Canvas transfers: offer an affordable alternative: art buyers are often impressed by canvas transfers, which offer the look of an original painting at a fraction of an original's price

Art Business News, Dec, 2002 by Tricia Bisoux

As art and framing retailers know well, even the most inexpensive poster looks fantastic when dressed up in fine mats and mouldings. But with the right materials, retailers can take this process one step further. They can give a paper print the look of an original by transferring it onto canvas.

Because the look of canvas transfers often suggests the look of an original painting, they have garnered the attention of art buyers and sellers everywhere. "Canvas transfers have been extremely popular for us. They haven't overtaken limited-edition prints in terms of sales, but they really come on strong," said Matt Wysocki, son of the late artist Charles Wysocki and director of The Charles Wysocki Gallery in Lake Arrowhead, Calif. "Often, customers will reserve a limited-edition print, but when they come into the gallery to pick it up, they'll see a canvas transfer and say, `Oh, I want that instead!'"

Greg Panjian, president of Old Grange Graphics in Somersville, Conn., agreed that it's the look of the canvas transfers that stops many art buyers in their tracks. "When customers hold the paper print in one hand and the canvas transfer of the same print in the other, they find it remarkable" he said. "People who have seen them love them, because it brings the art back to what its original looks like."

Whether a retailer creates them in-house or purchases them from an outside vendor, canvas transfers can be a profitable addition to an art and framing business. Not only do they encourage upgraded framing sales, but they also offer customers an attractive and more precious alternative to paper prints, allowing them to own the look of an original without breaking the bank.

Affordable and Available

When explaining canvas transfers to customers, retailers should note the difference between a giclee on canvas, a canvas print and a canvas transfer. A giclee on canvas, for example, is created when ink is applied directly to canvas using a high-resolution ink-jet printer. A canvas print is created when inks are applied directly to canvas using offset printing techniques.

A canvas transfer, however, is created when the image is literally "lifted" from a paper print, such as a poster or limited-edition print, and transferred to a canvas substrate. (See "Tips for Transfers," opposite page.) What distinguishes a canvas transfer from other prints on canvas is its texture, which often gives it an uncanny resemblance to an original painting. In addition, brushstrokes are often added to enhance the image and mimic the look of an original painting.

A transfer can be created through a hot-transfer method, in which the image is lifted off its paper backing using a special laminate and transferred to a canvas substrate with a heat press. Or, a transfer can be made using a cold transfer method, in which the image on paper is sprayed with a solution, soaked in water, peeled from the substrate and hand-rubbed onto a canvas surface.

Haddad's Fine Arts in Anaheim, Calif., has been creating canvas transfers since they were first introduced 30 years ago using the cold-transfer process, explained President Paula Haddad. The company does transfers of its own artists' images and provides transferring services to outside customers as well. "We've always made canvas transfers by hand, with no mechanized processes," she said. The finished product "has a shiny, varnished look to it, very much like an original oil" she added.

This original look at an affordable price is a primary reason for the appeal of canvas transfers among customers: The cost of a canvas transfer is usually only a few hundred dollars, a fraction of the cost of many artists' originals,

But canvas transfers offer another important perk to collectors: availability. Many customers may wish to own the original of a beloved image by a favorite artist, but a truly original work can be owned by only one person. A limited-edition of canvas transfers, however, is available to many buyers, explained Wysocki.

"For example, my mother loved an image my dad had done long ago of Noah's ark, but the original was not available," he said. "She had a canvas transfer made for a wall at home. It's not the original, but it looks eerily close to it." And like limited editions on paper, canvas-transfer editions are often signed and numbered on the back of the canvas, giving it an extra cachet among collectors.

The Transfer Advantage

Canvas transfers offer retailers the chance not only to sell more posters at an upgraded price, but also to generate additional revenue by creating transfers of their customers' own photographs and artwork. Many art and framing retailers have brought the canvas transfer process in-house to provide customers a value-added service. (Note: Because a canvas transfer can be considered a copyright infringement, it's important to obtain permission from the copyright holder before transferring any poster, limited edition print, or professionally taken photograph not in the public domain. (See "Keep an Eye on Copyright," opposite page.)