Affordable Printable Wall Art: Your Complete How-To Guide
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Why choose printable wall art?
If you’re an art-enthusiast with a budget like me, you should consider affordable printable wall art. First, it is so much cheaper than finding original works of art. Of course, original art is amazing and I would love to purchase and support local artists but that is not always affordable. Second, you can enjoy more variety! Since you are spending less up front, you can switch out your art with the seasons or when you want to change the mood of the room. Third, you can find really famous works of art that are public domain to enjoy in your own home – those breathtaking paintings at museums can be replicated in your own home.
Finding free affordable printable wall art online
If you want free printable art, look for public domain pieces of art. Some galleries allow free downloads of public domain paintings as part of “Open Access Initiative”. Look at the pixels of the art prior to downloading, ff it is less than 2000px use it for smaller prints – like 8x10in or less. 4000px is ideal for larger prints.
Places that have public domain downloads of art for free:
- Getty museum
- National gallery of art
- Artvee – has paid and free options
- Wikimedia Commons
Here are some art pieces I love that are free for download. A rule of thumb I use when picking art – “Would I want to live in this painting?” If so, I think it’s worth putting on the walls of my home!
I have also found inexpensive digital collections of wall art on Esty. For just a few dollars you can get digital files of art that are sized appropriately for print.
How to print your free art
After you download your artwork at the appropriate size you will need to locate a place to print it. Here are some places that you can print artwork with pros and cons as listed.
- Lumaprints: Pros – archival matte fine art prints range from $2-50, with most popular sizes less than $15. The results look like real art prints. You can customize the size as well. Cons – honestly I didn’t find any!
- Mpix: Pros – giclee prints which are super high quality on a variety of paper/finishes, Cons – cannot customize print size and cost is higher.
- Shutterfly: Pros – prices range $10-25 per print, Cons – prints cannot be custom sized and does not do larger prints
- Nations Photo Lab: Pro – has options with framing and mounting to include, has wide variety of sizes, can print on canvas or with various lustres. Cons – prints cannot be custom sized, price is quite high, and there is no “matte” option.
- Finer Works: Pro – so many options!!! Giclee prints with many different paper types and customizable sizing. Also has custom matting that is super affordable. Cons – prices are higher for the prints.
- Persnickety Prints: Pros – has giclee enlargements ranging from $12.99 to $45 for most common sizes. Cons – Cost is higher than I’d be willing to pay.
Choosing the right paper
In order to choose the right paper for your printable art, you will need to determine what texture you desire for the final product. A more realistic product will have texture that mimics brush strokes, and the textures of layered oil paintings. Of course, it will never fully replicate the original but paper options like Archival Fine Art Matte, Linen texture, Rolled Canvas or Giclee prints are great options to achieve an authentic texture.
Framing your affordable printable wall art
The main question when framing art is, matted or not? I personally prefer matted artwork as I think it adds a layered texture and a curated look. If you have more an elaborate frame you may find a matte unnecessary. Another recommendation is to consider not adding the glass layer. With the glass layer you will notice a glare and that reduces the visibility and authentic look of the art.
Inexpensive framing options
- White picture matte in multiple sizes
- Textured cream picture matte in multiple sizes
- Luxe Gold Bamboo style frame, 8×10
- Sleek, modern gold frame with matte
- Thrifting – the best way to find unique and vintage frames. If you find a frame you like, buy it! You can replace the artwork with something you like better and print it out to size.