A question that is often asked of us is “Why would I choose your machine over the Studio Canvas Master?” The Studio Canvas Master, manufactured by Gapp Engineering in Ireland, is a pneumatic canvas stretching machine that works on a horizontal plane with the artwork face-down during the stretching process. The stapling is down from the top and it will produce a nice uniform stretch. It is a very nice machine.
The primary difference with the Studio Canvas Master verses the Gallery Stretcher is as follows:
With the Studio Canvas Master the artwork is aligned at a staging area and transported into position while holding tension on the two outside rails, this is probably fine with small artwork but a real challenge with larger art. With our machine this is done on the work surface directly behind the front of the machine. A starter course is made that ensures the canvas stays aligned.
Studio Canvas Master
With the Gallery Stretcher the folds are made in-place and the artwork is simply rotated on the work surface which is an extension of the machine.
Gallery Stretcher-60
There is no single canvas stretching machine that is able to meet the demands of a high-production print shop. The better solution is to employ several machines and assign key personnel to perform specific tasks. One person should be dedicated to aligning the art and creating the starter course, one operator should be assigned to each machine and they should be strategically placed near a common staging area where both operators are able to pull art. Another person should be dedicated to trimming and packing but this is easily accomplished in most cases by the person creating the starter course.
Please follow the link below to see the Gallery Stretcher at work in a high-production print shop.