Create Amazing Wall Art From Your Printables
Downloadable art prints are such a fabulous way to shop for wall décor.
There's an amazing choice of different styles & genres of downloadable art, from stunning photography to fun & colourful nursery printables.
Once you've found what you like, simply download & print, life couldn't be easier!
But creating amazing wall art doesn't end there.
There's a fabulous choice of papers & ways to frame & display your printed art.
Whether you're printing from your home printer or using the services of an online or high street print lab, there's also a choice of print mediums you can select from.
There's a wonderful choice of print mediums available for downloadable art prints.
So how do you decide which medium is best for your printable & your décor with the method of printing available to you?
Home Printing
If you're using your home printer, then you'll have an option of various paper & card stock at your disposal.
Home printers are either inkjet or laser printers & each will handle certain paper & card stock differently.
They also use a different method for laying the image down onto the paper.
Rather than go into too much detail, you can learn more here: A Step By Step Guide: Printing Downloadable Art
But generally, laser printers don't handle card stock as well & can curl certain papers.
Inkjet printers will produce better quality on most paper & card stock.
It's usually recommended to use card stock, as it won't curl like paper & can usually be inserted into a picture frame without the need of mounting.
But that being said, this will depend on the final look & quality you want to achieve.
Photographic Papers
There's a good choice of photo papers available, all with various qualities & finishes.
As mentioned, you'll need to find the right paper style for your particular printer & one that will best suit the type of image or graphic you've downloaded.
If you have a colourful image, glossy papers are great for creating a more vibrant finish.
Glossy papers also bring out more contrast, so it's a good choice for a more punchy final result.
Detail & sharpness will also be retained with glossy style photo papers.
Satin or lustre papers are that perfect compromise, where you'll still have good colour & sharpness, but with a more subdued finish.
Matte papers are perfect for that fine art appeal, plus they don't create reflections when viewed from certain angles.
Boho style graphics, prints of paintings & more abstract artworks are ideal for this style of photographic paper.
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Card Stock & Printing Papers
In another lifetime I was an offset printer creating flyers, pamphlets, business cards & the like, actually laying ink to paper.
The process is all digitalised now of course, these business & office supplies are created with laser copiers & inkjet printers commanded straight from the computer.
But the card stock & papers used are still available & there's a wonderful choice of various finishes.
We're all familiar with the standard A4 & A3 white copy papers, but you can also find different coloured papers & card.
If your printables are black & white graphics, line drawings or quotation art, then printing to coloured paper can be a great way to add some vibrancy to your walls.
There's different finishes available too, such as embossed & linen.
These are great papers for adding texture to your image & can recreate that canvas look.
These textured papers can be used to great effect for making prints of paintings, as the finish makes it appear like a real painting on canvas.
Parchment is another paper style with texture that can really add a lovely organic, or more boho feel, to your printable.
Probably not a good choice for actual images or photographs, but wonderful for quotation prints or more minimalist art such as line drawings.
Framing & Matting
Framing can really enhance an artwork & matting is another way to add style to your final print.
Even a simple nursery printable can look fabulous with the right choice of frame & mat.
If you're printing from home, op-shops or charity stores are a fun & creative way to find unique & interesting picture frames.
Charity stores often have older style frames, which when given a coat of paint, can look fabulous.
Garage sales are another budget friendly way to find interesting frames for your printable art too.
Ornate frames can look fabulous when displayed in modern or contemporary décor, they create a wonderful contrast.
Mats are something you can create yourself with just a few inexpensive tools.
You can use different card stock , but specialized matboards are also available.
Certain images will suit this treatment more than others, but generally, matting your printable is a fabulous way to compliment the art.
Matting is a wonderful way to add another dynamic to your print & use colour in a creative way.
The image itself may be quite minimal or contain subtle colours & matting is a way to create that accent colour that will tie in with your décor.
White frames are always a great choice against darker wall colours, the artwork really draws your attention.
The use of a mat with a texture & natural brown colour ties in with the organic décor of the room.
Having Your Download Professionally Printed
What's the point of paying for downloadable art if you're then going to pay to have it printed?
There's many advantages to actually owning the image file.
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The cost of a download is the price of a latte or 2 & you'll own the image forever.
This means you can have it printed to any medium you like & over time if you decide to refresh your wall décor, you can swap out the style of print medium & still enjoy the art you love.
Certain photographs & images will suit particular print mediums.
Canvas Prints
Canvas is a wonderful & versatile medium for nearly any style of art.
Canvas prints are available as pure polyester, cotton or linen & most print services will use a poly/cotton blend.
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Each type has their own characteristics.
Like linen & embossed paper, canvas has a texture.
Polyester will create more vibrant colour & slightly better sharpness & detail, whereas linen or cotton produces a more painterly feel.
Photographs look great printed to canvas, but certain photos will suit canvas more than others.
Because of the texture, prints of paintings are perfectly suited to canvas & certain landscape images will benefit from a softer more textured approach too.
Acrylic Prints
Acrylic prints are made by either printing the image directly to the back of a sheet of acrylic glass, or printing to photographic paper, which is then mounted to the rear side.
This means you're viewing the image through a layer of acrylic, which gives an amazing depth to the final look as well as colour vibrancy.
Best suited for photographs & modern style graphic art, as the punchy look wouldn't do a painting justice.
Acrylic prints are typically frameless & this is what gives them their modern appeal.
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Metal Prints
Like acrylic, metal prints also create amazing depth & colour vibrancy.
Metal prints are actually printed to a sheet of aluminium & because they're thinner than acrylic, it's possible to frame them.
Again, images will have more saturated colour depth & not every style printable will suit this print medium.
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Wood Prints
A wonderful & unique way to present & display your printable art.
Various print services will use different types of wood, but bamboo & birch is very popular.
Quotation art really suits this medium, but other images could work really well too.
There's different ways the image can be applied to the wood, sometimes the whites in a photo can be left out so the grain of the wood shows through.
Wood prints can vary in thickness too, from thinner pieces to thicker wood block prints.
A perfect medium for a more rustic or farmhouse appeal.
Poster & Art Prints
Sometimes an artwork, photograph or image deserves the optimal treatment.
Home printers these days are very capable of producing excellent quality, but they still can't match the quality of a professional print lab or more expensive inkjet printer when it comes to larger art prints.
Many photographers that sell their own work invest in high end inkjet printers, as it gives them complete control over the final finish.
If you're someone who downloads wall art on a more regular basis, it can actually be a worthwhile investment in the long run.
When you think about it, having your photos or artwork printed to canvas in sizes from 16" x 24" & bigger is going to be $80 plus.
Around the $1500 mark will get you a printer more than capable of producing high quality photographic & canvas art prints to these larger sizes.
That's the equivalent of 10 to 15 prints or so, which you could easily purchase over a year or 3 if you're changing up your décor regularly, so the investment in a printer could really pay off.
You could even start charging your friends for printing out their downloads!
Final Thoughts
Downloadable wall art is a great way to not only shop for wall décor, but get involved in the creation process.
Once you have the printable on your hard drive, then you have a lot of choice in how you wish to produce & display the final print.
I hope this article has helped to generate some creative ideas for how you'd like to print & display your printables.
Feel free to check out my printable shop.
I'm always creating images & art to keep adding to it, so it's a good idea to subscribe so you not only get informed of new downloads, but receive special discounts too.