Matt Botwood

Fresh back from a vacation in turkey and knee deep in RAW files I hope to have some images to share here shortly. However, on my return I came back to follow up on a canvas printing issue that I had encountered with one of my portrait customers and there is a lesson to be learned which I though I would share here.

I had an order for a 100cm x 70cm canvas print of a family portrait (yes that is big!) and my usual supplier appeared to have gone out of business (or at least was failing to respond to emails!). I had a number of other options for suppliers who I had been in touch with and elected to go with a company based in Germany (XXLpix – I have no desire to provide the hyperlink as you will find out) because they appeared to be the most professional and geared up to provide photography businesses with good support.

Ordering the canvas itself was slightly problematic as they were a little slow to respond to my request for a non standard size, but once they had woken up to my emails the process went relatively smoothly – providing the image to me within a week of ordering (very efficient UPS delivery). The image looked great and seemed fine, but when the client hung it on the wall the frame was warped. So I complained – but no response – in fact I have been away for 2 weeks and still have not had a response to my initial questions about the warping. I have now requested a refund but no response yet either.

So at my own cost I will now get the image reprinted and reframed by a local business who’s work I have seen, I have met the guy, spoken to him on the phone, I will get the image back within a week by picking it up personally, and know that if there are any problems I can talk directly to him – although I can’t believe there will be any issues as I know his frames are much stronger than the ones from XXLpix (something you can’t tell from the internet!).

Of course I should have gone with the local supplier first, but was tempted and reassured by the glossy business-to-business marketing of XXLpix. If you have a canvas you want printing please do not try this company. Instead, find your local supplier who you can have a proper business relationship with, and if you can’t find anyone locally I certainly recommend Vista Canvas