Prints on Wood Blog

May is half over (boooo....), but where there is Spring, there is also Summer. Whereas May was devoted to all things motherly, June is devoted to all things fatherly. It’s Father’s Day!

Generally, you wouldn’t quite think to get your old man a piece of art for Father’s Day. It’s always some sort of geeky tie, a Blu-Ray, or a new tool for his ever-growing dusty collection in the garage. But I’ve learned from my own dad that fathers want the same sappy mementos as you would bestow on your mother. They may not show it, but that’s how they feel. Soft and sweet on the inside...

 

So, don’t be afraid this June to get your dad a nice custom wood print for Father’s Day. If there’s a funny vacation photo of you and him somewhere, perhaps trying snowboarding for the first time, or a family BBQ gone haywire, make those silly memories last with a wood print. Even better, hang it up somewhere in the house so that when he sees it, he’ll have a good laugh.

If your dad is the hard-working office type, remember that dads want office pictures too! My own dad loves to add to his small collection of pictures of me and my siblings. The shrine sits on the corner of his desk and when people ask about us, he’s the type that’ll go off on tangents on the recent ridiculous thing we just did the other day.

 

Yeah. What you do at home, gets told in the office.

Even I’m thinking of adding a wood print for his collection. I can make it small and personable, or large enough to be noticed when hung on the wall. It’s a long-lasting lovely gift that will never fade and has a touch of class, with the wood grain showing through.

And if your dad is a nature guy and a little skeptical about wood printing, you can tell him all about how our wood is harvested from sustainable wood farms. Every tree that’s cut down gets a new one right in its place, and we also donate to the Plant A Billion foundation with every custom wood print we sell. Guilt-free gifts!

So, take a gander over to our custom wood prints page and create your own print by uploading your photo from Facebook, Instagram, or your own computer. If you don’t have a photo in mind, no problem! We have a large variety of Fine Art Prints to choose from as well; there’s even some Star Wars prints in there too. If he’s into that.

 

Mother’s Day is this weekend, so that means a whole lot of cards, flowers, and chocolates. Like a second Valentine’s Day, but all for moms...

Anyway! It got me thinking about that children’s rhyme, “April Showers bring May Flowers”, which got me thinking about flowers, and how I've been seeing a lot of those in all our Fine Art that we have here.

To start stirring your imagination a little, I’ve gone through our Fine Art showcase and selected a few that I think would be perfect gifts for this springtime fever. They’re fun, edgy, and cute, and feel a lot like ‘May’ to me.

"Dogwood" by Cuddly Rigor Mortis

Kristin Tercek, a.k.a. Cuddly Rigor Mortis, has a lot of cute work. We’re featuring a lot of her designs here in the Fine Art section, but this one is my favorite. Dogwood is a personification of a dogwood tree, and is just too adorable.

"Ghost Dawn" by Caia Koopman

Caia’s pieces are always a joy to look at: there’s an air of fragility and peace, but it’s still edgy with sharp lines and pastel colors. This one is the most tame of her pieces, I think, so if you want something edgier, definitely check out her stuff in the Fine Art section.

"Night Owl" by Jeremiah Ketner

His ‘Owl’ series is great, so check out the two other owl buddies we have in Fine Art.

"Hey Captain" by Tim Shumate

Just look at that! If that doesn’t shout May to you, I don’t what it is. Funny how the cat has fangs, yet it’s still adorable.

Aaaand since summer is just around the corner...

“The Pool Party” by Octopus Tree House

Because, you know, Star Wars is coming back with a seventh film. How ‘bout that?

Alright, leave me be now. I'm going to peruse through more of these prints and croon over them like a student on a low budget.

 

Weddings are definitely a cause for celebration. There’s all sorts of traditions to adhere to, such as the bouquet toss, drunk best man speeches, sappy first dance love songs, and so on and so forth. You would think that after all that merry-making and hullabaloo that the festivities would stop there. Every anniversary would just be an excuse to have an expensive steak dinner.

 

BUT. The ball doesn’t stop rolling after the wedding. I’m talking about traditional wedding anniversary gifts. And what, in good graces, are those about?

Back in the days of the Roman Empire, husbands would give silver laurel wreaths to their wives on their 25th wedding anniversary, and then a gold one on their 50th. It’s grown since then, especially in England, when the king himself would send well-wishes to couples on their 50th, 60th, and 70th wedding anniversary. Today, you can ask for a greeting from the President any anniversary after your 50th. Fancy that.

 

As the times progressed and the markets changed, every anniversary soon received a symbolic gift that goes along with it. There’s the ol’ silver and gold, but also paper, tin (Why??), cotton, clocks, sugar,  diamond, and lace. But today, we’re only going to talk about the Wood Anniversary. Traditionally, it’s the fifth wedding anniversary.

When that time rolls around, it’s not a bad idea to give our Fine Art wood prints a try. We’ve got lots to choose from your favorite artists, or perhaps ones that your significant other admires. There’s also the option to customize your own wood print entirely! Upload a picture from Facebook or Instagram: selfies, funny poses, or stylized photos of the two of you together. Upload a wedding picture or maybe a Throwback Thursday portrait from high school. Whichever you prefer, reset assured that it’ll look fabulous on a wood print. We have prints available in various sizes, but also an new addition: the wooden sign.With wooden signs, you can create a custom cut print: no more squares and rectangles, just fun shapes and sizes.

Check out our wooden signs page, and see how you can declare your undying love to the world! At least until the next year, when you have to figure out what to get for the Iron Anniversary...seriously?

 

Earth Day was on April 22nd, a beloved holiday dedicated to preserving our little planet is this big wide universe of ours. So what has Prints On Wood been up to to reduce our carbon footprint in this corner of the world?

Q: “Oh Prints On Wood,” you say, “If you’re so concerned about conservation, why are you doing wood prints? Aren’t you just killing more trees?”

A: “Oh contraire,” says I, “Actually we get our wood from sustainable wood farms.”

What are those? Take a look at our for a more in-depth explanation, but the bottom line is that a sustainable wood farm is a place where new trees are planted for every one that gets cuts down. They are farmed in a way that doesn’t harm the wildlife either.

And an even better note? For every wood print that leaves our shop, we donate $1 to the Plant A Billion foundation, where $1 plants a whole new tree. Just a little way we like to give back.

Q: “Oh Prints On Wood,” you say, “Surely you don’t use every scrap of wood in your shop. What do you do with the leftovers after the prints are cut out?”

A: Well, that’s a good question. Let’s take Jeff Soto’s Seeker prints for example. Every time we print those Seeker Friends, there’s large wooden frames left over, kind of like the paper borders around a punch-out card. We haven’t been simply throwing these away, that would be wasteful. Instead we’ve been donating them to Habitat for Humanity, to help build new homes or any other uses they need for more wood. We’re always happy to help.

Q: “But Prints On Wood,” you say, “Surely your printers require so much energy and resources. Think of all those chemicals in the atmosphere!”

A: “Not so fast,” says I, “We’ve taken giant leaps to still reduce that.”

Our printers, along with our offices, are mostly powered through rows of solar panels on the roof of our facility. We’re one of the first local businesses to incorporate solar panels in this way, and we’re quite proud of that.

With the printers, we use only latex-based inks, which is harmless for our operators and reduces emissions that get pumped out into the environment. In other words, instead of harmful chemicals getting released through the process, it’s just steam and water.

So there you have it! Remember that you can enjoy your prints without feeling guilty. By purchasing a wood print, you’re still helping us give back just as much as we take in to create these beautiful prints.

Happy Earth Day!

Mother’s Day is a month away, and not a moment to lose!

I owe my mother a damn good Mother’s Day gift. Enough of those brunch buffets, with over-the-top outfits, and mimosas out the wazoo. This time, I want to give my own mother something great, and a wood print is right up that alley.

Why a wood print? Let me break it down for you, son.

On Mother’s Day, she wants to be reminded that she’s a mother, but not reminded that she’s getting older. Especially that she’s getting older. So, the more you keep hanging on to those traditional gifts like handmade cards, candy, and flowers...it does get, dare I say it, old after awhile.

With a wood print, it can either be your best family photo, or a piece of art that you know she likes. Regardless, having a physical wood print is a different sort of gift than a simple photo and frame. There is a craftsmanship that goes into each print that you can’t find at any expensive print place.

 

Let’s face it: flowers are nice, but eventually wilt. Cakes, and candy, and everything sweet will also fade in time with your digestion. What you want to give your mother is the same feeling she got when you used to make her those cute little crafts in elementary school. Something like the handprint card, a poem, a bouquet of paper flowers. These are things that will last.

But if you’re older like me, and a handmade card would look tacky and weird, a wood print is something even more cherishable. It has that sense of timelessness that you’re looking for without being a gaudy gift. It’s simple, elegant, and can be displayed anywhere. And I mean anywhere! From rustic to riches and futuristic design, a wood print can be hung or placed in any decorated room without disrupting the chi. If you’re into that sort of thing.

 

You always hear stories from your mom’s friends, or your aunts and uncles, about how ‘so-and-so gave the perfect gift’, ‘it was so unexpected!’, etc. etc. Well, this year BE that person they talk about! Honestly, how many wood prints have you seen gracing the shelves of your mom’s office or at her friend’s places? Yes, yes, let’s not give the “keeping up with the Jones’” speech, but it would still be a nice touch after all those years. Give your mom something to talk about, something she’ll cherish, and something that will last longer than the next time you need to water it.

Get her a custom wood print. I know I am.

 

Hello all! Like many of you out there, I am also addicted to Facebook. Hardly a day goes by that I’m not planning an event, updating statuses, or tagging photos. But speaking of photos, there’s something cool that not many of you may have known about.

Did you know that you can create your own wood print by uploading a photo directly from Facebook or Instagram?

For those who have heard about this, and are just rollin’ your eyes, because “Yes, yes, we know about this”, my question to you is, have you actually tried it yet? Well, what I believe is that for every person out there who knows how to do it, there’s also another person who doesn’t. I’m here for you.

Here’s a little step-by-step tutorial on how I created a wood print using a picture from Facebook!

First thing is to head on over to the front page, and click on “Create Your Own”

Once you’re there, scroll down to where you see three boxes: Facebook, Instagram, and upload from computer. For the purposes of this demo, I’ll use the Facebook connection. Also note that if you choose to upload, there is a list of acceptable file types at the bottom.

If you’re not already logged into Facebook, it’ll prompt you to log in. Once you’re logged in, it’ll ask you to give Prints on Wood permission to access your photo albums, as well as your friend’s albums for photos. Don’t worry, it’s not going to bring up all of their pictures, just ones that you are tagged in!

Go ahead and click “Allow” or “Skip”. Either option will take you to your albums and photos.

A small window will pop up and show your albums, as well as tagged photos. Browse through them to find that image you want.

*IMPORTANT NOTE* To upload a photo, please make sure that it is either YOUR photo or that you are tagged in it. Otherwise, there’s no access to other people’s albums for that photo you want.

Today, let’s say I want to make a print as a gift for my taiko group, Senryu Taiko. I’ve decided to go with our current group picture I’ve circled here:

Once you click on the picture, it’ll show as “SELECT THIS”. Double- Click on the picture a second time to confirm.

 

Back on the Create Your Own page, your photo magically appears in the Edit box! Voila! You’ll also notice that there’s a preview box next to it.

 

Notice that its vertical? Easily fixable. Just hit the ROTATE button below, and you’ll be able to fit everyone.

 

You can use the cropping corners to adjust the view of the photo. With each change, it’ll show up in the preview box, as it would appear on your wood print. Such as...

EXAMPLES:

Alright, now below the window, there’s giant list of sizes to choose from. Wowza, that’s a lot of options.

“no margin” is exactly as it sounds: there won’t be a “frame” around your photo like in the example pictures above.

Start picking different sizes, or if you already know what you want, select it! However, take heed of this warning:

This warning means that there’s a chance your image will come out fuzzy or pixelated. This could be due to a low-quality image, a too-large print size, etc. To resolve this, either upload a higher quality image, or explore the other different sizes and adjustments you can make to the image using the cropping boxes.

Once you’ve found a happy medium, the warning should disappear.

IMPORTANT NOTE: When you’ve chosen what you want, make sure to click “Save Crop & Preview”, or you won’t be able to continue to the cart.

 

Once you’ve finished, notice the check-box for the rights to the image. Is this picture yours, or did you steal this picture from another business source? If the answer is "Yes, it's my own image." then check the box.

When you’re all ready to go, click the “Add To Cart”

 

You’ll be taken to the payment page and checkout, and that’s it! That was easy, right? Now go forth and create your own wood prints!

 

 

I love the old times feel of walking down a street with a row of shops. The looks are quaint and the hanging signs make everything better. I feel more comfortable in a crowded space.

But when it comes to hanging signs or just signs in general, do you want those everyday plastic and paper concoctions, or something new and exciting? I’m just going to guess you want the latter.

Well, new and exciting means harking back to the old traditions for us. The retro side. You don’t really see wooden signs anymore, unless you’re in a small town in the mountains. It’s all plastic and tech as far as the eye can see in the city.

So, let’s take a step back. What do we mean with wooden signs? Wood is nature’s canvas, in my opinion. You can touch it, you can taste it...! Okay, let’s not lick the wood. But a wooden sign means so much more than anything made of paper or plastic. With the grain, and the plywood, you can see the craftsmanship and the time it took to hand-make that creation. It’s not something that can be made thousands at a time.

We use the latest in eco-friendly (and product-friendly!) printing to make vibrant colored wood prints. With wooden signs, we can cut with laser proficiency to make any shape and size outside of that boring ol’ “square by rectangle”. The trick is that the wood grain will show through slightly with each print, but that’s not a bad thing. With the unique wood grain, no two prints are ever the same, and that goes for wooden signs too! Rustic is the new retro, believe me.

When a customer can stop and admire your wooden sign, that’s the moment you want to really show your true colors. Whether you’re an eco-friendly business, or just starting out, turn to a custom wooden sign to meet your needs.

 

The next Seeker friend #14 is coming your way (Starting Thursday April 4th, 2013 at 12:01pm PST GMT8). Available for 24 hours only

The Skateboarder International Release Times

International release time reference:

Australia: April 5 @ 7:00 AM
UK: April 4 @ 8:00 PM
Ireland: April 4 @ 8:00 PM
Sweden: April 4 @ 21:00 (9:00 PM)
France: April 4 @ 21:00 (9:00 PM)
Italy: April 4 @ 21:00 (9:00 PM)
Netherlands: April 4 @ 21:00 (9:00 PM)

This is a 6" x 6 " UV print on sustainable 3/4" plywood. Signed on the front and numbered on the back. Ready to hang out-of-the-box.

Make sure to put this on your calendar so you dont forget, we always get a much of emails after the release from people who missed it, we really feel bad telling you there all gone.

All of us are friends with "That Guy"... you know exactly who I'm talking about.

The guy who thinks his wit & charm epitomizes every smart-alleck slacker protagonist turned reluctant hero found in all great stories. Be it Bugs Bunny, Han Solo, Randal Graves, or Paul Rudd in every single movie he's ever been in.

The guy who has a hot girlfriend that you've never met because she conveniently "goes to a different school". The guy who can barely finish his own jokes because they're making him laugh so hard as he tells them. The guy who reminds you the difference between they're, their, and there when unnecessarily spell checking your text messages. The guy who always plays Devil's Advocate when listening to a story to assert a false sense of power over someone he's talking to. The guy who gives himself a nickname while annoyingly referring to himself in the 3rd person. The guy who can memorize cable news talking points but can't even tell you who the current Vice President is.

You know.... "That Guy".

I was recently sitting down with "That Guy" at our local drinking establishment while having a talk when the subject of work came up.

"What have you been up to?" he asked.

"I work for a company called PrintsOnWood, they specialize in creating artistic/photographic wood prints." I replied.

"Oh, so you're destroying the environment for the sake of art?" That Guy said sanctimoniously.

Me: "What are you talking about?"

TG: "You guys print on wood right? Entire forests had to be completely destroyed to fabricate the sheets of plywood needed to create your precious little art prints. Face it bro, you're killing the planet"

ME: "Uh, no. Not only are we not killing the planet, but there's a whole entire fleet of solar panels on the roof of our building. On top of that we don't have any solvent-based printers, we only use water-based inks."

TG: "So?"

ME: "So that means the Sun's magical life giving powers travel millions of light years through space and directly into our building, which in turn powers our machines. We also use printing materials that don't create hazardous pollutants that destroy the ozone layer. Sadly the same can't be said about yourself after eating a bunch of sushi."

TG: "You know what? You're just like one of 'Those Guys' that pretends to care about the environment while flying around in private jets and living in million dollar mansions that use more electricity in one month than an entire middle class family does for an entire year! They think if they just wave their magic wand and buy some Carbon Offsets it justifies their hypocrisy."

TG: "Face it, even if you do use green energy and environmentally friendly materials to make your product, trees are still dying in the process, so it's a wash."

ME: "Dude, besides the fact that our entire business is powered by green energy, the wood we print on is fully sustainable & certified."

TG: "CERTIFIED WOOD!?"

TG: "What does that even mean?"

ME: "It means the wood we use comes from forests that are properly managed. That means someone is constantly making sure that the act of harvesting is sustainable and not negatively affecting any wildlife. That means they also oversee the water quality of the forest and make sure it's protected, as well as making sure prompt regeneration is being implemented. That means when one tree is harvested, another one is planted in it's place. On top of using solar energy, environmentally friendly ink, and fully sustainable/certified wood, PrintsOnWood also donates $1 from every order to the PLANT A BILLION TREES CHARITY by the Nature Conservancy, and all of our scrap wood is donated to Habitat for Humanity which gets recycled into garden trellises .

Face it 'Bro', you couldn't get any more green even if you were Kermit the Frog."

At that point "That Guy" unwillingly conceded and the conversation began to wind down, we both decided it was time to finish up our drinks and started to say goodbye. As we began to head out, we were walking to our cars when at the last minute I remembered something I forgot to ask before the conversation deviated into a self-righteous tangent. I was fumbling with my keys while I called to my friend from across the parking lot.

ME: "HEY! I forgot to ask man, what about you? Where do you work now?"

TG: "Oh, haha. I'm working with my dad, he has his own business."

ME: "Really? What is it?"

TG: "A lumber yard!"

The Dark Knight, Empire Strikes Back, Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey... everybody love a good sequel!

The mark of a great addition occurs when someone takes everything you like about the original and magnifies it, using the original as a solid base to build upon.

When we launched the original PRINTSONWOOD site, it was exactly what we needed at the time. A solid web store to help get our idea off the ground. As time passed our brand began to expand rapidly as we started to offer a wide array print styles, catching the attention of big names like Shephard Fairey, Jeff Soto, and the Coachella Music Festival.

In a short period of time we went from a humble web-to-print website into carving out a fine/photo art niche in the wood print market by offering limited runs of unique and beautiful art prints that best represented the company's personality. Don't let our steady stream of success fool you though, we still take joy & seriousness in every job we receive (especially yours :D). Along the way we realized that the secret to our success lies in the people supporting our product.

After a great deal of support and a clear idea of what our demographic desired, we decided it was finally time to modify our website to better suit the direction our company had taken; one that offers a simple, clean, & fun product for our clients. We took the best of the original site and decided to build on two things that we love we love the most, creativity & sophistication, to create our new site and improve the PRINTSONWOOD experience.

PRINTSONWOOOD would like to personally thank everyone for their continued support, from our customers to our artists, you have made our new site possible.