How to Scan and Print Original Artwork on Canvas | Fotospeed

Advice From Tim Jones at Fotospeed

If you create original artwork and want to offer high quality canvas prints, the process is more nuanced than most people expect. Over the years I have spoken to countless artists who created beautiful originals but ended up disappointed with the final print — not because of the canvas or the printer, but because the capture and preparation stages were not done correctly.

One of the most common questions I hear is:

“How do I turn my original artwork into a high quality canvas print?”

Once you understand the fundamentals, producing professional-looking inkjet canvas prints becomes far more achievable — whether you are doing everything yourself at home or working with a professional print service. Here are the biggest lessons I have learned about scanning, photographing, and printing original artwork onto canvas.

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Which Fotospeed Canvas Is Right for Your Artwork?

Before diving into the technical process, it is worth knowing which inkjet canvas paper suits your work. Fotospeed offers five distinct canvas options, each designed for different applications.

Canvas	Weight	Finish	Base	Best For	Key Characteristics
Baroque Matt Canvas 350	350gsm	Matt	Poly-cotton	Fine art reproductions, gallery wraps	Traditional textured weave, archival feel, strong colour gamut, excellent stretching performance
Everest Gloss Canvas 380	380gsm	Gloss	Poly-cotton	Vibrant photography, commercial prints	Gloss surface delivers deeper blacks, stronger saturation, high-impact photographic finish
Renaissance Matt Canvas 370	370gsm	Matt	Poly-cotton	Photographic printing, portraits	Smooth tonal rendering with a refined matte surface, ideal for premium photographic work
Impressions Matt Canvas 360	360gsm	Matt	100% Cotton	Fine art and photography	Balanced matte canvas for artwork and photographic reproduction with a softer appearance
Polyester Matt Canvas 260	260gsm	Matt	Polyester	Budget-conscious production, décor	Lightweight and economical, easy handling, suited to volume printing and décor applications

Not sure which to start with? The Baroque Matt Canvas 350 is our most popular choice for fine art reproduction, while the Everest Gloss Canvas 380 is the go-to for photographers wanting maximum colour impact. If you are undecided, it is always worth printing a small proof on each before committing to a full run.

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1. Your Print Is Only Ever as Good as the Original File

The very first thing I tell artists is this:

Your canvas print will only ever be as good as the file you start with.

Most people jump straight to asking about printers, inks, or which canvas paper to use — but the capture stage is where everything really matters. To reproduce artwork accurately you need:

• Accurate colour capture
• Proper, controlled lighting
• Sufficiently high resolution
• Correct perspective (no keystoning or distortion)
• Preservation of surface texture

I have seen artists photograph incredible paintings on a phone under poor lighting and then wonder why the print looks dull or inaccurate. Whether you are reproducing artwork yourself or working with a professional print service, a great printer can improve a good file — but it cannot rescue a poor one.

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2. Should You Scan or Photograph Your Artwork?

It depends entirely on the artwork itself.

Scanning works brilliantly for:

• Watercolours and ink illustrations
• Pencil drawings
• Flat artwork
• Smaller originals (up to A3 on most flatbeds)

A good scanner can deliver exceptional sharpness and colour consistency for flat work.

Photography is usually the better option for:

• Large canvases and oils
• Acrylics with heavy impasto texture
• Mixed media
• Any artwork larger than A3

Scanners can flatten texture and introduce reflections or tonal unevenness on highly textured surfaces. Professional large format scanning equipment exists that handles surprisingly large artwork, but it is expensive. For most home studio artists, a well-set-up camera and copy stand is the most practical and affordable route.

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3. Lighting Is the Biggest Mistake Most Artists Make

Bad lighting destroys colour accuracy faster than anything else in the reproduction process. If you are photographing artwork, you need soft, neutral, and consistent lighting. The key principles are:

• Two lights positioned at 45 degrees either side of the artwork
• Lights matched in colour temperature (ideally daylight-balanced)
• No direct reflections on the surface
• Camera positioned perfectly square — any angle introduces distortion and uneven focus

This is one reason some artists choose to work with professional reproduction services or invest in a dedicated copy stand with matched lighting.

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4. Colour Management Changes Everything

Artists spend hours carefully mixing colours in their originals and then completely ignore colour management when reproducing them.

If your screen is not calibrated, you are editing blind.

Colour management means:

• Calibrating your monitor with a hardware colorimeter (X-Rite or Datacolor are the leading options)
• Using ICC profiles specific to your printer and canvas combination — Fotospeed provides free ICC profiles and colour management support for all their canvas papers
• Soft proofing your image in Photoshop or Lightroom before printing, so you can see how it will look on the actual canvas

If you are printing at home, colour management controls the entire workflow from screen to finished print. Fotospeed also offers a free custom ICC profiling service — worth taking advantage of if you are printing in volume.

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5. What Resolution Do You Actually Need?

Canvas texture naturally softens detail slightly compared to a gloss photographic paper, which means you can often work with a little less resolution than you might expect.

As a practical guide:

• 300 dpi at print size is ideal and recommended
• 150–200 dpi at print size is often acceptable for canvas given the texture
• Below 150 dpi will typically show visible softness or pixelation on larger prints

Always capture at the highest quality possible from the outset. You never regret having more resolution — you frequently regret not having enough when you want to print larger later.

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6. What Makes a Canvas Print Look Professional?

The material choice makes an enormous difference to the final result. When choosing your canvas for fine art reproduction, consider:

• Texture and weave — does it complement or distract from the original artwork?
• White point — a warm white suits oil paintings; a brighter white suits photography and illustration
• Coating quality — affects ink absorption, colour gamut, and drying time
• Weight and stretch performance — heavier canvases like the Baroque 350gsm or Renaissance 370gsm handle stretching more reliably than lighter options

The best canvas prints are the ones where people stop asking “Is this a print?” and simply appreciate the artwork itself. Browse the full Fotospeed canvas range to compare all options, or scroll back to the comparison table at the top of this post.

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7. Tips for Artists Selling Canvas Prints for the First Time

Do not rush the first print run. Follow this process:

1. Produce a small proof print first — A4 or A3 before committing to full size
2. View proofs under good, consistent light (not a phone screen in a dark room)
3. Check colour carefully against the original artwork
4. Evaluate texture, sharpness, and tonal range before scaling up

Artists often undervalue prints because they see them as “copies”, but professionally produced canvas prints are genuine high quality art products when done correctly. Pricing them accordingly is not only fair — it is necessary to cover the cost of quality materials and your time.

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8. Can You Use a Smartphone to Photograph Artwork?

Modern smartphones are significantly better than many people realise, particularly the camera systems on recent flagship models. For artists just starting out, a smartphone can be a perfectly reasonable way to begin experimenting with reproductions.

The important caveats:

• Lighting still matters just as much — a smartphone under bad lighting gives a worse result than a DSLR under good lighting
• Avoid the wide or ultra-wide lens — use the standard lens to avoid barrel distortion
• Lock exposure and white balance manually before shooting
• Shoot in RAW if your phone supports it, for more editing flexibility

Once you are producing for commercial sale, investing in a proper camera and copy stand setup pays for itself quickly in consistency and rework time saved.

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9. Why Getting Reproduction Right Actually Matters

When artwork reproduction is done properly, it allows more people to experience and own the work — without compromising the integrity of the original. A well-produced canvas print is a genuine art product, not a cheap copy.

Some artists love having complete control and managing everything themselves. Others prefer partnering with trusted print specialists so they can focus on creating. Both approaches are valid — what matters is that the materials, capture, and workflow are treated with the same care as the original artwork.

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Final Thoughts

Reproducing artwork on canvas is part technical process, part craftsmanship, and part experience. The good news is that with the right foundations in place — good capture, a colour-managed workflow, and quality inkjet canvas paper — the results can be genuinely impressive.

Ready to start? Explore the full Fotospeed canvas range and download the free Fotospeed eBook covering fine art printing workflows, papers, and colour management in detail. You can also find in-depth printing tutorials and canvas demonstrations on the Fotospeed YouTube channel.

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