I am wondering who you are using for printing your prints onto metal?
Thanks in advance for any help!
Cindy
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I am wondering who you are using for printing your prints onto metal?
Thanks in advance for any help!
Cindy
You need to be a member of Art Fair Insiders to add comments!
Replies
As others have mentioned already, BayPhoto. Not only is their work top-notch when it comes to quality, but their customer service is outstanding and their turnaround time is super fast. I am doing a lot of my work on aluminum now and in huge sizes (5'+) and have nothing but praise for them. BayPhoto will also do custom sizes (not every lab will) so I can custom size a piece to fit an odd sized space in a clients home or office.
Price is a factor when choosing a lab, but not the deciding factor for me. Quality, customer service and other features are all important. I am happy to pay more to receive the best overall service and quality.
Evan is absolutely right on turnaround at Bay. On top of that, shipping is dirt cheap for 2nd day (on sizes under 40").
I've never tried this process, but back in October 2005 I received a FREE sample box via FedEx from a company called Image Wizards out of North Carolina who pioneered the printing on metal process and called it AluminArte. I just Googled that outfit and found they are still in business. So if you go to their website you'll see their goodies. I don't know how they compare with what the others here have mentioned. That company was also offering images on birch wood as well back in 2005.
David and Bill, have you two ever used Image Wizards?
Back then the company offered an introductory deal for the first order by offering one 16x20 for $125, two for $150, or three for $175 just to get artists started and hopefully hooked. Their price sheet showed that a minimum normal order consisted of 12 of the same image for a price of $30.40 per 16x20 unit. I wonder if the price for this type of service has dropped or risen in these last 9 years? And I wonder how the latest technology has improved the look of these things, or maybe hasn't improved the look of them?
The brushed aluminum looks interesting. I don't know if I like the look of the high gloss. Those were the two finishes included in the box for me to preview along with a birch sample and a wooden postcard!
Good luck and we'll see you down the show road. WOOHOO!
We have used Bay as well and the quality is excellent (although pricey). They use the Chromaluxe process and there are other labs that do so as well. Here is a link to their list of labs. Obviously while the process may be the same, there might be lab-to-lab variations due to the human interaction with the equipment but, overall, the colors on Chromaluxe high gloss metals really pop.
We have tried Simply Color (or their division called Simply Metal which is also Chromaluxe) and the results are very good and their prices are better than Bay. The downside is that I don't like the float mount that they use.
There are numerous sources for metal prints out there and I'm sure many of them have a great product. The only one that I have dealt with in the past is Bayphoto out of California. The metal prints are stunning for some images but I personally don't think they are a fit for all. Bay has a sample kit that you can purchase which will allow you to see the effect of each style surface presentation they offer. The last time I checked they had high gloss (my choice), sheer gloss, satin, and sheer matte. I did a couple metal prints for personal use and gifts, but found it hard to set a reasonable price point for sales at the cost of the product. I hear rumors of the possibilities of self printing on metal in the future, That might be a good option for those of us doing our own printing if it holds true.