Acrylic, Canvas, or Metal? Which Type of Photo Print is Best?
- Why a Physical Photo Print?
- Acrylic Photo Print
- Canvas Photo Print
- Metal Photo Print
- Saal Digital Photo Prints
- Is It Better to Print on Acrylic or Metal?
- How To Give Your Photos a High-End Look
- 4 Tips for Creating Photos that Grab People’s Attention
As photographers, we love to share our images. It’s part of why we’re an artist in the first place, right? Online galleries, images on a video display monitor, and physical photo prints are some of the means by which we can show our photography.
With regards to physical photo prints, we have several styles we can use. Paper prints are what many people already know about, but other types of photo prints include acrylic, canvas, and metal.
We’ll look at these types of photo print options and show you how to get them from a superior printing company, Saal Digital.
Let’s get started!
Table of Contents:
Why a Physical Photo Print?
With all of the digital, web, social media, smartphone apps, and all of that out there for sharing and delivering digital photography files, what good is a physical photo print? In one way or another, I often hear this or a similar thought.
There are several good reasons for displaying photographic art as a physical photo print. One is the impact of being next to a well-made, large photo print. And another is the availability of unique materials that make that impact even greater.
I’ll show you some ideas of the special materials you can use for making an eye-catching photo print with some examples from one of my go-to sources for any high-quality photo print needs, Saal Digital.
I won’t be highlighting their poster prints or fine art paper prints, but you can see those on their website along with their amazing photo books, which are what first caught my attention.
Acrylic Photo Print
An Acrylic Photo Print is an elegant method of making photo prints with what I like to call a WOW factor. In fact, all three of these photo print options have it. The wow factor is related to the average person's reaction to seeing one of these photo prints.
This type of photo print uniquely shows the image. There is no frame or extra matting. Nothing else is needed - the image stands alone. The impact of a large, flat photo print, showing the image all on its own, is really quite impressive.
Have a look at one of these prints in this video from the Saal Digital YouTube channel for some ideas of how you can use acrylic to highlight your best work:
The acrylic photo print from Saal Digital is printed differently than some other acrylic printers do it. The image is printed directly to the back of the acrylic plate by means of a seven-color UV direct printing process with an opaque film attached afterwards.
The acrylic glass is crystal clear, and the edges of the 5mm thick material are polished to a perfect smoothness. A couple of mounting methods are available, including metal posts or a hidden aluminum frame that makes the photo print seem to float right next to the wall.
Canvas Photo Print
A Canvas Photo Print brings an old-world charm to your digital photography. The canvas material shows your image's sharpness in 300 dpi and whatever colors or gray tones you processed the image to show.
Every canvas photo print from Saal Digital is handmade. The printed fabric is carefully stretched on a solid real-wood wedge frame and fixed on the back, and you can hang it on the wall as is without any frame.
The fabric is heavyweight (260 g/m²), natural in color, blended fabric of 35% cotton and 65% polyester. The stretcher frames are solid natural wood for maximum strength. Everything is optimized for a long-lasting, high-quality photo print.
Here is a video from the Saal Digital YouTube channel showing some of the points I just mentioned:
The edge treatment is part of the appeal and wow factor of a canvas photo print. The image can be mirrored on the edge, or it can bleed over the edge just like a painted canvas does. You can choose the thickness of the wooden stretcher frame, too, either 1.58” for an extra standout visual treatment or the standard .8” thickness.
Metal Photo Print
A Metal Photo Print from Saal Digital is also very special. These prints have a three-layer composite construction - a polyethylene core sandwiched by two aluminum panels.
Printed with the seven-color UV direct printing process, these metal photo prints provide sharp detail and excellent color and are resistant to water, paint, and light. They are suitable for interior and exterior design, characterized by lightness, stability, and superb weather resistance.
Have a look at this video from the Saal Digital YouTube channel for an idea of what a metal photo print is all about:
These premium photo print panels can be displayed in various ways, each of which shows off its own wow factor.
Saal Digital Photo Prints
A photo print from Saal Digital is one of the most stunning displays of photo art you can make from your digital photography. In addition to being a premium photo printmaker, Saal Digital has professional tools such as soft proofing, ICC profiles, and reselling options that can help you further develop your photography business.
You’ll find all sorts of photo print products to show your photography art, from photo books to specialty photo gift items. Try Saal Digital out for yourself!
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