Printing Your Printable Art

Downloading and printing your own art is easy! Especially if you have experience having family photos printed (it's basically the same process) and it allows you to have much more control over the final product - the size, the cost, whether it's on paper or canvas, framing, etc. Printable art is a super inexpensive way to get high quality art instantly by cutting out the "middle man" and without paying for shipping and waiting for days for your prints to arrive. You can print on a home desktop printer or upload to an online or local print service. 

 

Where to print your printable art

U.S., Canada & Mexico:

Nations Photo Lab - suggested products:
Photo prints (select lustre option) | Mounted prints | Framed prints | Canvas

Mpix - suggested products:
Giclee art prints | Framed prints | Canvas | Poster prints

Printique - suggested products:
Photo prints (select matte or luster options) | Poster prints (select any matte or luster option) | Fine art prints | Framed prints | Canvas | Standout photo prints (select luster, matte, or deep matte)

Snapfish - suggested products:
Standard photo prints (select matte option) | Large photo prints (matte only) | Framed & matted prints (luster only) | Framed large prints (matte only) | Canvas | Framed Canvas

 

U.K. & Europe:

Photobox (U.K.) - suggested products:
Large prints (select matte option) | Classic posters (select matte option) | Framed poster prints (matte only) | Canvas | Framed Canvas | Photo tiles

The Canvas Prints (U.K.) - suggested products:
Large Canvas Prints | Split Canvas Prints | Panoramic Canvas Prints

Whitewall (E.U.) - suggested products:
Giclee prints: UV poster print or Hahnemühle Fine Art Print | Photo prints: LightJet Print On Kodak Pro Endura (select matte option) or Lambda Print On Fuji Crystal DP II (select matte or velvet options) | Canvas | Framed prints

My Picture (U.K.) - suggested products:
Canvas | Framed photo | Photo board | Mixpix | Retro canvas

Printer Pix (U.K.) - suggested products:
Photo canvas

Snapfish (U.K.) - suggested products:
Large prints (select matt finish) | Poster prints (select matt finish) | Photo tiles | Framed prints | Canvas

Smartphoto.fr (France) - suggested products:
Poster classic (select "mate" finish) | Cadres photo | Porte-affiche magnétique

Pixaprints.ie (Ireland) - suggested products:
Custom poster photo prints (lustre only) | Canvas | Photo tiles | Mounted photo prints (lustre only)

 

Australia & New Zealand:

Posterfactory (Australia) - suggested products:
Photo prints: select Wall Art 250 | Fine Art Giclee prints: select Hahnemuhle Photo Rag 308, Canson ProCanvas Matte 395 or Canson Etching Rag 310

HappyMoose (New Zealand) - suggested products:
Photo prints (all paper options are great) | Framed prints | Photostrips | Mounted photo prints 

Photobook (Worldwide) - suggested products:
Photo prints: select Fujifilm Crystal Archive (Matte) or Matte [turn OFF image brightening/enhancement option] | Blank poster prints: select any lustre option | Framed prints | Canvas | Photo tiles

Frameshop (Australia) - suggested products:
Photo printing (select matte option) | Framed prints | Canvas

Vistaprint (Australia) - suggested products:
Wall art posters (select matte option) | Canvas | Foam prints

Harvey Norman (Australia) - suggested products:
Canvas

Officeworks (Australia) - suggested products:
Photo prints (lustre only) | Posters and Plans: Posters (select matte polyester or cotton canvas options) | Poster prints (lustre only) | Canvas

Important: be sure your printer does not apply automatic color or exposure correction to files before printing. This usually isn't an issue - but certain places like Costco have this option checked by default in their print interface - just be sure to uncheck that option. 👍

What is printable art?

Printable art is a super inexpensive way to get high quality art instantly by cutting out the "middle man" and without paying for shipping and waiting for days for your prints to arrive. You can print on a home desktop printer or upload to an online or local print service. You get ultimate flexibility in choosing your print size, print surface (paper, canvas, wood, etc.) and framing choices!

 

How does it work?

If you've ever had a personal photo from your phone digital camera or computer printed, you're all set with the concept of printable art! 

1. Purchase your art from The Crown Prints. Save 30% automatically when you add 3 or more regularly-priced items to your cart. Discounts are applied at checkout.

2. After payment, you'll be directed to a confirmation page with links to download each design you've purchased. You'll also receive an email containing a link to download your files. Please check your spam/junk folder if you're unable to find the email.

3. Once downloaded, you can then print out your files on your home or office printer, upload them to an online service, or email your files to a local print shop. All of my designs work well on a variety of print surfaces - paper, card stock, wood, canvas, etc.! Personal use only - private sharing or commercial reselling is not permitted.

 

What sizes can I print?

Each product listing description contains the available JPG print dimensions for that design. Generally, every design can be printed from sizes as small as 4"x6" or A5 all the way up to 24"x36" and A0. All designs from The Crown Prints are high-resolution 300 dpi JPG files in RGB color mode, which is a standard requirement from most professional print services.

 

Where do you recommend I take my files for printing?

If you're in the U.S. or Canada and uploading to an online service and you're not in a hurry, I recommend Finerworks.com or Persnicketyprints.com. Framebridge.com will also print your files and frame them for you as well. Locally in the U.S., Staples, Walgreens, FedEx Kinko's, Costco, Walmart, etc., will all print your files for you. If you should encounter any issues with using these services, please let me know and I'll help troubleshoot.

What kind of paper do you recommend?

This is really a personal choice, but I tend to prefer heavyweight matte paper for my fine art prints. Many office supply stores offer high quality heavyweight matte photo paper that will work well with your desktop printer. You can also use satin, semi-gloss or glossy paper for your prints, which would work particularly well for full color photographic prints.


Can I use your designs for commercial purposes?

All of my designs are for personal use only, and should not be used for commercial purposes or free distribution. Online and personal sharing of these files is strictly prohibited.


What is your return/refund policy?

All shipped prints are custom printed and made to order and therefore cannot be returned. If your digital files have not yet been downloaded, you are eligible for a full refund of your printable purchase. If you've ordered shipped prints and they arrive damaged, please contact me at jenny[at]thecrownprints[dot]com and share a photo of the damage so that I may get replacement prints out to you ASAP.


Printing at home or at the office:

I recommend using smooth cardstock or heavyweight photo paper for your prints - glossy, semi-gloss, satin or matte selections are matters of personal preference, but I tend to prefer matte paper for most of my prints, as it is less likely to contribute to glare and reflection when framed.

When printing your files, be sure your printer's settings are set to print at "original size" or 100% to ensure proper sizing. If there's a "quality" setting, select the highest available. In the paper selection option, select the appropriate option for your selected paper.

Color management: Please be sure your printer's color management/color correction is disabled before printing, or you may end up with a color cast especially in white areas of your print. Here are some guidelines:

- Epson: Set Color Management to “None”, “Off” or “No Color Management”. Depending on the driver and version, you may need to select "ICM" before seeing any of these choices. Also make sure that the "print preview" option is NOT checked, or you may end up with a magenta cast to your print.

- Canon: the naming of the control may not always be consistent, but it will generally be “Off” or “None”

- HP: Set color management to “Application Managed Color”. Depending on the driver and version, you may need to select ICM before seeing this choice.




 

I've been really pleased with the quality of Staples prints, where you can get very inexpensive same day prints if ordering before 2 PM (with a small rush fee).

Printing at Walgreens (U.S. customers):

Walgreens is my favorite location for same-day pickup of prints/posters in 11x14, 12x18, 16x20, 20x30 and 24x36 sizes.

  • Their paper texture for posters is a nice satin - not quite matte, but not slippery smooth/gloss either. 
  • Walgreens often has coupons for photo printing, so check the site before purchasing online. My local Walgreens here in New Hampshire has my posters ready within 30 minutes of ordering! 
  • Their 8x10 prints also look great, though the only paper option is glossy paper for same-day pickup.