Most Kiyo Arts designs come in three wall formats: canvas, poster and framed poster. The artwork is the same in each. The object, the price and the amount of work you have to do after it arrives are not. This guide lays out the differences so you can pick the format that suits your wall and your budget.
At a glance
| Poster | Framed poster | Canvas | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Matte print on archival paper | Matte print behind acrylic in a wood frame | Print on fabric, stretched over a pine frame |
| Ready to hang? | No. Needs a frame, clips or putty | Yes, hardware included | Yes, wall bumpers fitted |
| Sizes | 8 × 10 up to 24 × 36 in | 11 × 14 up to 20 × 30 in | 11 × 14 up to 40 × 60 in |
| Starting price | About $14 | About $70–85 | About $35–45 |
| Surface | Smooth, no glare | Smooth, slight reflection from the cover | Light fabric texture, no glare |
| Depth on the wall | Flat | Frame depth | 1.25 inches |
Prices are starting prices at the time of writing and rise with size.
Poster: the flexible, low-cost option
A poster is the artwork and nothing else: a matte print on museum-grade archival paper. It is the cheapest way to own a piece, and it comes in the widest range of small sizes, including squares.
Choose a poster if:
- You already own frames, or want to choose your own.
- You are building a gallery wall and need several pieces without the cost adding up.
- You change your walls often, or the art is seasonal.
- You are in a dorm or a short let and want something you can roll up and take with you.
The catch: a bare poster is not a finished object. Pinned or stuck to a wall it looks casual, which suits a desk corner or a student room and looks out of place in a living room. A decent frame for a large poster can cost more than the print, so add that to the price before you compare. See how to hang posters without frames and the poster size guide.
Framed poster: finished, crisp and traditional
A framed poster is the same matte print, mounted behind a protective acrylic cover in a solid wood frame, in black or white. It arrives with hanging hardware, so it goes straight on the wall.
Choose a framed poster if:
- You want sharp, fine detail. Paper holds a crisper line than fabric, so detailed cityscapes and linework look their best this way.
- Your room is already full of framed things and you want the new piece to match.
- It is a gift. A framed piece feels complete when it is unwrapped.
- The art needs protecting: a hallway where people brush past, for example.
The catch: it is the most expensive format per inch, and the largest size is 20 × 30 inches. The acrylic cover can also pick up reflections from a window or lamp directly opposite. For help with the frame colour, see black frame or white frame.
Canvas: the statement piece
A canvas is printed on a matte cotton-polyester fabric and stretched over a 1.25-inch radiata pine frame. It has no glass and no border, and it stands off the wall, which gives it a presence that a flat print doesn't have. It ships with rubber bumpers on the back so it hangs level.
Choose canvas if:
- You want one large piece to anchor a room. Canvas goes up to 40 × 60 inches, twice the size of the largest framed poster.
- The wall faces a window or a screen. With no cover, there is nothing to reflect.
- You want it finished without a frame. The image wraps to the edge, so it looks complete from the side.
- The artwork is bold: colour fields, nebulae, neon skylines. The fabric texture adds depth to those.
The catch: very fine detail is slightly softer on fabric than on paper. Canvas also takes longest to produce, because each one is stretched after printing.
Which is best value?
It depends what you count. A poster is cheapest to buy. Canvas is cheapest per finished square inch, because it needs nothing added. A framed poster costs the most and gives you the most traditional result. As a rough guide: under 16 × 20 inches, a framed poster looks more substantial than a small canvas. Above 24 × 36 inches, canvas is the only ready-to-hang option, and it is the right one.
Picking by room
- Living room feature wall: large canvas.
- Home office behind the desk: canvas, so nothing reflects on video calls.
- Hallway or stairs: framed posters in a row.
- Bedroom: canvas above the bed, since there is no glass or acrylic overhead.
- Dorm or rented room: posters.
- Gift: framed poster or canvas.
Can you mix them?
Yes, and it often looks better than matching. A large canvas with two smaller framed posters beside it gives a wall a clear centre and some variety in depth. Keep one thing consistent, such as frame colour or palette, so the group reads as deliberate.
See one design in all three
Blue Mountain Fog is a good piece to compare: it is available as a poster, a framed poster and a canvas. Or browse each format: posters, framed posters and canvas art. Every piece is made to order, so choose your size carefully; our canvas size guide will help.