Can You Hang Metal Prints Outdoors
- What Are Metal Prints?
- Can You Put Metal Prints Outdoors?
- Uses for Metal Prints Outdoors
- Durable Features for Metal Prints Outdoors
- Sizes for Metal Prints Outdoors
- Meet Shiny Prints!
- Recommended Photography Gear
How to display metal prints outdoors is a question that many photographers have thought of when considering choosing metal prints as an enlargement. Can you hang metal prints outdoors? How should they be mounted if you do? Are there any special considerations for displaying metal prints outdoors?
Shiny Prints has the answers to those questions and concerns, plus they have the expertise necessary to create the ultimate high-quality enlargements you need to put your metal prints outdoors or anywhere else.
Let’s meet them and see what they have!
Table of Contents:
What Are Metal Prints?
Metal prints differ from enlargements made on more traditional materials in two significant ways. First, they are printed on real metal (hence the label ‘metal prints’), and second, they are printed using the dye sublimation method.
Let’s tackle the metal material first…
The premier manufacturer of metal sheets capable of becoming HD metal prints is ChromaLuxe Lab. The panels are 1mm thick polished aluminum coated with a finish that is optimized for photographic printing.
Dye sublimation is a specialty process for printing on substrates other than porous materials like paper or canvas. The image is printed onto a transfer paper with dye sublimation inks. Then, this transfer paper is sandwiched with the aluminum plate, and the ink is forced into the metal by means of high heat and pressure.
The result is a unique photo presentation that showcases your image files in a fine way. It is a wonderful process for very large enlargements and any image file that has great contrast and color.
Can You Put Metal Prints Outdoors?
The short answer to the question of can you put metal prints outdoors is yes. The longer answer is that there is a specific style of ChromaLuxe Lab panels that works better for outdoor applications than their standard aluminum panels.
The standard aluminum panels are already protected from UV light with a fade-resistant coating. In fact, metal prints have an even higher archival rating than the best paper prints. For putting your metal prints outdoors, you want your images printed on ChromaLuxe EXT aluminum panels.
Uses for Metal Prints Outdoors
What applications are there for using metal prints outdoors? A primary application is advertising. Why not just use a sign, someone might ask. A large metal print of a photographic image has a huge visual impact over a regular style of signage.
Another use for showing your metal prints outdoors is having an art display outside in the elements. While many HD metal prints might be just fine in the elements, using ChromaLuxe EXT panels adds a layer of protection for protecting your printed images.
Durable Features for Metal Prints Outdoors
In addition to enhanced UV protection to prevent fading, EXT panels can also survive graffiti and a lot of severe weather conditions. If caked on mud or someone with a can of spray paint happens to mar your HD metal print with the EXT option, you can simply scrub it off or use acetone or denatured alcohol and a microfiber cloth.
These metal prints can be attached directly to a surface such as a brick or concrete wall, or you can utilize the many backer options for floating the print like you would if you were displaying them indoors.
Sizes for Metal Prints Outdoors
There are as many size options for metal prints outdoors as there are for standard HD metal prints. Starting at a square format 8” x 8” prints, you can order all the way up to 48” x 96”, which is a giant 4 feet by 8 feet! Custom sizing is also available for making metal prints outdoors, perfect for panoramas or multiple-panel displays.
Meet Shiny Prints!
Putting your metal prints outdoors is an easy process when you use the right people to do the work for you. Shiny Prints is a professional printing company that is also one of the few places offering the EXT series of ChromaLuxe Lab aluminum panels.
Check out their story on their YouTube channel:
Shiny Prints founder William Heinitz teamed up with world-class fine art printer Matt Dee to provide the best possible metal printing solution for your well-crafted images. They only make metal prints, so everything they do is 100% dedicated to making the best metal prints possible.
Large or small, indoors or outdoors, try them out for yourself and see what you do with your own metal outdoors for advertising or a special art gallery display.
