Canvas as a material for artists to express themselves has been around for centuries. Canvas is still used for painting but that is not all. Nowadays it is possible to print any image you like on canvas fabric making it a strong medium for artists to create masterpieces. You don’t need to be a painter anymore to create artwork on canvas – you can be a photographer, digital artist, or calligrapher. Keep reading to learn more about canvas – how it evolved from painters’ fabric to a versatile medium that can facilitate art from different fields.

Canvas history
Canvas as a surface for painting started to take off in the 16th century with the rise of the renaissance. Before that painter used wooden surface which was good for painting, but not so much for carrying it around or even hanging. Wood panels were quite heavy – even the small paintings needed very serious mounting.

The legend is that the home of the canvas is Venice. Venice has mostly moist weather and the surfaces used for painting were not really suitable for these conditions – the wood would warp and the frescos would not dry. Venetian painters were very eager to find a new surface that would be suitable for painting but won’t have any other problems. Since Venice is a harbor city, sails were easy to find, so Venice painters started to utilize the sails' material which was woven hemp.

The paint was holding on great on this new material, it was lightweight so really easy to transport, and didn’t have any problems drying. Soon it started to catch on and painters from rest of the Italy were interested in this material. And soon after that, Spanish painters started looking for canvases to paint on. By the 17th century, all of Europe was using canvas as the main surface for paintings.

Canvas’s fabric
The first material for canvas was hemp fabric which was also used for making sails. The later canvas was also made from linen, which is also very sturdy and dense fabric. Nowadays most canvases that painters use are made from cotton or synthetic fiber, for example, polyester. However, painters usually prefer natural fiber fabric since it provides a better medium for painting purposes.

Short canvas printing technique history
Surprisingly, already in the 19th century first images were transferred to canvas. From the mid-19th century, images were printed on household items like pillows, firescreens, and handkerchiefs. But the techniques still were old-school and suitable just for select items. However, from the 1970ties people started using dye transfer and photo-screening which are more modern techniques and similar to the ones we use today.

Canvas printing techniques today
There are mainly used two techniques to print canvas today – Dye-Sublimation Printing and inkjet printing. Dye-sublimation printing uses heat to transfer dye to fabric. It was considered that the dye skips the liquid state when this technique is used, but later it was proven wrong – some kind of liquidation of the dye happens. However, inkjet printing is almost like printing on paper but instead of paper the surface is fabric and the printer and inks are slightly different, but the process is the same – ink is applied on top of the material.

The rise of canvas printing
With canvas printers becoming more available and new techniques developing, canvas prints started to become more and more popular in the mid-2000. Also, the rise of the internet and online shopping helped canvas to develop in unexpected ways. Not only you could now buy canvas in shops and choose beautiful art for your home that didn’t cost a fortune, but also you could order it online and make your custom designs. It really opened up the possibilities, for those people who love to be unique and enjoys giving one-of-a-kind presents to themselves and others.

Canvas today – unlimited options
Today canvas is not limited to only artists’ use. Everyone who enjoys the canvas looks can have one. You can buy canvas in shops, order online, or create designs yourself. Canvas can hold photography or graphic illustration or a mix of both. They can differ in size from really small (just a few inches) to hundreds of inches. It all depends on your preference, wishes, and design ideas.

If you don’t feel particularly creative, no worries, there are lots of pre-made canvas designs to choose from. Starting from words and quotes to photography and printed art pieces. You can buy canvas art in shopping malls, on the internet, in independent shops, and even on Etsy.

Print on demand businesses
Canvases are popular not only with consumers today. Print on demand dropshipping businesses that offer various canvas designs alongside other print on demand items are growing in popularity every day now. It is a win-win situation – a customer can get almost a one-of-a-kind print, while the seller can give life to their ideas and work from everywhere in the world as dropshipping doesn’t require them to own a physical warehouse of inventory.

If you are interested in starting a print on demand business, check out printseekers.com ! They are a print on demand supplier that offers high-quality printing services. Their main focus at the moment is canvas printing so if you are thinking of starting a canvas print on demand business, they are definitely worth checking out.

Canvases in homes and offices
Canvases are a suitable decor for a lot of places. It can be a focal living room piece, an inconspicuous bedroom wall art, inspirational artwork for the office, or even a decoration for a bathroom. Popular print people choose is photography. Often the preference goes for nature photography or personal photos, for example, family photos or photos of kids. Another popular canvas section is inspirational words or quotes. This type of canvas print goes well in offices, but is not exclusive to that, since there are different inspirational quotes for different areas of our life. Also, a popular option is art replicas – as a placeholder for the real thing or as a permanent decoration. Before buying an art replica though, make sure the shop has the needed copyright license.

In conclusion
Canvases have gone a long way from being just a surface for painters to becoming a medium for artists of different fields. And not only artists. Even people who just want something personalized nowadays can use canvases as an expression for that. It is all possible because of the rise of print on demand industry and the possibilities a printing industry can offer. The canvases printing world is exciting now, but we are sure there is yet a lot to come.