I remember back in the mid 80’s going to a custom frame shop and buying a very ornate fabric that was hand-stretched over an assembled stretcher frame. What a unique, and very expensive, concept that was actually very popular for a short while. Now I see that it is back in style, unlike my platform shoes, and is growing in popularity among large print-on-demand companies. In fact, we were asked recently by a large company in Brazil to build a canvas stretching machine that could handle a full 10′ x 10′ fabric panel.
What is most amazing about this resurgent trend is how it has melded with the print-on-demand industry. We have personally witnessed new start-up companies every month that have emerged just to to bid on large contracts from the likes of Bed Bath & Beyond and Target. Large corporations, with their vast wall space and grandiose entry ways, are clambering to fill those voids with artistic impressions without the added cost of adding very expensive wood moulding. The cost of inkjet printers with archival inks, UV inhibiting laminations and high quality canvas has dropped significantly and are now being found in even small custom frame shops and photo studios.
As a manufacturer of canvas stretching machines, we too have grown to meet the demands of this industry. We now manufacture machines that are designed for very high-production print shops. We have customers with as many as (10) canvas stretching machines strategically positioned in very effective “pod” that work in perfect concert with one another to produce as many as 6500 stretches a month. And yes, we are now getting request for stretching fabric.
Now that stretching designer fabric on frames is back in style will more of the struggling custom frame shops promote this? As a former custom frame shop owner I know that I would. As it was, I used to stretch canvas by hand when every other frame shop in town would turn work away. My rates were reasonable and it was a chore but it generated income. Naturally, having a canvas stretching machine makes this a lot easier these days. Timing is everything and had I developed this sooner it is rather doubtful that I would have experienced that same wave of success.
So, my question to all of you custom frame shop owners, photographers, artists, print-on-demand companies, acoustical panel manufacturers and anyone else with even a passing interest in stretching canvas and fabric, why not start promoting stretched fabric? Why not grab a yard or two of fabric with a children’s theme, or non repeating floral pattern? Abstract? Why not advertise that you are now stretching fabric?
Naturally, a canvas stretching machine would make quick work of this, but your hands are great tools too. As always, we are always interested in what our customers are doing to set themselves apart so let us know.