expensive so I want to minimize the wasted paper when the printer does the cut.

Here is what I am trying to accomplish:

I am using a 24 inch roll
I want the canvas to be cut at 19.4 inches long. My image is    21.4x17.4 (the 19.4 length is so I have an inch on each side for stretching). In order to get my cut at 19.4 what printer settings do I use?

Right now I have the printer set to Roll Paper using normal cut. I setup a custom paper size of 24x19.4 with no margins. Is this the correct way to do this? This is a little confusing still to me. I want the sheet cut exactly 19.4 inches and centered.

Thanks in advanced.

[dgberg]

Canvas is really inexpensive these days. At .92 a square foot if you leave an extra inch at one end it costs you  something like .14. Pretty cheap insurance if you have to throw one away because it was too short.
 1" is really not enough unless you like struggling with too short of a canvas. I started with an 1 1/4 and now leave 2" at both ends.
I am using the Gallery Stretcher and the minute you try cutting it too short you are in trouble.
You already know what size you want your print. In Lightroom just set your custom paper size to the width of the canvas roll and then 1" longer then you plan on making the print. Adjust accordingly if it needs it.

[Ken]

I agree with Dan, i.e. It's better to have too much canvas than not enough.... especially when each test costs a dollar or two.

Something else to consider... I was shocked to discover that canvas shrinks! My first 24 x 20" canvas print was almost 3/8" short on the 20" side. I'm new to canvas printing, but I"ve been printing on paper for decades. It never ocurred to me that canvas would be any different. Certainly I had screwed it up, so I tested the same file with paper and that print was accurate to a gnat's eyelash. Coincidentally, when I logged-on to this forum to ask WTF!!!, someone else with the same experience had already posted the question, and there were several good answers.

The best solution, for me, was to adjust the Paper Feed Adjustment to the plus side. My first test was at +30, and the difference was barely measurable. The second test was at +70 (maximum), and that got me almost 1/16" over. I backed it off to +65 which put me on the button. I then made three identical 24 x 20 prints.

Since then, I've discovered that different canvases shrink at different rates... varying by manufacturer and by different canvases made by the same manufacturer. It appears to me that, in general, the higher the cotton content, the more it shrinks... and it seems reasonable to assume that shrinkage increases in proportion to the weight of the canvas. And, it also stands to reason that shrinkage is a percentage of the measurement, so the longer the print, the more you'll see it. (I hate to even think this... but... there probably is some correlation between ink density being laid down and shrinkage, too, but to try and figure that would drive me almost sane. Wouldn't it be nice if Epson's software developers would include automatic compensation for all those factors?)

[dgberg]

When I started with canvas printing and the gallery wrap process I determined right from the start that I was not going to try and get every print a specific size so that it fit the frame. I do the complete opposite. I pick the canvas roll size 17"-24" etc. and layout the print size in Lightroom with gallery wrap extensions. Then print. I then measure the printed canvas and make the frame. So easy! You never have to spend an extra second to try and get this print measurement right because the frame is laying there already made. So easy,no stress and it doesn't matter what the final size is. For custom printing and gallery wrapping I do not sell certain size canvas wraps like most folks do. (Except for my own work.)
 I offer print wraps on 4 canvas roll width sizes 17"-24"-36" and 44". However the print lays out on the roll width of canvas they choose is what they get.
I then charge by the inch to get the final sale price. I have a pricing calculator here with sizes and pricing so that people can see what certain size wraps cost. They can then make the choice to print as large as their budget and image quality permit.

Ps. Just a note. For my gallery work I do have specific sizes because of having all my own work saved at certain sizes ready to print.
The above workflow is for my customer base that either brings work in the door or sends via the internet. Most are family pictures we enlarge and then canvas wrap.
We get every size in the book most with no post processing or cropping. I look at the quality of the image first to determine how large we can go with it. Then give them the size ranges we can print. More people use a price range to make the final choice rather then a size! They never seem to say I want a 24 X 30 . I hear more of I really did not want to spend more then $150.