canvas comparisons

So here’s a direct comparison between the Loxley canvas wrap and the printnine of the same size. First of all you have to remember that printnine is a LOT cheaper .. however there’s no doubt Loxley’s is head and shoulders a better product.

Wrapping – Loxley wins hands down with a nice little carry-around box with suitable protection. The plastic bag around the image can be opened and closed again for dust-protection. The plastic wrap on the other canvas is made out of the plastic you might use for wrapping flowers. Once it’s opened you’ll have to parcel it back up again.

Image quality – In theory exactly the same file was uploaded to both. You’ll notice printnine’s on the right seems to have had an aspect distorition so I’m not sure what’s going on there. P9’s is a little more contrasty but Loxley’s is closer to what I had on the screen (I played the levels very safe) – both of these have lost significant luminosity in the rocky outcrop midfield. The print I have from Loxley does the same though. Skin tones are much closer to what I wanted on the Loxley print .. the P9 has come out a little on the yellow side.

Feel – there’s no competition – the Loxley one wins hands down. It just feels more solid and well constructed. You can see the quality of the finish in the images too.

Canvas quality – I asked Tony to do the gallery wrap and the box corners so the untidy corners on the website were no problem. Loxley uses proper silver halide development as I understand. Tony prints onto cotton. The Loxley one is laminated – it really feels like it was made to last (a look at the corner shots will give you a feel for this). One thing I think the P9 one has in its favour is the weave of the canvas – on the Loxley, the texture is a little distracting but the finer weave on the P9 material seems a bit more suitable.

So there you have it … you get what you pay for. I think P9 represents excellent value and the service and turnaround was great but the extra money shows for the premium canvas wrap.

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