CanvasDiscount Metal Print review - I finally have a picture over my fireplace!

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REVIEW – Ever since we moved into our new home in 2021, we have been searching for art to hang above the fireplace. The wall above our fireplace is entirely tiled, and I am afraid to try drilling into it to place a hanger. That means I was looking for lighter artwork that could be hung with double-sided tape or even Command Strips hangers. I have been meaning to get a metal print of a picture I took while on a trip to Alaska, so I eagerly volunteered to try out CanvasDiscount’s metal prints.

⬇︎ Jump to summary (pros/cons)
Price: $15 for an 8 x 10 up to $178 for a 30 x 40 inch print
Where to buy: CanvasDiscount

What is it?

Canvas Discount is a website that offers printing services for photos on canvas, aluminum, acrylic, photo board, and photo paper, which can be used to create posters or framed prints. This review is for their metal prints.

Design and features

The Canvas Discount website is very user-friendly. After clicking the “Upload Photo” button on the metal print web page, you are presented with the two screens below. The top screen displays all available sizes for their metal prints. Based on the picture you upload, they give you the sizes the picture can support. I uploaded a 16-megapixel picture, 6000 x 4000. I could print up to a 30 x 40-inch picture with a file at that size. That is the largest metal print that they offer. When I uploaded a 2.1 megapixel picture, the largest metal print I could get was 20 x 30. I appreciate that they prevent you from ordering a size that would make your image look pixelated when printed.

On that screen you can drag the photo around and zoom in and out to set the image perspective you want. There is also an edit image option I will get into later.

Scrolling further down, you are presented with the option to add an aluminum backframe to the back of your picture. If you plan to hang the picture from a hook, choose this option. If you don’t, you will be presented with a simple sheet of metal bearing the picture. I chose the aluminum backframe because I wanted the picture to stick out a bit from the wall. I also chose the 30 x 40-inch print, which brought my total to $193.

I edited my picture beforehand in Adobe Lightroom. I was really fortunate when I took that picture. We were on a smaller boat heading towards the Mendenhall glacier in Alaska. Everyone was focused straight ahead on the glacier, but when I glanced to the left and saw that mountain with the reflection on the water, I had to take it. The only thing I did to the picture in Lightroom was to make the sky just a touch more blue. The clouds and all other objects in the picture remained unaffected. That is the tool I use for all of my photo editing. Canvas Discount does have an editing tool that allows you to perform some editing and filtering. Trust me when I say that if your photo is not color-correct, properly focused, or framed correctly, this editing tool will not correct it. This editor is more of a photo enhancer. You can overlay raindrops, metal, wood, clouds, and hearts. You can add text to the picture, and they even have some text overlays. I did not use any of their editing features on this picture.

I chose to zoom in more on the picture for my print. For a 30 x 40 print, the image was already slightly zoomed in.

Assembly, Installation, Setup

I ordered the picture on September 6th, and it was shipped on September 11th. It came wrapped in sturdy cardboard.

Cutting open the cardboard, the picture inside was wrapped in bubble wrap. The picture was in great shape.

Here is a close-up picture of the aluminum backframe.

Performance

I was a bit concerned when I ordered the picture that it didn’t have separate options for glossy or matte finishes. I wanted a matte finish because if you have any windows in the room where you are displaying photos printed on metal, they will glare quite badly. Fortunately for me, their standard print is matte. This may or may not be pleasing to some people. I think it would be a good option to offer gloss prints, and it can make the photo pop a bit more if that is what the customer wants.

It is challenging to capture a clear image that shows the detail of the print. I was quite happy with how it came out. The color on the print matched my color-corrected display on my MacBook. You can see the fine matte finish on the picture.

I used some heavy-duty 3M double-sided tape and applied it to both sides of the aluminum hanger. I also put a bit on the top part of the hanger. I then pressed it to the wall. If you want to hang this on sheetrock, I have plenty of smaller metal prints with aluminum frame hangers that can be hung using Command Strips picture hangers. Those are the ones that are two pieces, and Velcro connects them. I recommend those for sheetrock because you can remove them without damaging your walls. Since this picture is on tile, I will be able to clean off any residue should I need to replace the image. Some other printing sites (Pictorem) have various other metal print options, but they are at a higher price point.

Final thoughts

Overall, I am pretty happy with this print from CanvasDiscount. You need to make sure your image is color-correct and ready to print as is. Canvas Discount does not offer any touch-up features by its staff, and its editing software only overlays existing content. I am also a bit disappointed that they don’t provide a French cleat or any other type of hanging option if you don’t want to use double-sided tape or Command Strips.

What I like about CanvasDiscount

Good prices
Fast service

What needs to be improved?

Offer different printing options like glossy or other metals
Offer editing services by your staff
Offer more hanging options

Price: $15 for an 8 x 10 up to $178 for a 30 x 40 inch print
Where to buy: CanvasDiscount
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by Canvas Discount. Canvas Discount did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.