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Author Topic: Lining up edges of gallery wrapped canvas & your tolerance  (Read 4798 times)

darlingm

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Lining up edges of gallery wrapped canvas & your tolerance
« on: November 04, 2012, 09:44:54 pm »

eumatHow do you make the edges of gallery wrapped canvas line up with the appropriate part of the printed image?  (Assuming you aren't just having the image wrap -- so meaning a solid color, mirror, etc.)

What's your tolerance for "close enough" vs re-doing it?  Like, on a 1.5" deep bar, how close do you require yourself to be to lining the edge in the print to the edge of the bar?


I'm not talking about canvas shrinkage -- I'm talking about getting it lined up properly, assuming you have it printed to the appropriate length.  If anything, I'm talking about canvas expansion when stretching.


I cut my canvas so there is an identical amount of border on all sides.  (I actually include whitespace in the image, then a 5px black line for cutting that I cut off.)  I then lay the assembled stretcher bar frame on top of the canvas print which is face down.  I try to make the amount of borders even, also bending it over the frame to make sure the same amount of image is going onto the back.  I then I've been doing very well at it, but have been occasionally struggling with much larger prints that I'm starting to do.  (4' x 6', 3' x 4', etc.)  I'm currently stretching by hand.  I've been trying to buy a Studio Canvas Master (the non-pneumatic version) from GAPP Engineering, however have been getting the perpetual runaround of "two more weeks" for months now - and I'm about to give up on them, as they've now told me it will be after the new year.  I've tried the frame on top of the canvas that is face up and make pencil marks technique, and it didn't work so well for me.
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irishdaisy

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Re: Lining up edges of gallery wrapped canvas & your tolerance
« Reply #1 on: November 05, 2012, 01:34:26 am »

I drove myself crazy with this for awhile! If I am to have white(natural) or black edges instead of a photo wrap or mirror, I feather the edges of the image slightly (before increasing canvas size to add the gallery wrap borders to the file) so that they aren't so abrupt. I find absolute precision matters less that way! If a little color wraps around to the sides, it's only a small amount that appears to be part of the effect and is well tolerated by customers.
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philbaum

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Re: Lining up edges of gallery wrapped canvas & your tolerance
« Reply #2 on: November 05, 2012, 05:12:35 pm »

I temporarily tape the canvas to a sliding glass door during daylight hours, and pencil mark the back for the image on the front.  I then connect the dots with a straight edge.  I don't do gallery wraps with the image anymore, and just ask for a black border on all of them.  sometimes the black corresponds to a black element in the picture, so i measure for the margin on that. 

but a bigger problem for me is the stretcher bars, they aren't' nearly as precise as the prints themselves.  and sometimes the assembled stretcher bars don't lie flat.  any good suppliers out there for stretcher bars? 
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dgberg

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Re: Lining up edges of gallery wrapped canvas & your tolerance
« Reply #3 on: November 05, 2012, 10:54:05 pm »

I temporarily tape the canvas to a sliding glass door during daylight hours, and pencil mark the back for the image on the front.  I then connect the dots with a straight edge.  I don't do gallery wraps with the image anymore, and just ask for a black border on all of them.  sometimes the black corresponds to a black element in the picture, so i measure for the margin on that. 

but a bigger problem for me is the stretcher bars, they aren't' nearly as precise as the prints themselves.  and sometimes the assembled stretcher bars don't lie flat.  any good suppliers out there for stretcher bars? 

Get your own made if you want to up your quality control.
I had to pay to get the cutter knives ground at my local millwork shop but that was a once and done cost.
I get 1 1/2"x 11/2" plus 11/2"x2" made in 10' lengths in poplar with a 1/8" radius on the backside.
That little radius on the back has eliminated all cracking on the backside when stretching and stapling.

Kanvas Keepsakes

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Re: Lining up edges of gallery wrapped canvas & your tolerance
« Reply #4 on: November 20, 2012, 05:13:46 pm »

Darl, I buy 1"x1.5" poplar sticks at 8ft in length.  Then I get .5" quarter round moulding and nail/glue both together to make my stretcher bars.  I use a mouse sander to make the rounded edges as well.  Takes a little time but at .69 cents a linear foot it's good for me.  Then I use a miter saw to cut the 45 degree angles to the length I need.  Just connect, glue, and staple.  No bars moving around.  No uneven lengths.  Everything perfect.  On the image side, if I am going to print a 16x20 I open it in Photoshop, run my plugin OnOne Perfect Resize plugin for Photoshop.  Look it up and purchase it if you don't have it.  Makes the sizing perfect plus does all the mirror edging, opacity lighten all with one click of a button.  If it's a 16x20 I am going to print, I first resize the image to 16.15x20x15 to give me that little overprint I need.  I would rather have the edge of the image wrap very little over the edge that not be able to reach the edge and have an uneven print.  I then select 2 inches as border size for wrap, select my effect and opacity and I'm done.  I then put the print face up on the table, put the frame on top of it and with a black marker pick up each corner and make a black mark so I know where the frame goes.  If you need more detailed information or if you'd like for me to make a video so you can see how, message me. 
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philbaum

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Re: Lining up edges of gallery wrapped canvas & your tolerance
« Reply #5 on: January 19, 2013, 05:31:21 pm »

... If it's a 16x20 I am going to print, I first resize the image to 16.15x20x15 to give me that little overprint I need.  I would rather have the edge of the image wrap very little over the edge that not be able to reach the edge and have an uneven print.  I then select 2 inches as border size for wrap, select my effect and opacity and I'm done.  I then put the print face up on the table, put the frame on top of it and with a black marker pick up each corner and make a black mark so I know where the frame goes.  If you need more detailed information or if you'd like for me to make a video so you can see how, message me. 

Its funny how we often run into the same problems as others.  I was buying all my stretcher bars from French Canvas, i think the website is.  The first batch of stretcher bars were right on the dimension, and with the black borders i was using, if i was little bit off, i'd get that ugly little result of the edge creeping around to the front.

The last 2 times i've bought from the same company, the stretcher bars are now coming in under size.  So a 10" stretcher bard will only be 9 7/8" long.  It solves so many problems when one lets the front face drift over to the side a little bit.
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Peter McLennan

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Re: Lining up edges of gallery wrapped canvas & your tolerance
« Reply #6 on: January 19, 2013, 11:28:24 pm »

I put the canvas image face up on my work table and put the stretcher on top of it, lining up the stretcher frame with the image edges precisely.  Then, I push standard dressmaking pins through the canvas at the corners of the frame.  I remove the frame, turn the canvas upside down and mark the spot on the back of the canvas where the pins come through with a sharpie.  Then, I can re-apply the frame over the canvas ready for stretching, aligned with the sharpie marks.  Accurate to about a millimetre.  You can't find the pin holes no matter how carefully you look. : )
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neile

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Re: Lining up edges of gallery wrapped canvas & your tolerance
« Reply #7 on: January 20, 2013, 01:11:51 am »

Peter beat me to it. I use exactly his method, except a pencil instead of a sharpie to mark the corners. The pin holes disappear as part of wrapping the corners.

Neil
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bill t.

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Re: Lining up edges of gallery wrapped canvas & your tolerance
« Reply #8 on: January 20, 2013, 02:19:45 am »

The best worktable I ever used was a translucent, 3/16" cutting matte over a lightbox.  The drawback...the lightbox trough was in turn covered with very thick plate glass weighing one heck of a lot.  Could flip the mat over for cutting versus having a perfectly smooth surface for more delicate work.  For graphic arts stuff like this, it was a dream.  Only turned the light on when needed.  Have often wished I still had it.

For wraps, I usually punt with mirror image sides, rubber stamping out any dual straight line artifacts or other bizarre mirror effects near the seam.
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darlingm

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Re: Lining up edges of gallery wrapped canvas & your tolerance
« Reply #9 on: January 20, 2013, 02:45:20 pm »

Lots of great ideas here, thanks guys!

I put the canvas image face up on my work table and put the stretcher on top of it, lining up the stretcher frame with the image edges precisely.  Then, I push standard dressmaking pins through the canvas at the corners of the frame.  I remove the frame, turn the canvas upside down and mark the spot on the back of the canvas where the pins come through with a sharpie.  Then, I can re-apply the frame over the canvas ready for stretching, aligned with the sharpie marks.  Accurate to about a millimetre.  You can't find the pin holes no matter how carefully you look. : )
Peter beat me to it. I use exactly his method, except a pencil instead of a sharpie to mark the corners. The pin holes disappear as part of wrapping the corners./quote]

How do the pin holes disappear?  Wouldn't they be located right at the corners of the face side of the canvas, rather than being folded into the corners?  Or is it just once you do the folding, they just aren't noticable anymore?


bill - That sounds nice!  Must have been giant!
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neile

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Re: Lining up edges of gallery wrapped canvas & your tolerance
« Reply #10 on: January 20, 2013, 11:32:36 pm »

It's so tiny it isn't noticeable. If you're using the IGWrap-style stretcher bars you have to cut the canvas to that point anyway so it completely disappears.

Neil
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