What are Acrylic Prints?

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What Are Acrylic Prints image

One of my favorite ways to display my photography is to use large and small acrylic prints from a premium printing company. Acrylic photo prints are a beautiful addition to any wall art display and make fabulous photo gifts or photo printing products to offer as part of our list of items for sale.

Before ordering a bunch of acrylic prints, you should ask a few questions, such as:

What is an acrylic print?
Why are acrylic prints so special?
How do you, as a photographer, ensure the acrylic prints you order are as close to perfect as possible?

I’ll also let you in on my secrets, Artbeat Studios. Well, it’s not really a secret about Artbeat Studios; I’ve talked about it extensively on PhotographyTalk. They are one of the best sources I know of for making specialty prints, including acrylic prints, metal prints, canvas prints, and other specialty items.

What Are Acrylic Prints?

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What are acrylic prints? Acrylic is a type of polymer or plastic that is optimally suited for photographic applications. It can be made as clear as crystal or glass and has superior anti-yellowing longevity compared to lesser plastic materials.

Another strength of acrylic is just that, its strength. A very thin sheet of optically clear acrylic has an enormously rigid structure, very stiff. A common form of acrylic outside of photographic applications is known as plexiglass. Plexiglass is used for cooking ware and scientific and industrial uses.

The acrylic manufactured for photographic prints is extremely clear, being as pure as possible. It transmits light perfectly, has excellent thermal properties, and is easy to work with. When cut and polished properly, even the edges have a clarity aptly suited for photo prints.

A Brief History of Acrylic Prints

A Brief History of Acrylic Prints image

^{Photo by MiguelMalo via iStock}

Acrylic prints of photo images began becoming relatively mainstream in the 1960s. Typically, the photograph is printed on high-quality paper and then “face mounted” onto an acrylic sheet. The print is under the polymer sheet, and a backer of some type is applied to the other side.

With the advent of digital photography, making acrylic prints as photo enlargements has taken leaps forward into even higher-quality printing. Modern acrylics are better and cleaner, and the papers used have advanced as well, with metallic papers used for increased image luminescence.

Modern acrylic prints are better than they ever have been, and they are less expensive as well. When done correctly by trained technicians on high-quality materials, the process creates superb artwork of photography images or any other type of digital file, such as vector art.

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What Images Work Best for Acrylic Prints?

What Images Work Best for Acrylic Prints image

^{Photo by Freder via iStock}

With all of this background information on what goes into making acrylic prints, you may wonder what type of imagery works best for printing as an acrylic print enlargement. Truth be told, acrylic prints can enhance any image or style of photography.

Some images, though, are especially well suited for acrylic prints. I find that some of the photos I’ve had printed as acrylic prints that get the most attention are pics with colors that pop or that have a lot of contrast.

But it doesn’t have to be a red fire hydrant against a green wall type of contrast. It can be pastel colors, black and white, or low-key portraits. Acrylic prints can also highlight architecture, still life, or wildlife. The possibilities are endless!

Artbeat Studios Acrylic Prints

Artbeat Studios Acrylic Prints image

Artbeat Studios' acrylic prints are an excellent example of what makes an outstanding work of art. Artbeat uses the best machinery and materials, and their technicians are exceptionally well-trained and artisans in the field of photographic printing.

There are four different types or styles of acrylic prints made by Artbeat Studios…

HD Acrylics are their most popular option for acrylic prints. The face is ¼” clear acrylic, the image is printed on white or metallic photo paper, and it’s backed by ⅛” black Sintra.
HD Acrylic Lite is their least expensive option, though none are too pricey, considering how good they are. The face is ¼” clear acrylic, the image is printed on white or metallic photo paper, and it’s backed with paper.
HD Acrylic 360 is described as pure elegance. It’s the thickest of their acrylic prints and is a little higher priced than the other options. For this style, the face is ¼” clear acrylic, the image is printed on white or metallic photo paper, and it’s backed by ⅛” clear acrylic.
The thinnest of the acrylic print options are their HD Acrylic Slims. This is pretty much a sandwich of acrylic, faced with ⅛” clear acrylic, picture printed on white or metallic photo paper, and backed with ⅛” clear acrylic.

Wall Art Displays

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^{Photo by syolacan via iStock}

Acrylic prints are a great choice for wall art displays, either as a single, very large print or as several different sizes displayed in a gallery display. Wall mounting is easy with simple metal corner posts, flush mounting, or a frame hidden from view, making the acrylic print appear to be floating on the wall

There are also simple and elegant wood frames in either black or white. These frames come as simple box frames or floating image frames with about a ¼” of space between the outside edge of the acrylic prints and the inside edge of the frame.

The sizes of acrylic prints available from Artbeat Studios range from 4x6” all the way up to a massive 48x96” which is 4 by 8 feet. In addition to all of the standard image sizes, you can order custom dimensions for images such as panoramas and squares.

Selling Your Photos as Acrylic Prints

Selling Your Photos as Acrylic Prints image

^{Photo by Ridofranz via iStock}

Since acrylic prints are so eye-catching, you should offer them to your clients as either prints of what you have photographed for them or as fine art images of your personal artwork.

Artbeat Studios helps out professional photographers with loyalty pricing, e-commerce solutions, white-label shipping, and other professional services.

More from Artbeat Studios

Metal Prints from Artbeat Studios image

Besides their beautiful acrylic prints, Artbeat Studios also makes prints on metal, canvas, and fine art photographic paper. Their reasonable shipping pricing, high-quality materials, excellent technicians, and top-tier customer service will bring you back to Artbeat Studios for your specialty photography printing needs.