Caring for Your Stretched Canvas

Your canvas has been carefully designed, printed, coated and stretched to give you a beautiful product that should outlast you.

The following points will help you keep your canvas in top condition!

Do...

• Treat your canvas with the same respect that you would give to an original painting or watercolour.
• Handle your print with extreme care, to avoid cracking, creasing or scuffing.
• Carry the print by the stretcher bars, holding the back and top only.
• Hang the print in an environment with a consistent, moderate temperature, and away from direct sunlight, extreme changes in temperature, or high humidity.
• Carefully wrap in bubble wrap and/or packing foam before transportation, and always use cardboard corner protectors.
• Occasionally remove any settled dust by lightly brushing with a soft duster.

Don't...

• Hang the print in direct sunlight, high temperatures, changing temperatures or high humidity.
• Allow any fluids, including water, near the prints.
• Attempt to re-stretch the print yourself; refer to The Colour Barn if necessary.
• Touch the front surface of the canvas, particularly when carrying on stretcher bars.
• Attempt to retouch the image in case of scuffing or scratching - refer to The Colour Barn or a professional art restorer.
• Hang the print outside.

If you follow these basic dos and don'ts, your canvas will be always at its best.

Sometimes you can't avoid difficult conditions. All of our products have been selected for their exceptionally high quality and stability, but they are natural products and remain susceptible to small changes over time. These changes can be accelerated or exaggerated by poor care. For example:

• High temperatures, extreme changes of temperature and high humidity will increase the risk of sagging.
• Touching the canvas surface with your hands may transfer oils from your hands to the canvas; this may affect the appearance of the print.
• The stretcher bars have a small 'lip' on the front, designed to lift the canvas away from the wood. Carrying the canvas by holding the print face and wooden bar will press the print against the wood. This may cause sagging or lines to appear in the canvas. Move the canvas by holding the stretcher bars on the reverse and/or top only.
• Leaning the canvas so that the front face presses against another surface, or with anything leaning on the front face may also cause sagging or lines in the canvas.
• Whilst the inks used to print the canvas have excellent water-resistance, exposure to any liquids may cause the inkjet receptive coating to move, causing irreversible damage to the print.

Troubleshooting

In the unlikely event that you experience any problems with your canvas print, the following procedures will help you to resolve them.

Sagging

Before using this method, you need to be sure that the sagging is not due to any change in temperature or humidity which will self-resolve when the environment returns to normal.

If you look on the reverse of the print, you will notice that there are small wedges inserted into each corner of the wooden stretcher frame.

Using a hammer with a small head, gently tap the wedges in each corner; this removes any visible sagging from the canvas quickly and easily.

Be sure to tap the wedges evenly so that your picture remains straight. DO NOT touch the canvas with the hammer as this will cause irreversible damage to the print.

Water/Liquids

You should avoid getting water or other liquids on the print. Should this happen accidentally, DO NOT attempt to wipe the print dry, or dab it with a cloth. To minimise damage to the print, leave it face up on a flat surface to dry naturally, and do not touch until all the moisture has evaporated and the canvas is dry.

Re-stretching

In the unlikely event that you encounter serious problems which you are unable to resolve, please contact The Colour Barn directly on 01702 232500 for assistance.