A framed poster is the entry point on this page; canvas and the larger framed sizes cost more.
Still deciding what the gift says? The two ways to personalise covers the words and the picture, and retirement keepsakes covers smaller objects. The gift itself has the whole range. Come back here once you know what it says and are choosing what it is printed on.
Paper behind glass, or cloth round wood
A framed poster is a sheet of paper printed flat, trimmed and set in a frame. The file is printed 4mm larger than the finished size on every edge and that margin is cut off, which is why the design never runs short at the trim line.
The paper is one stock at every size: 250gsm uncoated off-white archival, the same sheet whether the print goes in a frame or not.
A canvas is a different object. The cloth is printed and then stretched over a wooden frame, and the print does not stop at the front face: it is printed oversize, and the sides carry a soft, blurred band taken from your picture's colours. That band comes from the printer's template for the exact size, so it is 3.5cm per side on a 30x40cm canvas and wider again on the bigger ones. Depth varies by size too, and the printer's own product code names it: every framed canvas is ordered on the 2cm canvas frame, while the plain canvases come on either that or a slimmer one depending on the size. Hung on a wall, a canvas has visible depth and no glass. A framed poster is flat, behind glazing.
A framed canvas is the third thing: the stretched canvas set inside an outer frame, so it reads as a framed picture and keeps the depth.
Which of the three you can order
The name print can be framed as a poster at A3 or A2, printed on plain canvas from 30x40cm to 60x80cm, or made as a framed canvas from 30x40cm to 50x70cm. The photo portrait comes in the same three finishes. Both framed canvases come in black, dark wood or natural wood, so if the frame has to match what's already in the room, either design can carry it.
AI-made example The Retirement Portrait From £119.99 Framed canvas
A photograph of the retiree, their workplace, their boat or their garden, turned into art in one of five styles. Up to three successful previews per day are free after email verification.
See all sizes and pricesWhat each finish costs
The name print comes framed as a poster at A3 and A2, and on plain canvas at 40x50cm and 60x80cm; the name print page prices each size.
The portrait comes framed as a poster at A3 and A2, on plain canvas from 30x40cm to 60x80cm, and as a framed canvas; the portrait page prices each size. UK delivery is included in every price.
Choosing by the wall, not by the budget
The framed poster suits a room that already has framed pictures in it, because it matches what is on the wall. The canvas suits a wall with nothing else on it, because the depth gives it an edge to catch light on and it needs no frame to look finished. The framed canvas is for the case where a canvas would read as too informal for the room, which in most houses means the hall or the front room.
Size is the harder decision and nobody can make it from a webpage. Measure the space before you order. Every size above is stated in centimetres for that reason, and A3 is 29.7 by 42cm if that is easier to picture.
How it arrives
Framed pieces are made to order, which takes two to four working days, and delivered free in a further two to five. They arrive assembled, so nothing has to be built or measured on the day.
If the leaving date is too close for that, the digital file is the format that gets round the production window, and a local print shop can do the framing. If the gift is being funded by a group, not one person, organising a group retirement gift covers how the collection is usually run.
