How I Chose the Paper for my POD Art Prints (& Giveaway!)
Now that I have 2 Bayeux Tapestry-inspired pieces finished, I’ve decided to look into making them available as prints. I’ve had so many people say they wish they could have them, prints are the best way to make that happen. I know lots of artists go the do-it-at-home route and buy a super nice printer, but I’ve decided to outsource the work to print on demand.
I spent some time look at various POD options. I wanted to be able to make my prints the same size as the originals, 11” x 14,” which proved surprisingly difficult. That doesn’t seem to be a popular print size. I ended up going with Gelato, which had 3 paper options at that size. I ordered one of each to compare.
Classic Matte and Premium Matte
I’m lumping these two together because, honestly, I couldn’t see much of a difference. The premium is definitely sharper in terms of the stitch details, but if you put them both up on a wall and stood back to look at them, you’d be hard pressed to tell the difference.
And maybe, if all 3 paper options had been close, that would have made a difference. But the museum/archival matte paper was so distinct from the other 2 that it doesn't even matter.
Archival Matte
This paper option blew me away with how much better it is than the other 2. The colours are richer and closer to the original. The details are sharper. It’s almost exactly like the professionally digitized image I had taken of the original piece.
It is more than twice the cost of the classic matte, which is the cheapest option, but it’s absolutely worth! The price of the print is still within market range for an art print this size and it’s important to me that people who buy the print get as close as possible to the original embroidery piece. The detailed stitchwork and rich colours are what make this series so wonderful! I’m discovering that making an art print of an embroidered piece is not as straight-forward as it would be for another medium, like watercolour or acrylic, so anything I can do to increase the fidelity of the print, I’m going to do it.
I’ve chosen the paper for the prints, but what other products would you like to see these pieces on? Mugs? Mouse pads? post cards? Different sized prints? Let me know what you’d like in the comments and I’ll look into expanding these options.
Giveaway
If you want a print of Yippee Ki Yay, you can find it for sale here. But if you’re feeling lucky, I’m holding a giveaway for the 3 prints that I ordered for this test. To be entered, all you have to do is be subscribed to my YouTube channel, follow me on Instagram, and join my mailing list. I’ll choose 3 winners at random on 28 February.
