Consider These Alternative Mediums Before Printing Your 3 Panel Wall Art
Triptych art is a very popular style of wall décor & many print services & art stores offer these 3 panel prints.
Triptych art can be ready made, or you can upload your own image to have it printed in a choice of panels sizes.
To explore further this style of wall art check out :
There's many styles of art & photography that look amazing split across 3 panels.
But a photograph or image can often be enhanced by choosing an appropriate print medium that suits the subject matter.
So should you print triptych art to canvas? Canvas is a wonderful choice for printing triptych art, but there's other print mediums that may better suit & enhance your image.
There's really only 5 main print options readily offered by your high street print service.
1. Canvas Prints
2. Photograph Paper & Framed Prints
3. Metal or Aluminium Prints
4. Acrylic Prints
5. Wood Prints
Let's explore each of these print choices & which will work to enhance your triptych image.
1. Canvas
I love canvas as a print medium as it's affordable & by using high quality materials, a stunning piece of wall art can be produced.
The price point is a consideration, because with a triptych you're getting 3 separate panels printed.
There's 3 types of canvas usually available, which is cotton or linen, polyester or a blend of both.
Rather than bore you with the details, you can learn about these canvas blends & their different properties here: Canvas Photo Prints Explained - A Complete Guide.
Canvas is so popular because most photographs & images are going to look good printed to this medium.
A print of a painting will definitely suit canvas & it's more than likely the best option for this style of triptych.
This is because the texture of canvas compliments the art style.
Some landscape photography requires maximum detail & sharpness, but many landscape photographs will look better printed on canvas as well.
Canvas can produce sharp & punchy images, but for an image where you're wanting to achieve a softer or more muted look, canvas is the go.
Even larger panels are fairly lightweight, this translates to easy to hang & arrange on your wall.
Canvas wraps work really unframed, which some triptych images will require, as framing can deter from the overall effect.
But floater frames are available for canvas prints & can be a wonderful & contemporary choice.
As to whether your triptych will look better framed or not I'd recommend reading: Framing Triptych Prints, You Can But Should You?
2. Photographic Paper & Framed Prints
There's a wide variety of photographic paper available, but print services will generally offer variations of gloss, semi-gloss & satin finish or matte.
To explore all the photographic paper options, I've put together a handy guide: A Guide To Photographic Print Mediums & Materials
Quality photographic paper is the best option for an image that requires a high level of sharpness & detail.
But like canvas, there's linen/cotton & archival papers which produce a softer & textured look.
These could be used to great effect for a print of a painting, or again, a landscape or coastal image.
Triptych prints can also be produced from portraiture & these softer papers can be more flattering.
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Of course, framed photographs can work well for triptychs & there's a wide choice of framing options available.
Triptychs that consist of 3 individual images instead of a single image split over 3 panels, can often look fabulous not only framed, but matted too.
Triptych art can also look amazing when printed to a large size, but a large or oversized triptych photographic print could start to get expensive, especially when you throw in the framing option as well.
Fancy Some FREE Triptych Printable Wall Art?
3. Metal Prints
Sometimes referred to as aluminium prints, they offer a world of depth & vibrancy.
To learn about the different ways they are made & why they produce such stunning images, I'd recommend reading: A Comprehensive Guide To Metal Photo Prints
If your triptych image is one that you really want to create impact with & have a sense of depth & colour, metal prints are the way to go.
Sunset beach images look amazing printed to this medium as do other landscape photographs, but a print of a painting is going to look somewhat odd I feel.
Metal prints can be framed, but they have such a modern & contemporary look that often they're best left unframed.
Being made of aluminium means large size unframed triptychs will still be easy to hang.
The price of these prints is slowly going down, but they can be a more expensive option than an unframed canvas or photograph.
4. Acrylic Prints
Like metal prints, acrylic also produces amazing depth & colour.
They're a style of print that can also be produced using various methods which you can learn about here: All You Need To Know - A Complete Guide To Acrylic Prints
They also look fabulous unframed, because unlike aluminium, the acrylic sheet has a thickness to it.
There's options of thickness available which will produce varying image quality & depth.
Also, prints made from thicker acrylic sheets look fabulous when viewed from the side.
The thicker the acrylic, the heavier the print is going to be.
They're not super heavy, but if you're printing a large triptych, a panel could weigh up to 3kg (6.6 lbs).
The visual appeal of acrylic, like metal prints, isn't really suited to paintings, more high definition images where a punchy & vibrant look is desired.
5. Wood Prints
This style of print is as the name implies, an image is printed directly to wood.
Wood prints create a wonderful rustic vibe & depending on the style of art or image, even an industrial look.
The look will vary from print service to print service & the type of wood they offer.
This could be a unique look for a painting or photographic print, but wood prints are also ideal for those quotation triptychs, portraiture & graphic style designs.
Are you looking for unique family wall art? As well as 3 panel prints, Canvas Vows also have a range of personalized home décor.
Final Thoughts
I've really been getting into triptych art lately, as I love the way splitting an image across 3 panels can create a whole new dynamic.
Of course, the image needs a composition that will lend itself to this process.
Like any other art or photograph, the choice of print medium is also important for the final result.
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I hope you found some inspiration or ideas for your triptych art.
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