Canvas Gallery Wraps from CVSPhoto.com Review

The canvas gallery wraps from CVSPhoto.com are a good value in a canvas type print. While a different construction than standard stretched canvas, the finished effect is very pleasing to the eye, sturdy, and likely to last a very long time. With a sealed finish to allow for easy cleaning and extra support within the frame, I would quickly recommend this product for more installations. The hardiness of these prints makes it especially desirable for commercial use.

Print quality is always a photographer's #1 concern and CVSPhoto does not disappoint with canvas wrap prints. Color and detail was faithfully rendered on our test canvas. The print was a touch darker than the original file but only a very minor amount that did not cause any loss of detail in shadows or loss of contrast. Simply remember to slightly brighten your images before sending and you shouldn't need to make any other adjustments on a properly calibrated system.

The CVSPhoto.com "canvas gallery wrap" is not a traditional stretched canvas. It starts out as a standard printed canvas but is then adhered to a rigid boar for stretching/folding instead of being stretched over an open frame. The board is folded to have an approximately 1" gallery wrap on the sides which gives a nice depth to the finished piece.

Once the board is folded, additional support is added in the cavity and a black backing board is applied. The backing board has a vertical and a horizontal hanging hing pre-installed. Because the hanging hardware is a hinge construction, hanging these prints is much easier than with other styles of hanging hardware.

Once a print is completed it is sprayed with a protective sealant to allow for damp cloth cleaning of the print. The sample print we received was dry but still felt clammy and had a very strong chemical smell as though the sealant had not completely cured before being packaged. No harm was done to the print from this and after leaving the print to air out a few hours the odd feel of the print and the odor completely dissipated.

The CVSPhoto.com ordering system is relatively straightforward. A Javascript allows you to browse photos on your computer for upload and you then select the options for your print. A word of warning, the ordering system can only see a relatively few high level folders. If you store your photos on an external drive or in a custom folder you'll likely need to save a copy of your photos on your desktop or in the default "pictures" folder for the upload system to work.

Once the photo is uploaded the ordering system uses a graphic interface so that you see exactly how your photo will be placed on the canvas board and allows for adjustment to the alignment.

Basic edits such as cropping, sepia, and black & white are also available within the ordering system.

Pricing for these canvas board wraps is much lower than the traditional stretched canvas prints. With 5x7s available for $12.99 and 20x30s for $69.99, this puts a canvas type print in reach for many more photographers than other options.

While there is a relatively limited array of sizes the most popular sizes are represented and the top size of 20x30 is certainly large enough for almost every home use.

There are two shipping options available for the canvas board wraps. You can chose to pay shipping and have the prints delivered to you directly or you can have the prints shipped to a local CVS with no shipping charge. Prints take about 5 days to process.

Disclosure: Review samples were provided by the manufacturer. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.