Metal Prints Explained

What are Metal Prints?

Metal Prints are known by several names such as HD Metal Prints, Aluminum Prints, Brushed Aluminum Prints, DiBond Prints, Metallic Prints and Metal Photo Prints. Printing on metal is a sleek modern way to display your work without having to frame it. Metal Prints really bring an image to life to life. Due to their durability, archival quality, and convenience, they are quickly becoming the new standard for displaying and selling art. Metal prints are made via a process called sublimation, and here’s how it works.

Unlike the traditional method of printing directly on the surface, which may damage easily, dye sublimation infuses the image directly into the hard coating to provide lasting durability and protection.

The first step requires your image to be printed on paper transfer media on a giclee printer with specialized sublimation inks made for the metal print process. The print will look like a flat colored mirrored copy of the original image.

This sheet is then taped on to blank metal photo panel which is then placed in a heat press. The heat and pressure causes the sublimation inks to transform into a gas. The gas is then absorbed through the pores of the polymer coating of the metal and into the base coating. As the metal cools, the pores close and the metal surface stabilizes.

Additional Benefits

Other than the obvious image quality, metal prints offer additional benefits.

Metal prints offer great value. Since metal photo prints don’t need to be framed, you can save big on framing costs which are often much more than the price of the print itself. My metal prints come ready to hang at a fraction of the cost of a custom framed traditional photo print.

Durability and archivability of metal prints are excellent. The surface coating is very tough and scratch resistant. It doesn’t require any glass to cover it. Also, they are incredibly fade resistant. So, how long do metal prints last? The Rochester Institute of Technology tested metal prints to last up to 4 times longer than archival silver halide photographic prints which last about 40 years.

Since they are printed on aluminum, metal prints are also water proof. If you have finger prints or something gets on it, just use a damp cloth to wipe it.