Help: Frequently Asked Questions
Browse our Frequently Asked Questions for some community-inspired wisdom. Our customers are pretty inquisitive — so there's a good chance you'll find just what you're looking for.
About Our Quality
Are your prints guaranteed?
Absolutely! APC is renowned for superior quality printed products and every print we create comes with a 100% Quality Guarantee. If you’re not absolutely stoked with the quality and workmanship of your custom print, return it within 30 days of your purchase. We’ll make it right, whether that means creating a brand-new print or giving you a full refund.
Inkjet canvas is a woven fabric, and – much like a brand new article of clothing – may have the occasional minor bump or other slight imperfection in the weave. Similarly, ChromaLuxe aluminum panels may exhibit minute craters or bumps. Minor imperfections such as these are within normal tolerances and excluded from the Quality Guarantee. To quantify “minor imperfection,” we follow this simple rule of thumb: If an imperfection can be readily observed from a normal viewing distance of three feet or more, it is eligible for replacement or refund.
How does APC create its canvas and metal prints?
The short answer: rock star people using the best equipment and materials in the business.
Our team of professional image editors and canvas and metal artisans work on your order from start to finish. We also have the mother lode of large format printing gear. We’re talking professional, ultra-high resolution, large-format printers, the world's most advanced pigmented inks, and of course heavyweight materials such as ultra DMAX, brilliant white poly/cotton canvas and genuine ChromaLuxe HD aluminum panels. But that’s not all. Both our metal and canvas prints come with UV finishes that resist fading, moisture and abrasion. We mount our canvas wraps using sustainable, kiln-dried, solid hardwood stretcher bars.
How long will an APC print last?
How does “At least until the mid-22nd Century” sound? It’s true. Long after robots wait on you hand and foot — your APC prints will be stealing glances.
Staying power is just one more thing that sets your APC print apart. Here’s why:
- Most other labs print to ‘Art Decor’ standards, with a life expectancy of 3 - 10 years. But our combination of equipment, materials and care means our prints can resist fading and deterioration for a generation or longer!
- We exceed the rigorous standards for genuine Giclée canvas prints. No, Giclée doesn’t refer to a bad Jennifer Lopez film. It refers to the highest caliber of canvas prints; made with professional-grade printers and archival inks.
- We go the extra mile since every APC print also comes with a UV finish to guard against time, yellowing, fading, moisture and abrasion.
Can I embellish my print?
Go for it. Our finishes play well with oil and acrylic paints, texturizing gel coats, indelible marker ink and even glued items.
Can I display my print outdoors?
Daredevil aren’t we? Well, you’re in luck! Both our metal and canvas prints have waterproof and fade resistant printed surfaces that can stand up to display on lanais, porches and other outdoor covered areas. If your APC print collects any grime, it’s fine to simply wipe it down with a soft, water-dampened cloth.
How should I care for my print?
Talk about low-maintenance. Our prints make The Terminator look weak. We’re talking heavy-duty all the way. While we recommend displaying our prints in dry, temperature-controlled locations, they are designed to withstand common indoor and outdoor environmental factors that damage other artwork, like exposure to sunlight or moisture. Our prints have unique inks and highly durable finishes that even make them suitable for outdoor display in covered areas. If necessary, gently dust indoor prints with a feather duster or dry soft cloth. For prints displayed outside, it's OK to use a water-dampened cloth to wipe away any accumulated dust or dirt.
About Our Production Process
What is your turnaround time?
Most orders are completed within a week. Production times may vary due to our current order volume and/or as a result of the size and complexity of your order and the options you choose.
Can you make custom sizes or shapes?
Canvas: Yes! Just plug in the size you want on the Prices page to get instant pricing for your custom canvas. (For fractional sizes – to fit into an existing frame, for example – round up to the nearest full inch during Step 2 of the Create a Canvas process, then tell us the actual fractional size you need in the Comments box in Step 4.) We also routinely create triptychs, diptychs, large multi-panel installations and clusters – and we've even made trapezoids and other interesting shapes for our customers. Feel free to call us, toll-free, at 1-800-311-5893 to discuss your unique project. If you can dream it, we can probably create it.
Metal: We currently offer a selection of 20 popular shapes and sizes. If your project requires sizes that aren’t listed on our site, please contact us with the specifics.
Can I see a preview of my print before you make it?
Our team thoroughly checks every image and the options selected to ensure an awesome outcome before we ever begin production. We will reach out to you via phone or email, proactively, if we have any questions at all about your image, if we encounter issues with resolution or image quality, or if we have any suggestions that we think would improve your print.
You don't even need to ask!
But as you may have guessed, there’s nothing average about our prints or our service. So if want to see a digital proof of what your print face (and edges, if applicable) will look like – you’ve got it. Just choose the Digital Proof option when your order. This probably goes without saying but the proofing approval process usually increases the turnaround time.
Is the APC workflow color managed?
Does a pig love mud? Yeah, we’re color management experts. How can you tell? Look at any APC print or ask a professional. We’re known in the biz for our vibrant, precise color prints as well as our crisp, complex black and white prints.
How do we do it? We color-calibrate our monitors using the industry-leading i1 system by x-Rite. We use printer targets that are custom-profiled to our printer, ink and substrate combinations by color management experts. And we have color management pros on staff along with professional image editors.
Wanna soft-proof your photo using our ICC Color Profile? Download it right here. (1.3 MB zip)
I have a special request. Can I speak with a team member?
About File Types & Preparation
What digital file formats do you accept?
We prefer TIFF and high quality JPEG images. But we also play well with native Adobe Photoshop (PSD) and Illustrator (AI) files, as well as PDF, EPS and PNG formats.
Please save your files in RGB mode and make sure to embed a color profile so we know your color intent. Preferred color spaces are AdobeRGB, sRGB and ProPhoto.
You can upload digital images with file sizes as large as 500 MB (megabytes) during our online ordering process. (A dropbox option is available for files exceeding the limit of our native uploader.)
No matter what file format or settings you choose, we’ll contact you if any questions or concerns arise when we “preflight” your order.
Can you work with prints, negatives or transparencies?
Yes. When used for a custom print order, we offer free professional scanning of traditional photo prints, sketches, drawings or other original works of art up to 9" x 12", as well as film negatives and transparencies from 35 mm up to medium format. We understand any original photography and artwork you choose to print is special to you and we take great care with your originals. Any materials you send to or leave with us will be safely packaged and returned to you with your order. While we can’t take responsibility for submissions before they arrive or after they leave us — they’re in good hands here at APC. If you’re worried about your original being damaged or lost in transit, send us a copy and hold on to the original.
Does anyone look at my image prior to printing it?
Absolutely! Our expert imaging staff carefully checks each image before printing. But we don’t just stare longingly at your photo. We make sure your image is suitable for enlargement to the print size you've requested. We check it to see if cropping will be necessary, and if so, we make sure that the final composition will work at the size and orientation you’ve requested. And, if we find any issues or have any size, shape or option recommendations — we contact you. Basic touch-ups are complimentary. That’s right — exposure correction, date stamp removal, color correction and red-eye removal — all free. Even repairing minor scratches or blemishes is on the house. But unlike the other photo to print shops, our retouching isn’t automated. Our digital imaging technicians put their skills to work so your images look their absolute best before they’re reproduced. The results speak for themselves.
What resolution / file size should I provide?
With our jedi image editing and upsizing skills, we can work with just about anything. That said, the less time we spend doctoring your image — the quicker it will be in your hands.
Here are a few tips for the best possible canvas in the shortest possible time:
- Whenever possible, retain the native resolution of your image as it was captured by your digital camera. During post-processing and re-saving, be careful not to unwittingly convert to a lower resolution format. To maximize your canvas wrap options, it’s best to follow the guidelines described elsewhere in this section — or to describe how you’d like the image cropped and let us do the work.
- When selecting your upload, don’t mistake a thumbnail or email/web version for the high resolution version of your image. The easiest way to tell is by the file size. If it’s under 1MB it’s probably a thumbnail or low-resolution version. Generally speaking, the original version of your image has a file size exceeding 1MB — and, if you're using a late-model digital camera and/or high quality settings — considerably larger.
- If you’re using an emailed photo, or if you downloaded it from a photo sharing website, see if you can get the original size version instead. Email and web photos may look great on a computer monitor, but in many cases they’ve been stripped of the data that required to create the best possible print.
Rest assured, we’ll let you know right away if there is anything about your file that would jeopardize the quality of your finished canvas.
What scanner settings do you recommend?
If you would like to scan your own photo or original art to convert it to a digital file, please carefully clean both the original print and the scanner glass. Set your scanner software’s scan resolution to a minimum of 600 ppi (pixels per inch). Preview and crop to the borders of your image if your scanner does not automatically detect the edges of your original. If you have the option, try scanning at 800 or 1200 ppi. This will result in a higher quality file containing more data to support your enlargement.
How you save your image is pretty important too, so choose a good format (such as TIFF or JPEG) and make sure that the “quality” options in the “Save” dialog box are set to the equivalent of “best” or “high.”
How do I prep my file for canvas wrap edges?
Regardless of the finished size of your wrapped canvas, we need either 1" (for Thin Canvas Wraps) or 1-3/4" (for Thick Canvas Wraps) on each side to wrap the image around the sides. If the composition of your image won’t allow for an “image wrap” at the canvas size you want, we offer several alternatives that work great. No matter what edge treatment works best for your photo, we’ll do all of the work for free if you ask us to during the Create a Canvas process.
But what if you’re a pro with digital editing software and you want total control over the final composition of your gallery wrap? No problem. Here are some tips on preparing and previewing your image for a Thick Canvas Wrap:
- Upsample your image using your preferred software to 180 ppi. Inspect your image for unwanted pixellation or excess sharpening by zooming in on it tightly.
- Crop your image (retaining 180 ppi) to the desired dimension of your custom canvas plus 3.5 inches both vertically and horizontally.
- Position guides at 1-3/4" in from all four sides. Position another set of guides at 1/4" in from all four sides. The 1/4" sections are “production excess” representing the parts of your image that will be unseen on the back of your canvas. The 1-1/2" sections represent what you will see on the edges of your wrapped canvas. The remaining image inside the guides is what will appear on the front side of your canvas.
To work the same magic for a Thin Canvas Wrap, just substitute 1" everywhere you saw 1-3/4" referenced above.
Do you offer alternate edge treatments?
Yes. We offer three options that give you a contemporary look and the ready-to-hang benefits of canvas wraps.
The most popular edge treatment for canvas wraps is ‘Reflected Edges,’ in which the edges of your gallery wrap are actually ‘reflections’ of the outermost content of the original, preserving your original composition on the face of the canvas. Another option is to sample or pick a complementary solid color for the gallery wrap edges. Many customers love the look of simple black or white edges. Another option is Image Wrap, where a portion of your image is used to wrap continuously around the edges of your canvas wrap. If you're a pro, you can probably prepare the file yourself. If not, we will do the work for any of the options described here at no additional charge. Check ’em out.
What about copyrights?
Photographs and artwork are protected property of the original artist. If you took a photo or created a piece of artwork yourself, you already own the copyright. If you had a picture taken by a professional, or if you purchased a photo or artwork from someone else, it is likely that you don’t own the copyright. We are happy to reproduce images created by a professional, but we expect our customers to obtain written permission first.
Can I have my image reviewed prior to placing an order?
Absolutely! If you are uncertain about the quality of your original or just want some advice on sizes and options that would work well with your image(s), we would be happy to share our wisdom before you place your order. To get started, send us your digital image file using the uploader on our Contact APC page. You will receive a detailed evaluation of your submission along with helpful suggestions from our imaging experts.
About Pricing, Payments & Shipping
Do you offer quantity discounts or Pro pricing?
Got an exceptionally large project in mind? APC is up to the challenge. Contact us for a custom price quote.
Are you a professional photographer, artist, interior designer or retailer that’s ready to sell canvas and metal prints? For special discounts and perks, request membership in the APC ProZone .
How can I find out about sales and special promotions?
Join our newsletter list. Not only will you be privy to specials, we’ll share tricks from the pros and artistic inspiration from time to time. There’s a handy sign-up form at the top of this page .
Too much email already? Follow us on Instagram or Facebook for first dibs on our promotions.
APC on Instagram
APC on Facebook
APC on Twitter
What are your shipping charges?
Most orders qualify for low Flat Rate Standard Shipping via UPS Ground.
For orders delivered within the contiguous United States, the first print in your order costs just $16.50 to ship. Additional prints ship for $8.50 each.
Ground shipments to Alaska, Hawaii and APO/FPO addresses cost $32.50 for the first item and $16.50 for each additional item per order.
If you need faster delivery to a U.S. address, we offer your choice of FedEx Overnight, 2-Day or Express Saver (3-Day).
To obtain a shipping quote for domestic or international delivery via FedEx Express or FedEx International, simply configure a custom print and add it to your cart. You’ll see an “Estimate Shipping” widget just below your shopping cart summary. There’s no obligation to complete a purchase.
See the Prices page for additional information.
What about sales tax?
We only collect sales tax on orders shipped to addresses within the state of Florida.
We waive sales taxes for Florida customers that furnish us with a valid Florida Resale Certificate. (You can send us a scanned or PDF copy of your Resale Certificate right on our contact form .)
Why are your prices higher than…?
APC pricing is extremely competitive in light of our superior, eco-friendly materials, handcrafted construction and fanatical customer service. Sure, there are cheaper prints out there, but they don’t last — and they look… well, cheap.
What forms of payment do you accept?
Our secure checkout accepts MasterCard, VISA, Discover, American Express and PayPal. You can also pay from your checking account if you've enrolled it through PayPal. If you don't have a PayPal account and are uncomfortable entering your credit card or checking information online, we’ll also accept your credit card details by phone or your personal or business check by mail (but a check will need to clear the bank before we can begin work on your order).
Is my APC website transaction secure?
Yes. Our store uses VeriSign’s Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol and 256-bit strong encryption to provide maximum security. Our servers also are tested daily and must pass known threats by McAfee Secure. The McAfee Secure and VeriSign badges on our site are your assurance that we follow the most up-to-date internet security practices and protocols.
Where can I read your Privacy Policy?
No one likes a peeping tom. Our policy is pretty simple. Protect your privacy like it’s our own. That’s why we won’t sell or lend your information to anyone at any time. Read APC’s Cross Our Hearts Privacy Policy here .
How do you pack your prints?
Every APC print travels in reinforced and cushioned luxury. That’s because their accommodations are custom-engineered to cradle and protect them throughout their journey. This way they arrive well-rested and flawless at their final destination.
Can you ship my order to someone else?
Of course. Add the address to your account Address Book or fill it in on the fly during checkout. We can even include a personal message if you like. (A Gift Message field is on the Checkout page.)
And we know a thing or two about gift giving. We never include prices on our packing slips.
Do you offer international shipping?
Yes! From our headquarters in the United States, we ship to virtually every country on the planet via FedEx International. To obtain an international shipping quote, simply configure a custom print and add it to your cart. You’ll see an “Estimate Shipping” widget just below your shopping cart summary. There’s no obligation to complete a purchase.
Where is APC located?
We serve customers all over the United States and Canada from our Venice headquarters on Florida's “Cultural Coast.”