Buying a Canvas Photo Print vs. Making One

Canvas prints are now so readily available that nearly anyone can have them. There are many massive reasons that they are the most popular choice of wall art, from price to visual versatility, and that means that people have turned from the canvas print websites to try and do it themselves. Is hand making the canvas prints the best solution to the ever growing trend, or is it a fad that will last less time than the most poorly made frame? Here are some of the points for and against both, to help see which ones are more valuable to you.

Are DIY prints worth it?

The first step in seeing if DIY prints are worth it is looking at how to actually make them. There are guides out there for turning your Instagram prints into a canvas photo that only need a printer, the canvas and some glue and offer an easy set of instructions to accompany it, but if you’re not adept at that sort of thing it will end up looking poorly made and a little bit like you’ve just glued some paper to a canvas (that is what you’ve actually done if you go through with it), hardly something you want to show off on your wall.

The biggest advantage of the DIY approach is that you can be as creative as you like once you have the actual canvas. People commonly use them to paint, draw on or transfer photos onto them by using white glue, but people can get really creative by making 3D prints, adding shapes and cut-outs to the front of the canvas like Maggy did with her buttefly canvas craft.

When should I just buy a print?

There are times when you’ll decide against making your own in favour of buying canvas prints, or you may be trying to decide what is best for your next new project. Buying a print can be really useful if you want to move your child’s first painting onto a more permanent base than the piece of paper stuck to the fridge door. They are also better if you want a more perfectly transferred photo onto a canvas. This is because there will always be some transfer faults when trying to do it yourself. This isn’t really a bad thing is that’s the effect you’re going for, they can look fantastic if you want a rustic landscape or retro looking portrait, but sometimes you’ll want a clearer image, say for a more traditional portrait or simply if you want it ‘as is.’

Is buying a print cheating?

For a lot of people who are really into their DIY, buying a canvas print may be seen as cheating when it comes to having some great wall art, but it doesn’t have to be that way. As you have to take your own photo or make you own picture before you buy a canvas print it still counts as being a creative thing to have.