Help & FAQ
Answers about our museum-quality prints on canvas and fine art paper: choosing the print and its size, framing, delivery, returns and care. If your question is not here, write to us.
Choosing your print
Giclée is the fine art printing method used for museum-quality reproductions. Professional-grade inkjet printers apply archival pigment inks to canvas or fine art paper in precise droplets, reproducing the detail, the subtle tones and the colors of the original. Pigment inks also keep their color far longer than the dye inks of ordinary printers.
Archival pigment inks, cotton print media and careful finishing. We print on natural cotton canvas, 400 g/m², acid-free and pH-neutral, or on pure cotton fine art paper, free of optical brighteners, acids and lignin. Canvas prints are then varnished by hand for UV protection. Every print is made to order in our workshop in Europe, at the size you choose.
Because we follow the original. Oil paintings on canvas are printed only on canvas, which carries their texture and depth. Works on paper, such as watercolors, pastels, drawings and etchings, are printed only on fine art paper, which keeps their delicate, matte character. This is why each product page offers one medium: the one that suits the original. More about our print media.
A satin-gloss surface keeps the depth of the dark tones and the brilliance of the colors, much like the varnish on an oil painting in a museum. On a matte canvas the same image looks flatter and paler. The woven texture of the cotton stays visible, so the print reads as a painting.
Our archival pigment inks are rated for more than 100 years without visible fading indoors, provided the print is kept out of strong direct sunlight.
Often, yes. Write to us with the artist, the title and, if you know it, the museum. If you do not know the details, a description of the painting is enough to start.
Size guide
Start with the original. Each product page gives its size, and a print at or near that size shows the painting at the scale the artist chose. Reducing works well; enlarging a small original changes its character, so keep the difference modest.
Then consider the wall. Large prints around 36 in wide suit living rooms and open spaces; medium sizes around 24 in suit bedrooms, hallways and studies. Above a sofa, a bed or a sideboard, a print of two thirds to three quarters of the furniture width looks balanced.
Hang the picture with its center at eye level, about 57 in from the floor.
To be sure, cut paper to the size or mark it on the wall with painter's tape. The size each product page opens with is our popular default, which suits most rooms.
No. The size you set is the printed image. We add 1.2 in of blank canvas, or white paper, on every side at no extra cost, so the canvas can be stretched and the paper mounted. Your Selection on the product page shows both sizes.
The printed image plus the width of the frame, and of the mat if you choose one, on every side. Your Selection shows the Framed Size as you choose, and the preview on the product page shows the frame and the mat to scale.
The slider covers every size up to the maximum shown on each product page, always in the proportions of the original. For something larger, write to us with the title and the dimensions.
Rolled, stretched or framed
- Rolled: unframed, in a protective tube, with 1.2 in of blank canvas or white paper on every side for your framer.
- Stretched, canvas only: stretched on stretcher bars, without a picture frame, with a cord for hanging. Planning to use a frame you already own? Read our guide first: the measurements must be exact, and we confirm such orders individually.
- Framed: we stretch the canvas, or mount the paper behind acrylic glass, build the frame to your size and attach a hanging system, so the print arrives ready to hang.
Canvas is framed without glass, like a painting, so its texture stays visible. Paper prints are framed behind acrylic glass, which cannot shatter in transit. Any framer can replace it with real glass at little cost, and for smaller prints we can fit glass on request.
The border between the print and the frame. On paper prints it is a cardboard mat cut around the image, which gives the picture room and keeps it off the glass. On canvas it is a liner, a narrow wood or polystyrene profile inside the frame. A mat is optional and adds twice its width to the framed size.
Wood or durable polystyrene, from European manufacturers, in profiles from minimalist to classic. Each product page shows the frames available for that print, with their width. Our framing guide.
Yes. When you choose a frame or a mat in the Frame tab, the preview on the product page shows it around the painting, to scale, and the price and the Framed Size update at once.
Ordering and delivery
Rolled prints ship within 2 workdays, stretched and framed prints within 7 to 8. As soon as your parcel leaves, we email you the tracking number.
Free worldwide shipping is available. Add the print to your cart and use the shipping estimate: it shows the options, prices and delivery times for your country and your order.
Rolled prints travel in a protective tube, stretched and framed prints in a cardboard box with corner protectors. Depending on the country, we ship with a postal service or a courier. Please give a street address, as we cannot deliver to PO boxes.
Credit and debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express) and PayPal. Payments run through encrypted, certified payment providers; your card details never reach us.
Returns and damage
Yes, within 30 days of delivery and for any reason, if the print is unframed. Email info@topartprint.com with your order number and we will send you the return instructions. Please send the print back in its original packaging; the return postage is yours unless the print is faulty. We refund to your original payment method within 3 to 5 business days of receiving it. Stretched and framed prints are made to measure and cannot be returned. Return policy.
Email us a photo of the damage within one week of delivery, with your order number. We reprint and reship it at our cost, and you do not need to send the damaged print back.
Care
Dust it with a soft, dry cloth and never use detergents. Hang it where it receives less than 5 to 6 hours of direct sun a day. If water gets on the surface, blot it gently with a dry cloth.
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