Key takeaways
What do you need before you start?
- Printcart Canvas installed and connected (see Install Printcart Canvas and connect your store).
- A canvas product that is Ready in Product Setup.
- Printcart Canvas 4.7.0 or later for the layout list and the room preview settings.
The screenshots come from a demonstration WooCommerce store running Printcart Canvas with the UK Standard Canvas template (designer screens updated for Printcart Canvas 4.7.0). Store credentials and internal identifiers are masked. Want to see it first? Open the live demo store and press Design your canvas.
How do you set a starter photo, photo layouts and room preview?
Step 1Choose the starter photo
In Product Setup > Link to Printcart > Starter photo, press Change photo and choose a picture from the media library. Leave Open the designer with this photo ticked and press Save starter photo. The picture is sent to Printcart once, when you save it, not each time a buyer opens the designer, and it is never taken from the product image. Remove takes it away again.
Expected result: The row reads "On Printcart and ready".
Step 2See what buyers see
Open the product page and press Design your canvas. The designer opens with the starter photo placed on the face and wrapped round the sides, and the Photos panel rates it, for example Excellent. The buyer can keep it, drag it to reposition it, or upload their own photo.
Expected result: The canvas looks finished from the first second.
Step 3Choose the photo layouts
Under Photo layouts, keep All layouts or choose Only the layouts I tick. The 34 layouts are grouped by the number of photos, from 1 photo (1 photo, Title, Framed inset, Panorama band) to 6 photos, and each group has Select all and Clear buttons. Only what fits this product's sizes ticks only layouts without very narrow or very small photo cells for the product's size, then saves; a layout that would be cramped is marked Narrow cells on this size. For a plain single-photo canvas you may want only one layout; if you allow only one, the layout picker is hidden from buyers.
Expected result: The designer offers only the layouts you ticked.
Step 4Set the default layout and save
In Default layout, keep None (the designer decides) or pick the layout the designer should open with. It must be one of the layouts buyers can pick. Press Save photo layouts.
Expected result: The next buyer who opens the designer starts on that layout.
Step 5Buyers pick a layout
In the designer, the Layout button beside the canvas opens the layout picker, with tabs All and 1 to 6 photos. Each empty cell has its own Add photo button. When a photo is selected, the bar above the canvas offers Fit, Fill, Adjust, Rotate, Flip, Replace and Remove, plus Move to… to swap a photo into another cell when the layout has more than one.
Expected result: Each layout cell holds its own photo.
Step 6Turn the room preview on or off
Under Room preview on the same page, choose Use the store setting, Show for this product or Hide for this product, then press Save room preview. The store-wide switch is Show room preview (See it on a wall) on PC Canvas > Connection. The room preview runs in the buyer's browser and costs nothing to run.
Expected result: The product page and the designer show See it on a wall when it is on.
Is the starter photo taken from the product image?
No. It is a separate picture you choose, so your product gallery can show room scenes while the designer opens with a clean photo.
Does the starter photo end up in orders?
Only if the buyer keeps it. Most buyers replace it with their own photo; the order always records the design as it was saved.
Which layouts should I offer?
Start with the layouts that fit your sizes: press Only what fits this product's sizes and remove any you do not want. A panoramic product suits the panorama and across layouts; a square product suits the grids.
Does See it on a wall upload the buyer's wall photo?
No. A buyer who chooses Use my own wall keeps that photo on their device; it is not uploaded or saved.
Try Printcart Canvas
Printcart Canvas is free on WordPress.org, from Printcart, the web-to-print platform used by 2000+ stores. Download Printcart Canvas from WordPress.org, or try the live demo as a buyer.
What should you do next?
- The buyer journey: from design to checkout
- Offer edge styles, frame depths and Black & White or Sepia
- Browse all Printcart tutorials
Stuck on a step? Email support@printcart.com with a screenshot of the screen you are on, or a support bundle from PC Canvas > Diagnostics; it contains no credentials.
Your launch checklist
What should you check before you launch Use a Starter Photo, 34 Photo Layouts and Room Preview for Canvas Products?
This guide covers catalog structure, design controls, and customer personalization in Printcart. Before you offer it to your own buyers, place one test order yourself with a real product, a real design file and a real checkout, then answer the questions below.
Sources
Use a Starter Photo, 34 Photo Layouts and Room Preview for Canvas Products — common questions
What do you need before you start?
The screenshots come from a demonstration WooCommerce store running Printcart Canvas with the UK Standard Canvas template (designer screens updated for Printcart Canvas 4.7.0). Store credentials and internal identifiers are masked. Want to see it first? Open the live demo store and press Design your canvas .
Is the starter photo taken from the product image?
No. It is a separate picture you choose, so your product gallery can show room scenes while the designer opens with a clean photo.
Does the starter photo end up in orders?
Only if the buyer keeps it. Most buyers replace it with their own photo; the order always records the design as it was saved.
Which layouts should I offer?
Start with the layouts that fit your sizes: press Only what fits this product's sizes and remove any you do not want. A panoramic product suits the panorama and across layouts; a square product suits the grids.
Next steps in Printcart
Connect this guide with catalog setup, templates, production workflows and implementation support.
Try it
Printcart Canvas – Canvas Print Designer & Edge-Wrap Preview for WooCommerce
Printcart Canvas is a WooCommerce plugin for selling canvas prints online. Customers upload photos, choose a size, layout and edge style, and preview how the picture wraps around the frame before they buy. Every photo gets a print-quality check, and paid orders reach production with a print-ready PDF. It is built for canvas print shops, photo labs and wall-art brands.
Put this guide into practice with Printcart
Use the related Printcart tool below, or create a free account to start building with the product designer.
