Rubberized canvas material is sometimes touted as a great material for projection screens and is often purchased on eBay by home theater enthusiasts. The real question is whether it compares to the projector screen fabric used in commercial screens or to more common DIY projector screen materials like seamless paper or blackout fabric.
Rubberized canvas material in front of commercial projection screens
First of all, there really isn’t much of a comparison between rubber canvas and the material that goes into a high quality projection screen such as a Da-Lite projection screen or a Draper projector screen, typically these will be a vinyl projector screen. The image of a good commercial screen will be much better, but this will depend on the projector used. With a high-end projector this may not make a huge difference, but even then ambient lighting could have a dramatic effect on the lower gain typically associated with rubberized canvas material. Rubberized canvas often makes a good HDTV projector screen, as these projectors typically have high lumen output. If you think gain might be an issue, be sure to check to see if the seller provides information on the amount of gain provided by the canvas or even try to get some sample material before ordering a full set.
Seamless paper vs. rubberized canvas material
Continuous paper is perhaps the most widely used material in a cheap projector screen. With continuous paper you have the advantage that there will be no wrinkles in the paper. One disadvantage of canvas and continuous paper is that both may be unusable as rear-projection screens. With canvas fabric there might be some slight wrinkles but these should fade over time, especially if the screen is stretched. If there are any problems with the continuous paper, you can just throw it away, and with the low cost there really isn’t much to worry about. Seamless paper generally does not provide the results of canvas material that is created especially for your home theater system, and will need to be stretched, almost definitely not a portable solution. Projector screen canvas could also potentially be used on a motorized projector screen, whereas continuous paper lacks the durability. Transparent paper has the advantage of being cheap and readily available at photo shops.
Rubberized canvas material vs. blackout fabric
Blackout cloth is another material used in cheap projection screens. This can be a difficult material to work with, as it is usually somewhat wrinkled and may need to be pulled tighter than rubber canvas. In fact, the gain is quite good with the projector screen cloth, but there is the annoyance of wrinkles and marks on the screen. A screen made of blackout fabric will generally require more care than one made of canvas projector fabric, it could become a portable screen, but there are problems with wrinkling and dirt on the screen, so it is not recommended. Blackout fabric is usually available at local fabric stores, so it’s easy to obtain.