Aluminium or Acrylic print...

[Uncle Kevriano]

I am going to have one of my Waxwing shots printed to put on one of our walls, but rather than have a canvas, which can give a lightly muted colour palette, I'm thinking of either Aluminium or Acrylic.
Does anyone have any experience of either, or both as a comparison? Acrylic costs around £10 more than Aluminium, which isn't too bad, but I'm not sure if it will have more impact or suit, as I don't think it needs to be super glossy.
Ta

 

[Paul stuart]

Not used aluminium ,but have used acrylic ,guess it depends on your intent if it is a high contrast image go with acrylic ,if it is more subtle then maybe aluminum also depends where you are hanging it ,will it be natural lit or artifical ,think of reflections ,i guess that aluminium might be less reflective.

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

Not used aluminium ,but have used acrylic ,guess it depends on your intent if it is a high contrast image go with acrylic ,if it is more subtle then maybe aluminum also depends where you are hanging it ,will it be natural lit or artifical ,think of reflections ,i guess that aluminium might be less reflective.

It won't be high contrast and mainly naturally lit depending on where it ends up. I think the lower reflective properties will suit it better. It's this shot.

• ILCE-7RM4
• FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS
• 600.0 mm
• ƒ/7.1
• 1/800 sec
• ISO 1250

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

There you go...

• ILCE-7RM4
• FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS
• 600.0 mm
• ƒ/7.1
• 1/800 sec
• ISO 1250

 

[MrFotoFool]

That's a beautiful shot (the original, not the joke one with the fake sky). Print types are highly subjective and that includes the (currently popular) acrylic and metal prints. Both are what would be considered a modern or contemporary look, meaning they fit best in a minimalist office or home. I worked at a photo lab for two decades and have several large prints (up to 40x60 inches) in my condo and this is my two cents.

If you have never seen a metal print in person, make sure you see a sample before you order one. Lots of people seem to love them but I find them ugly and would never order one myself (even if I won one for free in a contest). Acrylic prints are better IMO, but glare is a huge problem. They have a very high saturation and contrast which makes the image really pop if that's what you're after, but be aware you can only view it from just the right angle or glare makes the image hard to see. There are different hanging methods for these which may make it more difficult to mount than a conventional print.

What I do in my home is a traditional print, though these days traditional usually means archival inkjet instead of developed photo paper (some labs still do both). I have the lab spray it with a protective varnish (you can also have it laminated) and then frame it in metal with no glass or mat. It's a clean and semi-modern look (a wood frame would be a more traditional look and I do have a large panorama in my bedroom in wood). Here are two shots from my place. The second one (Hallstatt) has a bit of glare due to light from large windows behind me, but it is still viewable. If I took this same shot of a metal or acrylic print all you would see is glare.

• NIKON D850
• 38.0 mm
• ƒ/5.6
• 10/500 sec
• ISO 1000

• NIKON D850
• 35.0 mm
• ƒ/5.6
• 10/500 sec
• ISO 1000

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

Thanks Fred, interesting. I am definitely ruling out Acrylic, no point in having a picture up that you need to see at a certain angle. There are a couple of aluminium options, so I will find somewhere offering them locally, so that I can get a proper look first. I like the idea of them being frameless though, as I can never pick a nice frame, and they are expensive at the 90 x 60 I want.

 

[Paul stuart]

I had a 48 inch print mounted on a board by a sign company in crawley £20 i just wish i had got it coated also ,instead got it framed and had non reflective glass put in front and on bright sunny days all i get is a reflection in it ,live and learn ,yep print mounted on board with a coating then in a frame is the way to go i feel .

 

[Unframed Dave]

Just be aware there are various non reflective glasses available. The old etched stuff is absolute garbage compared to the more modern types such as true Vue. The cost can get extreme though, I only once had a customer specify museum glass in ten years professional framing, cutting the sheet gave me palpitations.

Many also have the ability to block varying percentages of uv, so will make your print keep it's vibrancy far longer.

Personally I would not recommend having the print up to glass, a mount or a spacer is a good idea. I have spent many hours unsticking photographs with sentimental value. Not always successfully.

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

Just be aware there are various non reflective glasses available. The old etched stuff is absolute garbage compared to the more modern types such as true Vue. The cost can get extreme though, I only once had a customer specify museum glass in ten years professional framing, cutting the sheet gave me palpitations.

Many also have the ability to block varying percentages of uv, so will make your print keep it's vibrancy far longer.

Personally I would not recommend having the print up to glass, a mount or a spacer is a good idea. I have spent many hours unsticking photographs with sentimental value. Not always successfully.

Thanks Dave. One of the reasons I'm considering the Alu print instead.

 

[MrFotoFool]

I had a 48 inch print mounted on a board by a sign company in crawley £20 i just wish i had got it coated also ,instead got it framed and had non reflective glass put in front and on bright sunny days all i get is a reflection in it ,live and learn ,yep print mounted on board with a coating then in a frame is the way to go i feel .

I neglected to say in my post, that my prints are dry mounted to gatorfoam (which is how they can be framed without glass). If you don't want a frame, it is possible to do a dry mounted print and put a hanging system on the back. The edge will show the black gatorfoam (usually 3/16 inch though for very big prints you can get 1/2 inch).

 

[iamdlewis]

So I have several acrylic prints and 4 different types of metal prints. In my opinion it really depends on the size of the print you want.
Direct Print On Aluminum Dibond - These are great for small prints, they are not as sharp as other print types these do not have issues with reflected light as they are matted. I have about 25 such prints all of which are 8"x6".
HD Metal Prints - These are thinner that the Dibond, much sharper (hence HD), they have a glossy finish and thus will reflect light, these tend to work well in many sizes and probably should be considered if you are not going to get a frame. Have about 15 prints.
Direct Print On Brushed Aluminum & Silver Gloss - These are both specialized versions of HD Metal prints in which the whites are either not printed or treated with silver. You really need to pick carefully what images you get printed with these styles. These will reflect which is kind of the point. I have 1 of each of these.
Acrylic Prints - These I find work best in larger sizes and with frames. Depending on the thickness of the glass, the lighting conditions of the room and the typical viewing angle will determine how much of an issue the reflections are. The 4 prints I have of this style (2 30"x20" and 2 60"x15") I have no issues with the reflected light as they typical viewing angle just doesn't pickup the light sources.

One advice I would give is to get a small print of the photo on regular photo paper from any standard print place like in the US Amazon or Walgreens. This will help you understand if you need to brighten the image some before getting it printed.

The attached is a side by side of an HD Metal (heron) and Dibond (butterfly) with both being 8"x6".

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

There you go... View attachment 30789

EPIC mate!

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

So I have several acrylic prints and 4 different types of metal prints. In my opinion it really depends on the size of the print you want.
Direct Print On Aluminum Dibond - These are great for small prints, they are not as sharp as other print types these do not have issues with reflected light as they are matted. I have about 25 such prints all of which are 8"x6".
HD Metal Prints - These are thinner that the Dibond, much sharper (hence HD), they have a glossy finish and thus will reflect light, these tend to work well in many sizes and probably should be considered if you are not going to get a frame. Have about 15 prints.
Direct Print On Brushed Aluminum & Silver Gloss - These are both specialized versions of HD Metal prints in which the whites are either not printed or treated with silver. You really need to pick carefully what images you get printed with these styles. These will reflect which is kind of the point. I have 1 of each of these.
Acrylic Prints - These I find work best in larger sizes and with frames. Depending on the thickness of the glass, the lighting conditions of the room and the typical viewing angle will determine how much of an issue the reflections are. The 4 prints I have of this style (2 30"x20" and 2 60"x15") I have no issues with the reflected light as they typical viewing angle just doesn't pickup the light sources.

One advice I would give is to get a small print of the photo on regular photo paper from any standard print place like in the US Amazon or Walgreens. This will help you understand if you need to brighten the image some before getting it printed.

The attached is a side by side of an HD Metal (heron) and Dibond (butterfly) with both being 8"x6".

Thanks for this input, very useful. I'm looking at having the above Waxwing printed 90 x 60 CM or maybe 120 x 90. I want to avoid canvas, as it wont look right, and I like the slim clean look of the metal prints, so I will do some local research as previously mentioned.

 

[iamdlewis]

Not saying that you should buy from Whitewall but they do have some store fronts with examples of nearly all the various types of prints that they make, which is more than any other print shop that I have seen. So they are good to visit to see what is possible. They have a London location https://www.whitewall.com/us/stores/london-leica-store

For my large Acrylic prints I ended up going with Whitewall because they had frames that I liked better and the prices were close enough. I'll most likely be getting my metal prints from other places in the future as the prices from US suppliers are about 20% cheaper currently.

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

Not saying that you should buy from Whitewall but they do have some store fronts with examples of nearly all the various types of prints that they make, which is more than any other print shop that I have seen. So they are good to visit to see what is possible. They have a London location https://www.whitewall.com/us/stores/london-leica-store

For my large Acrylic prints I ended up going with Whitewall because they had frames that I liked better and the prices were close enough. I'll most likely be getting my metal prints from other places in the future as the prices from US suppliers are about 20% cheaper currently.

Thanks. I will take a look at their site. London is a bit too far, but I'm sure WEX will have a print lab and examples, so I will have a look when I'm in Norwich next.