What is Gallery Wrap?

What is gallery wrap? Our quick explainer tells you everything you need to know about gallery wrapped canvas.

This is a common question from our customers, and one with quite a simple answer. Gallery wrap canvas prints are canvas prints where the canvas fabric is stretched over the frame. The canvas completely covers the stretcher bars and is attached to the back of the frame. But is that all there is to it?

In This Article:

• The difference between studio and gallery wrap
• Edge designs available for a CanvasDiscount.com gallery wrap
• 5 qualities that make a good gallery wrap

So, what’s the difference between gallery-wrapped and studio-wrapped canvas prints?

Some confusion can arise when the term studio wrap is used. A studio wrap is also sometimes called a non-gallery wrap, and there’s an important distinction between the two styles – even though there might be no difference in quality at all.

In the case of studio-wrapped canvas prints, the canvas is not folded over the edge of the frame, and the stretcher bars remain partially or completely exposed. This means that any staples (or other types of fastener) will be clearly visible unless there’s an additional frame around the outside.

The choice of wrap used is largely a matter of customer taste and rarely an indicator of the manufacturer's production quality. While some consider that the gallery wrap gives a professional, elegant look to their wall art piece, others prefer leaving the edges visible, feeling that it enhances the impact of the photo image.

The edges of a gallery-wrapped canvas can themselves be printed, meaning they can be used as a printed border of your photo or as a continuation of the photo itself.

Edge Designs Available with a CanvasDiscount.com Gallery-Wrapped Canvas

Folded edge – a classic gallery wrap with the margins of your photo image printed on the sides of the frame. When considering this design, keep in mind that when your canvas print is viewed from the front, details at the very edge of your photo will not be in view.

Mirrored edge – your image is visible in full on the front of the canvas, while the outer borders of your photo are copied, inverted and printed on the edges of the frame. This unconventional effect can work wonders with certain types of photos!

Stretched edge – also known as a “pixel stretch” design, because the outermost pixels of your photo are stretched lengthwise along the sides of the frame, creating a blurry look. Meanwhile your photo is fully visible on the front of the framed canvas.

Solid color edges – A bold strip of black or white is printed along the edges of the canvas. Monochrome photos can be wonderfully enhanced by this style.

5 Things That Make a Good Gallery Wrap

​​

Gallery wrap is the most popular method of displaying a canvas on its frame – this applies in the case of original paintings as well as digital photo reproductions. But not every gallery wrap is a successful one. You can be sure your gallery-wrapped canvas is a work of true craftsmanship if it has the following five qualities:

1. It’s perfectly taut. One of the most important indicators of a quality gallery wrap is the tautness of the canvas. This means no creasing or billowing, but just a perfectly flat, firm canvas fabric.

2. It’s hand-stretched. Hand-stretched canvas is now seen as the gold standard for the industry – and with good reason. We increasingly rely on machines when it comes to industrial mass production, but in this case they’re liable to over-stretch the canvas, resulting in hairline cracks in the image. With a hand-stretched canvas, meanwhile, you benefit from the careful judgment and accurate work of an experienced professional.

3. Good stapling work. Staples with irregular intervals between them is never a good sign. Secure and evenly distributed staples are important for the longevity of your canvas print.

4. Perfect fold. There should be no loose parts of the canvas sticking out. Only hand stretching can ensure a canvas that’s neat and precise from top to bottom.

5. High-quality foundation. And none of the above would be possible without a high-quality wooden frame as the foundation for your canvas. Featuring a carefully selected spruce wood stretcher frame, a gallery-wrapped canvas print from CanvasDiscount.com is sure to meet all the right criteria.

Follow the simple guidelines listed above and you’ll be sure to find a top-quality gallery-wrapped canvas in no time. After all, you’ve already found one of the best platforms for creating a canvas online – CanvasDiscount.com