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Photo print on aluminum
- Thread starter Hosermage
- Start date
I'm printing a large project on aluminum. I am using an Epson 3800. It goes right through. I experimented with both matte and photo black. Other than long drying times, it seems to look the same. I bought satin white for the project. Somewhere in excess of 200 images when I am done. It doesn't have a huge amount of detail, but on the other hand it looks quite impressive. I think it would be subject sensitive, like printing on silk or canvas. I am photographing leaves and blooms for the arboretum that we developed. (signage) Joe
Yes, they need to be extensively sprayed to protect them from UV and handling. However, if you are going to frame them under glass and display them in a reasonable environment I don't know if I would spray them. They have a sort of 3D quality for some subjects and in B&W they are rather attractive. Not a lot of tonal value so I compress the file a bit. But all in all for somethings they are rather attractive. Joe
Wayne Fox
Workshop Member
The majority of aluminum prints are produced by printing an inkjet print with special inks (sawgrass I believe is the only one left making them) onto a transfer paper which is then sandwiched with an aluminum blank and placed in a heated press ... basically a dye sublimation process. These are now extremely popular with many labs. Quality of these is quite good. I'm guessing that's what you will get. The finished product is very durable and scratch resistant because the dye is basically turned to a gas and absorbed by the coating of the aluminum blank, when it cools they are basically sealed in.
I've only seen a couple of prints printed directly onto aluminum and I didn't think they looked anything like the dye sub produced images. But there are probably many variables in this process so the level of quality would be based on the techniques employed. Perfecting those may yield better results than what I've seen.
Hosermage
Active member
Thanks Wayne, my test purchase was just shipped today and will arrive on Monday.. I'm quite excited! I selected an image that doesn't require a lot of details (I've heard that it loses some details/sharpness) so I'm just hoping for really nice color rendering. I'll post more after I receive it.
I have seen the several varietys of dye sublimation and they are quite durable. The process I have been using is a very simple process of directly printing on a coated piece of aluminum, it is quite thin, .005" and needs a good laquer spray to hold up to any kind of handling even a paper leaf for storage is a bit much. On the other hand it is pretty cool to make a sign with a photograph that is on metal. I have been making portable light tents to photograph specimens in both low key and high key. Joe