CanvasPop Print Service Review

Printing images on canvas has become very popular over the last few years and CanvasPop has emerged as one of the more prominent online companies to offer this service. They recently reached out to me and asked if I’d like to test their services, and given that I’d never reviewed a print service before, I thought it would be fun. Up to now I’ve always had my own prints created locally in Vancouver, BC, so I haven’t had a good answer for people when readers have asked for an online printer recommendation.

Armed with a credit for about $100 to spend on their store, I jumped right in and had a look around at what was on offer. What struck me to begin with was how simple the website was. Whilst I haven’t ever ordered online prints before, I have poked around a few sites in the past and most of them were quite overwhelming with the number of products on offer. That’s not the case with CanvasPop, they seem to have taken the “simpler is better” approach to sales, and I like that.

Canvas print options

Obviously canvas prints are their main product, but they also offer framed paper prints and triptychs too. It should be noted that they do not offer any unframed paper prints, so if you’re looking to get a stack of 100 6×4 prints from you last vacation printed, CanvasPop is not the printer you’re looking for.

The ordering process is very straightforward, and each option is clearly defined. Images can be uploaded from your computer in JPEG or TIFF format, or you can pull them straight from your own Instagram or Facebook account.

One concern that I had to start with was a note that said “Every order includes PicturePerfect. Our designers will adjust and optimize your image so it looks its best! We optimize contrast, image sharpness and even remove red eye at no extra cost.” Given that I spend a lot of time editing my own images, I didn’t want anyone else messing with them to their tastes before printing. After questioning them about this, I was informed that this only happens if you select the option for a “Free Digital Proof”. If you do not ask for the Digital Proof, they won’t mess with your image file. Good to know, and something that wasn’t clear on the site.

Filters/editing for those that want it.

Pricing

Great international options

Canvas prints start at around the $40 mark, but they often seem to run sales so you might be able to score a deal, particularly if you sign up to their newsletter. I ordered a a 16×24 inch canvas print with a 1.5″ thick frame, and the cart cost was just a touch over $100. I think the pricing is very good value, and it’s certainly a lot cheaper than some of the other canvas prints I’ve had done over the years. They also have a 100% satisfaction guarantee, which means if you aren’t happy with the print you’ll get you’re money back, and prices are available in Euros, Pounds, Canadian $ and US $.

Product Impressions

The print arrived via FedEx in an extremely well protected box, I can’t fault that side of things in the slightest. Print quality also appears to be good, and a quick poll amongst my social media followers also turned up lots of good opinions about their services from past customers. Whenever I can, I always try and seek some other experiences of a service. Several photographers told me that older CanvasPop prints were holding up very well, and it even turned out that a print on my girlfriend’s wall was a CanvasPop product from several years ago too. Still looked great in terms of colour!

Prints come ready to hang, and a hook is also included. Nice touch.

One thing that did leave me underwhelmed was the tidiness of the canvas stretching. Flipping the canvas frame over, there’s a lot of obviously quickly cut excess canvas, and what appears to be a hole in the canvas from an overly vigorous staple gun. I also saw some inconsistencies about how much of the image wrapped around the corner of the frame.

On further consideration, I feel as though this is simply a function of the cheap print costs. If you’re going to have a relatively cheap canvas printing service, there’s got to be some cost saving somewhere. I’m used to paying much more for my canvas prints so it’s probably unfair for me to compare things too closely with much more expensive products.

What I will say is that there are better quality canvas print and stretching services available than CanvasPop, but it’s going to cost you considerably more money. You can see some comparative photos below that show you some other prints that I have had made locally to me. They were much more expensive, but I feel like I can sell them for more money because the finished product looks that much smarter on close inspection.

A small amount of the image wraps around the edge of the frame.

I suspect that there’s a lot of people who might think that a canvas print is a canvas print, and they’ll simply shop around for the cheapest one. The point I want to make here is that there definitely can be a difference in the finished quality of a product like this if you spend a little more money on it. When it comes to canvas prints, the biggest difference you’ll probably find is in the actual finishing and stretching of the canvas on the frame. There’s no real difference in the quality of the printing onto the canvas, but there’s a lot of room for variation in stretching and framing technique.

The top is a much more expensive canvas print, the bottom is the CanvasPop print.
This time the CanvasPop print is on the top, and a more expensive one is on the bottom. I provide this not to belittle the CanvasPop print, but simply to underline that you can spend more money and get a neater result if you want to.

Should YOU Use CanvasPop?

CanvasPop is obviously a great service that’s hitting the right value point for a lot of people. I was impressed with the simplicity of the ordering process, and the wallet-friendly pricing compared to some other canvas prints that I’ve had done in the past. If you’re looking to print some of your own photos to hang in your home, or give to someone as a gift, then I can recommend CanvasPop to you and I think you’ll be very happy with the results. This probably covers the VAST majority of people, and I’ll almost certainly get other things printed by them in the future for my own personal enjoyment. The great thing about the low prices is that it will encourage people to get more things printed, and that can only be a good thing.

If you’re a professional photographer who is looking to sell prints of your images, you have a little more to consider. I felt that the feel and look of the finish on the canvas stretching was not up to a standard that I would be happy to sell for larger sums of money. If your target price point for print sales is at the lower end of the scale, perhaps $75-$250, then this is probably ok, but if it’s higher then you might want to look at some other options. I have sold canvas prints in the past for four figure sums, and for those kinds of pieces I would look to somewhere that takes more time and care over the stretching/framing process. In other words, if you have relatively high print prices for your business, using the cheaper services of CanvasPop to raise your profit margin probably isn’t the right choice. There are big differences in the look and feel of stretched canvas prints from different printers and it pays to do some test prints with different people if you’re looking to sell premium fine art products. I wouldn’t call CanvasPop a high-end professional printer for the discerning fine art photographer, but it’s a great value option for the vast majority of people’s personal canvas printing needs.

Thanks to CanvasPop for letting me test out the service!

Photo of author
Professional photographer based in Yukon, Canada, and founder of Shutter Muse. His editorial work has been featured in publications all over the world, and his commercial clients include brands such as Nike, Apple, Adobe and Red Bull.

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13 thoughts on “CanvasPop Print Service Review”

  1. We definitely do our utmost to produce the best canvas prints on the market. This is reflected in our lifetime guarantee, which I haven’t seen any of our competitors give. To be able to offer this, we have to make sure that our canvases really will last and are as beautiful as can be. We give free proofs, include mounting hardware, provide scratch resistance and UV protection so the colors won’t fade.

    Reply
  2. I took a picture with my iPhone 6s that I want to put on a 13 x 8 canvas with a black wood frame. I realize it’s not the best picture to use, but it’s the only one I have. Will CanvasPop be able to adjust the picture so it won’t be so grainy? It is so hard to see on my computer how the picture will really look. When I get my digital proof, after I order my picture, will I be able to see if it’s grainy? Will my order be processed if the picture, on the canvas, is too grainy? It’s very important to me since this if a family picture for my parents.

    Reply
    • Hi Michelle,

      There’s only so much you can do to remove grain from a photo. I think in this case, your best bet is to call them and ask them to try removing the grain before placing the order. Without having a copy of the photo myself, I can’t tell if the level of grain is something that is going to be removable. Give them a call and see what they say 🙂

      Reply
  3. Thanks for this review. I “won” a $25 discount from McDonalds and thought I would give it a try, however your assessment of the final product makes me think the cost is not worth it. I will stick with my local printer (The Print Lab in Victoria, who is a world class printer….) as his prices are not that far off CanvasPop anyway.

    Reply
    • They often have such large discounts that you could probably get something for $25, or very close to it. I’d still give it a go if I were you! BTW, do you mean Victoria, BC? Are you talking about Art Box?

      Reply
      • Terry, who used to be the printer at the Art Box, has been on his own for a few years now, his company is called the Print Lab.
        Terry is an awesome printer, and I have known him for many years…

        Reply
  4. My 54 x 36 CanvasPop print is pretty terrible quality. Next to a print of the same size from Conquest Maps, It looks like I tried and failed to mount it on the frame myself.
    Who do you recommend for better quality?

    Reply
    • Hi Michael, sorry you didn’t get a great result with them. One thing I will say is that they have excellent customer service. If the mounting is that bad, I’m sure they will send you another one. Just send them a quick email with a photo of the problem.

      As for better options… I’m afraid I don’t have a clear answer for that. I know of some local suppliers that are close to my home in Western Canada, but I haven’t yet tried out any more readily available premium options across N.America (not sure where you are from).

      Reply

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