Advice for good metal/aluminum printing businesses?

[James33]

Has anyone had a good experience with metal/aluminum printing that is high quality and has an easy ordering system for consumers? no defects like chips, scratches or green hair also if possible.

[DanK]

Welcome to CiC. Please add your name and location to your profile. We use real names here, and we are an international group, so not knowing where you are makes it hard to answer some questions.

If you are in the US, Bay Photo does beautiful metal prints.

[BrianA61]

I had a photo I shot in Denali Nat'l Park, Alaska printed on aluminum. It came out AWESOME. Colors really pop and clarity is through the roof. I ordered it through these guys. http://www.adoramapix.com/app/products/metalprints They have reasonable prices and you can't beat the quality. Highly recommended.

[csa mt]

"Please add your name and location to your profile. We use real names here,"

I didn't see anything that required "real names and location" when I joined. I had a very unpleasant experience on another forum, using my "real name" and location. Since then I do not use this information on forums.

Where does it say it's required?

Carol

[Dave Humphries]

"Please add your name and location to your profile. We use real names here,"

I didn't see anything that required "real names and location" when I joined. I had a very unpleasant experience on another forum, using my "real name" and location. Since then I do not use this information on forums.

Where does it say it's required?

Carol

It is something I personally always ask for Carol, because it is better to refer to other members by a first name to keep things more cordial than some usernames, many of which are impersonal. It often helps to know the gender of a person too.

Location is useful when answering queries that require currency, for example.

Now if you're saying that Carol isn't your real name and you don't live in Montana, that's doesn't really matter, as long as it is close enough to be helpful to you and you recognise yourself

I have no problem with other members asking for this information from new joiners either.

[NorthernFocus]

...Now if you're saying that Carol isn't your real name and you don't live in Montana, that's doesn't really matter, as long as it is close enough to be helpful to you and you recognise yourself...

Yeah, for example my real name is Niome and I'm a 23 year old model/wannabe actress living (mostly) in NYC.

What, did you guys really buy that I'm a cranky old geezer in Alaska named Dan who is past the half century mark and doesn't put his own photo as an avatar for fear of scaring members off posting? Come on... what would be the fun in that?

[csa mt]

Dave, thanks so much for clarifying this; I was thinking that full disclosure might be required.

Yep, I am Carol, and I live in Montana!

[csa mt]

Yeah, for example my real name is Niome and I'm a 23 year old model/wannabe actress living (mostly) in NYC.

What, did you guys really buy that I'm a cranky old geezer in Alaska named Dan who is past the half century mark and doesn't put his own photo as an avatar for fear of scaring members off posting? Come on... what would be the fun in that?

[george013]

I had e few printed on dibond. There are several ways to do it. Even a printed paperimage glued on dibond.
Dibond can have a white color, a metal/alu color with or witout a structure, or polished as a mirror.
Be aware that if you choice something else as white dibond, you don't have white in your print.
Ordering is the same as with regular prints.
George

[Dave Humphries]

Dave, thanks so much for clarifying this; I was thinking that full disclosure might be required

No, not at all, though unfortunately, the field happens to be called "Real Name", which doesn't help in this instance

Where does it say it's required?

Must admit, I thought we had explained it in the FAQ, but I couldn't find it

End of Off Topic conversation

[csa mt]

I had a photo I shot in Denali Nat'l Park, Alaska printed on aluminum. It came out AWESOME. Colors really pop and clarity is through the roof. I ordered it through these guys. http://www.adoramapix.com/app/products/metalprints They have reasonable prices and you can't beat the quality. Highly recommended.

Thanks for this information; as I've also been interested in having a print on aluminum! I've looked over the site, and I don't see what type of image is best to send; Jpeg, etc.?

[NorthernFocus]

Without the OP indicating which country they are in, I didn't provide a recommendation. But since the OP apparently never returned anyway, I'll throw my two cents in that's relevant for North American residents.

I have used Bay Photo, AdoramaPix, Black River Imaging, and Alumiprint.

Alumiprint did excellent work but the all in cost of production and shipping was twice any of the others.

Bay Photo did good work but they don't honor their shipping rates outside the continental US. Quality was no better than others and the shipping puts their cost way higher for Alaska/Canada. Also their customer service was not as responsive as Black River.

Adorama is a high volume outfit. Basically he WalMart of printers. Quality is good and customer service is good if you have a quality problem etc. Technical support is lacking. They have a limited selection of standard sizes.

Black River Imaging is the printer that I've settled on for metal prints. Quality is good. For orders over $35 they have free shipping to all 50 states in the US. They are competitively priced and customer service is excellent. Prior to having a print made you can upload the image and talk to a technician who will advise whether the image is too light/dark, will have a color cast, etc. I've had a couple of prints come out really dark and they let me upload a modified version and reprint at no cost with no questions asked. This is who I've been using for any metal print sales that I make. They have a wide selection of sizes or you can specify a custom size for very reasonable cost.

... I've also been interested in having a print on aluminum! I've looked over the site, and I don't see what type of image is best to send; Jpeg, etc.?

JPEG and I believe at 300ppi if I recall correctly. Different printers may differ on recommended ppi so you should check with them if you can't find it on their website. Most of them have and FAQ page with that kind of info. Make sure that you do your sharpening after any resizing. Sharpening is critical on metal prints. They are awesome for showing detail and therefore are unforgiving if detail is lacking or if there is a lot of noise. Noise shows up worse than on any other print medium. Color is also more vibrant than any other with the possible exception of "metal" papers.

[chauncey]

Dan is spot on concerning the detail...if your unsure about any part of the image...
crop it out and have the printing company send you a small version of that crop,
it will be at a reduced price.

[selig1656]

I have used Meridian Pro out of Chicago and the rates were great, plus fast shipping. They can also make adjustments if you desire with a preview.

[BrianA61]

I might also add that Adoramapix process isn't really printing ON the aluminum, but, rather printing INTO the aluminum. Their prints are supposed to be scratch resistant, smudge resistant, waterproof, and you could even use solvent type cleaner (windex, etc) to clean it up. Fingerprints wipe off easily with just a soft cloth. I don't know how others process their aluminum prints, but, they might have something similar.

[tommcana]

No but you try Hp printers.