You’ve fallen in love with an image, but now you are stuck on the decision on what material to have your image printed on!
Choosing the right material for your space and for your image can be challenging. There are a number of factors that you will need to take into consideration. Some of these include:
The setting your photographic artwork will be displayed in
The style and subject of the chosen artwork
Budget
Let’s take a look at the different print materials on offer.
1) Metal Prints
Metal Prints provide a premium, contemporary look to the photographic artwork. When printing on metal, the photo is printed directly on the front of the metal panel using UV stabilised ink, before being finished off with a gloss coating. This process allows the image to really stand out and pop, increasing the vibrancy of the colours and creating a luminescent feel.
As such, metal prints is a great choice for photographic images featuring vibrant colours, deep contrast or that are in black and white. Due to the innate presence of rich colours, nature and landscape images work very well on metal.
Black and white or nature based photos look great in metal.
Metal prints are less than 5mm thick, allowing them to integrate seamlessly into your setting. They are also very light compared to some other materials.
The process of metal printing means that it is not the cheapest material option available. That being said, wall art prints on metal have significantly increased durability compared to options such as canvas. They are scratch and water resistant, and have longer wear in spaces where there is direct sunlight.
Due to the contemporary feel of metal, metal photography prints are best suited to homes and settings with modern interiors.
2) Wall Art on Canvas
Canvas prints are highly versatile, and the less expensive option when it comes to materials for wall art prints. Generally all images will work well on canvases, and they are able to work well in any setting.
Our canvas options are 3.5cm in depth and made using satin canvas, which has been stretched and wrapped around a soft wooden frame.
While canvas is still a durable material, it is not water or stretch resistant like metal, and generally has a softer colour quality to prints on other materials.
3) Photography on Glass Prints
Glass prints for wall art provide a modern, stunning product to feature in your space.
While any image looks fabulous in glass, we recommend using glass for photos which feature vibrant or contrasting colours (eg. Black and white). The gloss on the finish really makes both cityscape and natural shots come to life.
Our glass prints are printed using UV stabilised ink on a pane of 6mm thick bevel safety glass. Beveled glass is glass that has its edges cut and polished in order to achieve an elegant finish.
Glass prints allow for the full transfer of colour from the image, resulting in a vibrant, glossy finish that makes a statement in any setting. Wall art prints on glass are UV and water resistant and easy to keep clean and dust free.
As with metal, photographs printed on glass are best suited to homes and spaces with modern or contemporary styling.
This cityscape really pops on glass print
4) Fine Art Paper Prints
Last but not least the traditional paper print. One of the key considerations with fine art paper prints that you do not need to make with the other print types is that you will need to have your artwork framed. Deciding on the right frame for your printed artwork can be a whole separate journey that can alter the look and feel of the piece (we will endeavour to blog about this soon). This is also a consideration you will need to make when thinking about budget - frames costs can quickly add up!
Fine Art Paper Prints work well with spaces of any styling. When deciding if Paper Prints are the right choice for you, you may wish to consider what kind of artwork you already have existing in your space. If you want everything to match and you currently only have framed artwork then paper prints may make sense for your space.
To sum up...
The material you select to have your chosen photograph printed on is a personal decision based your space, the desired look and feel, and budget. For any further questions about what material would best suit you, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
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