My Printing Process

Printing process

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 my photos on metal (typically aluminum) is a sleek modern way to display my work without having to frame it.

Metal Prints bring my photos to life. There are so many different types of metal prints on the market that as a consumer it can get very confusing. There are 3 common ways to put an image on metal: Dye Sublimation, Direct Print and Mounting. My lab only uses Dye Sublimation.

Dye Sublimation is where your image is first printed onto a transfer paper with dye inks and then sublimated into the aluminum sheet with heat and pressure. The inks are bonded with aluminum.

Pros:

·†††††††Since the ink is infused into the aluminum your image is scratch and water-resistant.

·†††††††If used with the right aluminum (more about this below) they are now archival prints and will resist fading for 65+years.

The type of metal is aluminum sheets with dye sublimation coated. Dye Sublimation coated aluminum sheets basically all start out the same, using imported aluminum panels that then have to be coated. The real magic happens in coating technology used by different manufacturers. The super-thin coating is the layer that the image is actually infused into, not the aluminum itself. So the longevity, durability, and vibrance are all dependent upon the coating used. My lab only uses Chromaluxe because they produce the absolute highest quality coated sheets. They are the only sheets that the lab is aware of that have been independently tested for longevity and durability by the Wilhelm Institute. These aluminum sheets are rated to last 65+ years and have amazing depth and  clarity.

My black and white images are printed on FineArt Baryta paper. FineArt Baryta is a paper that sets the benchmark for high color depth, large color gamut and image definition. This paper gives the "wow" factor particularly to black and white prints with an extremely high Dmax and the finest grey tones. Using barium sulfate in the premium inkjet coating ensures the typical gloss that makes this paper a genuine replacement for traditional Baryta papers from analog laboratories.  All images are matted with 3 inch all around white rag mat.

My traditional color prints are printed Arctic Polar papers from Red River. They ares consider the highest performance photo inkjet papers you can use. Arctic Polar Luster is also consider by far, the finest luster texture paper on the market today. Its extra weight, extra thickness, and splendid "E-surface" photo texture.