1. How to Prepare Artwork for Canvas Printing: Complete Guide

    Canvas printing produces beautiful, gallery-quality results when the artwork is prepared correctly — and disappointing results when it isn't. The most common issues with canvas print artwork are insufficient resolution, incorrect bleed setup and images that weren't designed with the wrap area in mind. In this guide, we walk through everything you need to prepare your artwork correctly for canvas printing and get the best possible result.

    Understanding How Canvas Prints Are Made

    A canvas print is produced by printing your image directly onto canvas material, which is then stretched over a wooden frame and stapled at the back. The frame — typically 20mm deep — means that the image wraps around the edges of the frame before being stapled at the back.

    This wrap is critically important for artwork preparation. The image doesn't simply fill the front face of the canvas — it extends around all four edges of the frame. If your artwork isn't set up to account for this wrap, important parts of your image may disappear around the edges, or the edges of the canvas will appear as an abrupt, unnatural crop.

    See our canvas print range for available sizes and frame depths.

    Resolution for Canvas Printing

    Canvas prints are typically viewed at closer range than large-format posters — someone hanging a canvas in their home or office will often stand quite close to it. This means resolution requirements for canvas printing are higher than for large-format banner or exhibition display printing.

    • 150dpi minimum at 1:1 scale — the absolute minimum for acceptable canvas print quality
    • 300dpi at 1:1 scale — the recommended resolution for the best possible canvas print quality, particularly for smaller canvas sizes (up to A2) where the viewing distance is close
    • For very large canvases (A0 and above) — 150dpi at final size is generally sufficient as viewing distance increases with size

    Check the effective resolution of your image at the final canvas size before submitting. An image that looks sharp at A4 may be insufficient for a large canvas. See our guide: Understanding DPI for Print

    Setting Up Bleed for Canvas Printing

    Canvas printing requires a significantly larger bleed than standard flat print products — because the image needs to wrap around the frame edges rather than simply extending 3mm beyond a trim line.

    At Dipol Print, our canvas prints require:

    • 20mm bleed on all sides — this provides the wrap area that covers the 20mm deep frame sides
    • 3mm safe zone inside the finished front face dimensions — keep all important content at least 3mm inside the edge of the front face

    When setting up your canvas artwork, the total document dimensions should be your chosen canvas size plus 40mm in both width and height (20mm bleed on each side).

    For example, for an A2 canvas (420×594mm), your artwork document should be 460×634mm.

    Designing for the Wrap

    The wrap area — the 20mm that wraps around the frame sides — will be visible on the finished canvas, albeit from the side rather than the front. There are three common approaches to handling the wrap area in your design:

    Full Image Wrap

    The most common approach — the image simply continues around the edges, showing portions of the image on the canvas sides. This works well for landscape and nature photography where the edges of the image are not critical. Be aware that significant image content close to the front face edges will partially disappear around the wrap — check that no important elements (faces, key subjects, text) sit within the 20mm wrap zone.

    Mirror Wrap

    The edge areas of the image are mirrored around the sides of the canvas, creating a symmetrical edge without any image content being lost. This can look slightly unnatural on some images — check how the mirrored edges appear before submitting.

    Colour or White Wrap

    The canvas sides are filled with a solid colour (typically the dominant background colour of the image or white) rather than continuing the image. This gives a clean, gallery-style appearance and ensures no image content is lost around the edges. Popular for graphic design artwork and images where the composition is tightly framed.

    Colour Mode and File Format

    • Colour mode: CMYK — always design in CMYK for print. See our guide: What is CMYK and Why Does it Matter?
    • Format: PDF/X-1a preferred, with fonts outlined or embedded. High-resolution TIFF is also acceptable for photographic artwork
    • Colour profile: For photographic artwork, sRGB images converted to CMYK may shift slightly in colour — for colour-critical work, supply in CMYK from the start

    Image Quality Considerations

    • Avoid heavy compression — JPEG compression at low quality settings introduces artefacts that become visible at the scale of a canvas print. Use TIFF or high-quality JPEG (quality 10 or above in Photoshop)
    • Check for noise — high ISO photography or heavily processed images may show grain or noise at canvas print scale. View your image at 100% zoom before submitting to check for visible noise
    • Avoid upscaling — if your image is insufficient resolution at the required canvas size, upscaling in Photoshop adds pixels but not genuine image information. The result looks soft. Source a higher resolution image if possible

    Minimum Line Weight and Font Size

    • Minimum line weight: 0.5pt
    • Minimum font size: 12pt (as specified in our canvas print requirements)

    Complete Artwork Checklist for Canvas Printing

    • Image resolution: 150dpi minimum (300dpi recommended) at 1:1 scale
    • Document size: canvas finished size plus 40mm in both dimensions (20mm bleed each side)
    • Wrap area: 20mm on all sides — check no important content sits within the wrap zone
    • Safe zone: 3mm inside the front face trim line
    • Colour mode: CMYK
    • Format: PDF/X-1a or high-resolution TIFF
    • Fonts: outlined or embedded
    • Proof check: See our proof checking guide

    Canvas Printing in Brighton & Hove

    Dipol Print produces canvas prints on 20mm wooden frames with a sawtooth bracket for hanging, for photographers, artists and businesses across Brighton & Hove and the wider UK. Collect from our print shop at 97 St James's Street, Brighton BN2 1TP or order online for UK-wide delivery.

    Not sure if your artwork is set up correctly for canvas printing? Get in touch with our team before submitting — we're happy to check your files.