Bumblejax Vs Pictorem Acrylic Prints
Why Choose Bumblejax Over Pictorem For Your Acrylic Prints?
Acrylic prints have become an extremely popular choice in recent years due to the modern and vibrant aesthetic it offers.  It's important to know, though, that not all acrylic prints are created equally, and most companies are producing them as cheaply as possible by printing directly to acrylic vs reverse (or face mounting) to acrylic with professional-grade photo paper.  There are advantages for companies creating acrylic prints this way, namely higher volume printing with fewer mistakes. The drawback is diminished vibrancy, color accuracy and longevity. Pictorem falls in the camp of direct to acrylic printing with very cheap pricing and that may be fine for some! It's just important to know what you're buying and the expectations.
Here at Bumblejax we're solely focused on handcrafted fine art acrylic prints that are not mass produced. That's our niche and that's what our customers pay for. We were one of the first to do so in the USA nearly 15 years ago and have one of the highest satisfaction ratings in the industry during this time. Our materials are all sourced in the US and the prints are produced in house at our shop in Seattle. We are 100% focused on quality over quantity and our pricing reflects that. Every single print must meet our strict quality standards, even if that means redoing it a few times.
The big difference between direct-to-acrylic prints and face-mounted acrylic prints is beyond the scope of this article, so we highly recommend checking out our detailed acrylic prints buy guide so that you know what you're paying for. You absolutely get what you pay for in this industry. In a nutshell, you can expect better color accuracy, vibrancy and far better longevity for your acrylic face mounted prints from Bumblejax.
If you're solely focused on price alone, then Pictorem might be a great option for you, but be absolutely sure to read ALL the reviews. There aren't many reviews from reputable sources online, but there are a number of poor reviews at Trustpilot (3.3/5 stars) with some concerns about quality and support, and a smattering of poor reviews at Yelp. There is no BBB rating or history most likely due to the fact it's a Canadian company operating out of Quebec. They do have a Facebook page with quite a few followers but no reviews section.
Read on for in-depth details on the differences between Bumblejax and Pictorem, which will help you make a more informed decision. The table below provides a quick overview of the differences, and what follows is a deep dive into those differences.  At the end of the day, the best way to decide which option is better for you is to place a small order with each and see which experience you like the best (we hope it's us!). We do have a nice first order discount for all customers and periodic sales as well for our newsletter subscribers.
| Company | Bumblejax | Pictorem |
| BBB Rating | A+ | N/A |
| Custom Sizes? | Yes, in 1/4" increments | Yes, in 1" increments. |
| Max Size | 96x48" | 96x60" |
| Options? | Many | A Few |
| Superior Face Mount Method? | NO | |
| Quality Backer? | NO | |
| Edge Finish | YES (diamond polished) | Routed |
| Framing Option? | NO | YES |
| Fast Wire Hanging? | YES | YES |
| Made In House? | ||
| Made In USA? | Canada & US | |
| Production Time | 4-8 business days | Varies |
| Rush Orders? | Yes (15-25% extra) | NO |
| Drop Ship/White Label | ||
| Image Optimization | Simple adjust is free, but some projects require fee. | Yes, for extra price ($10 or $22 per image). |
| Color Profiles Accepted | sRGB, Adobe 1998, P3, ProPhoto | sRGB & Adobe 1998 |
| Intelligent Order Configuration? | Some | |
| Photo Storage | Doesn't appear to be | |
| Prompt & Expert Support | NO | |
| Live Chat? | NO | |
| Product Price | $$$ | $ |
| 1st Order Discount? | 20% or 50% (resellers) | Various Promos |
| Guest Ordering | YES | |
| Loyalty Discounting | ||
| Shipping Price | 10% of product price * | Free |
| Reviews | 4.9/5 (3000+) | 3/5 (less than 100) |
Custom Sizes. We can do any custom size in 1/4" increments up to a massive 96x48" in the 1/8" and 1/4" acrylic. Recently we have even done up to 120" wide acrylic prints but will only do those locally now due to increased likelihood of shipping damage.  Pictorem also provides custom sizes up to 96x60" but only in 1" increments which should be fine for most.
Custom Options. Since we're a smaller print lab we can work directly with the customer and our suppliers to develop custom solutions. We have everything from our acrylic designer series product with colored acrylic backing to the Trulife premium acrylic to thick 1/2" acrylic (1" blocks too!) as well as stand off bolt hanging and anti-glare acrylic. You can see more details on all our custom acrylic options here. Pictorem offers limited customizing with just one thickness (1/8") and one type of acrylic and no backing material. There are a few different hanging options, framing options and the ability to do shapes. We don't so acrylic shapes.
- Thickness:Â Bumblejax (1/8", 1/4", 1/2" and 1" blocks), Pictorem (1/8, 3/16")
- Acrylic Type: Bumblejax (standard, Trulife, anti-glare), Pictorem (standard only)
- Edge Finish: Bumblejax (routed/sanded or diamond polished), Pictorem (not specified, but likely CNC router finished)
- Hanging: Bumblejax (wire, cleat, standoff bolts), Pictorem (wire with back frame mount, stand off bolts)
Superior Face Mount Method. We use a process similar to the European diasec method (called face mounting or reverse mounting) where your photo is printed to professional photo paper and adhered to the acrylic using an optically clear adhesive which provides the greatest vibrancy, color accuracy, and permanence. You look through the acrylic at your photo which is backed by dibond for protection and rigidity.  Acrylic has unique properties in that light refracts within the acrylic instead of simply passing through as it does with glass. That gives it its amazing vibrancy. Pictorem uses a direct to acrylic printing method which is cheaper to produce and yields inferior results in terms of color, vibrancy and longevity. We recommend heading over to our detailed acrylic buyers guide to educate yourself on all the different ways acrylic prints are made so you know what you're paying for.
Quality Backer. A dibond backing material adhered to the print using a pH-neutral adhesive protects the print and keeps the acrylic rigid over time since it can have a tendency to bow, particularly at larger sizes. It also adds depth to the print, giving it more prominence on the wall. Pictorem doesn't back its acrylic print with any additional substrate but offers a black ink coating on the back.
Edge Finish. We provide you with the option of two acrylic edge finishes. Included in the price is a routed/sanded edge that is more opaque. As an upgrade, we offer diamond polished edges for a 100% smooth and clear see-through edge. This is recommended on our 1/4" acrylic, and required on our 1/2" and 1" acrylic for a beautiful 3D effect. It's not necessary on the thinner 1/8" acrylic since you don't have a prominent edge.
Pictorem offers no information on how their edges are finished, but if we were to guess, it's probably a CNC machine routed and possibly polished edge since this process is far less labor intensive than running the edges by hand through a diamond polishing machine. That's perfectly acceptable for the thinner acrylic that Pictorem offers.
Framing Option? We don't currently offer traditional framing and float mounts, but hopefully, one day! We're focused 100% on frameless, floating photo mounts but can send the acrylic print to a local framer or outsource the float mounts to a local partner. Pictorem appears to offer an impressive variety of both float frames and traditional frames within the checkout process.
Fast Wire Hanging.  Unique to Bumblejax, we offer a quick, no tools required hanging system and even include the hook for you. A few seconds and you're done. This option is for sizes 40x30" and below. For larger sizes, we do have to use a french cleat hang system for greater stability on the wall. Pictorem offers a variety of hanging options, including cleat, wire, or stand-off bolts for hanging. You'll need to provide your own hanging apparatus for the wall though.
Made In-House? Bumblejax produces everything in-house, right down to the cutting of the acrylic, which provides for better quality control and the ability to offer more custom solutions and sizes. It's difficult to say whether Pictorem controls their print-making operation or if they outsource, but it appears they do. You might try calling them to see if they will answer that for you.
Made In USA? We produce all of our work in our shop in Seattle, WA by skilled craftsmen that have been with us for years. Pictorem is based in Canada, but does mention that USA customers receive prints from New York. It's unclear whether they control their production facility or outsource the USA prints.
Production Time. Our production times for face mounted acrylic prints are on the fast end of the industry for a specialty photo lab. Our production time is generally 4-8 business days, depending on the size, quantity, and type of prints ordered. Our production times are also just about guaranteed, and if a customer needs us to push it out a day or two faster, we almost always accommodate them at no extra charge, particularly if they are a repeat customer. We also have Rush Production options that get your order out in 2 business days for a rate far below industry standards (15 - 25% more).
Some of our competitors are closer to 7-10 business days and sometimes even longer during busy times such as the holidays. Pictorem lists 5 business days on their website. However, there are complaints online about long delays, especially during Christmas, so keep that in mind if ordering a gift for the holidays or if you're a reseller with a critical deadline.
Rush Orders.  We are the only company in the industry (as far we know) offering an affordable rush charge of 15-25% which gets your print out in 2 business days. If rush charges are offered at all (it's very rare for acrylic prints) the rush price usually ranges between 50-100%. We also have expedited shipping options to speed it up on that end. Many of our customers have critical deadlines, whether that be for a photography show, a birthday, Christmas, etc, so we understand the need for flexible options for rushing orders out. Pictorem does not offer any kind of rush production but appears to offer expedited shipping options to receive your order faster.
Drop Shipping/Rebranding.  We both offer drop shipping by simply adding your separate shipping address at checkout. Our shipments never include branding by default. We can also go the extra mile for you and add in a note, a COA, add a label to the back of the print, blind drop ship (shipping label shows as package coming from you, etc. at no extra charge. Pictorem doesn't include invoicing and has some nice options for resellers such as COA's, signatures, branding, etc but that comes with a small cost of $5-$12/month.
Image Optimization.  Please note that we still offer free enhancing on many orders, but for orders that are more involved and require AI enhancing or multiple enhancements, we do reach out to you for a cost on that, which is typically $20-35 per file. One area where we stand out from the crowd is our pre-print process (see more details on our free photo optimization service here). We take the time to manually review every order that comes in and make improvements that would obviously help based on our years of experience. This is not a "push button one size fits all" auto improvement that many companies call "optimizing." Unique adjustments are made if necessary to every file that comes in whether it be resizing, sharpening, denoising, lightening, etc. If we see something out of place or notice lens flares we'll even contact you to discuss. Pictorem does offer similar adjustments for $10 per photo or $22 per photo for more involved image work such as removing imperfections.
Intelligent Order Configuration? We've been building and refining our customer upload and order configuration system for over a decade. With automatic detection of photo quality and size ratio along with the ability to order any custom size down to the 1/4", it's one of the more intuitive and easy to use in the industry.
Pictorem has a fairly intelligent ordering system with photo resolution indications, auto aspect ratio, etc but it's a bit on the clunky side to use with the process spread out over a few pages .  Anything is better than ROES though and once you get the hang of it it's fairly intuitive with quite a few options to customize the size, the hanging option and the framing.
Below are the file types and size accepted for an online order.
Bumblejax: JPG and TIFF files accepted up to 100MB for online orders (larger files, PNG, PDF, RAW accepted through FTP)
Pictorem: All files types accepted online up to 500MB
Place Order As Guest? We work really hard to make our entire process as painless and streamlined as possible so allowing our customers to just place an order without having to create an account (you can create one later if you want right from the order success page) provides a quick checkout experience. That said we do recommend creating an account so that all your photos are saved to your account along with your order history and addresses. Pictorem allows you to create an order without registering an account as well.
Prompt & Expert Support?  If you want to place an order with us you'll receive fast support from experts who know print inside and out and can review your photo with you in real time over live chat, phone, email or text. Our support agents have been with us since day 1. We'll even make small edits and adjustments at no charge to make sure your photo print is the best it can be. For large orders, you will almost always work with the same person throughout for continuity.
Pictorem only offers phone and email support. A test email support request received a notice that says responses are generally within 1-2 business days which is a significant delay in getting the answers you need if that's accurate. We understand that's the route that many businesses are going to help mitigate higher material and labor costs, but in our opinion, it's a huge detriment to the business, the brand, the customer.. a lose-lose all the way around. We are firm believers in answering all questions within the hour and often times much faster than that. We are likely to begin removing phone support on Fridays though so that we can focus on production and new products and projects.
There are complaints online about the Pictorem support times and resolution to issues in a timely manner, but they do respond to some poor reviews within the review platform which is an indication they care about their business and are probably taking steps to improve their operation.
Product Price. A big advantage that Pictorem has is on price since direct to acrylic printing requires less labor and frankly less re-dos. It seems they often have sales too so you'll want to get on their email list to take advantage of a promo if you want to test out their products.
It's important to note that you generally get what you pay for in this industry. If you have the budget for something that will hold up a lot longer and be made to gallery quality specifications, then our product is a good fit for you, but it comes at a significantly higher price. We do have a first order discount of 15% (sign up at pop up form in lower left), a few sales throughout the year and loyalty/reseller discounting to help out on the price.
Quality prints generally aren't cheap, and you want to be sure you're going to like it first since oftentimes it's a focal point of the room. I'm a firm believer in choosing a couple labs you are interested in and ordering a small sample from each to see what you like best. Maybe the much cheaper direct to acrylic print option is just fine for you. Maybe it's not at all what you're looking for. We all have varying degrees of quality acceptability so if you have the time get that sample first.
Shipping Price. We charge 10% of the product price with a minimum $12 charge and it jumps up quickly for prints over 40".  We don't offer free shipping and will never do so because we spend a lot of time packaging our prints to avoid shipping damage. As shipping costs continue to skyrocket, the cost to insure it, package it and ship it is significant. We are proud of our shipping damage rate, which, based on the number of customers that come to us due to poor packaging from competitors, is likely near the lowest in the industry. If anything goes wrong we send out a replacement immediately and sometimes even rush it out if the timing is critical such as a photographer gallery opening. No need to jump through a bunch of hoops, send the print back, etc.
Pictorem does offer free shipping which is a nice perk. It's not clear how robus the packaging is and if there are concerns about frequent shipping damage, but it's something to inquire about. Have a look at the reviews and see what others have experienced. It does appear that in order to get a replacement the company requires you to show proof that the print has been destroyed. It's not clear how long it takes to get a replacement.
Reviews. This is a big one and should be one of the most important factors when deciding on a print lab to create your prints. We have been really focused on customer feedback for a long time and many of our product and website improvements have come as a result of customer feedback. It also provides a great way for others to get a sense of how we do business. We're proud of our nearly 5 star rating across over 3000 reviews (Email, Phone, Ekomi, Facebook, Google, Trustpilot and Yelp) from customers who have placed an order with us. It's tops in the industry and we're planning to stay there 🙂 You can see all our reviews here.
There aren't a ton of reviews of Pictorem and overall those reviews lean towards a negative experience with an average rating of 3/5 across less than 100 reviews. That said, see if the company is getting on track and focus on the more recent reviews to see if they are listening to customers. Try contacting them with questions and concerns to see if they respond quickly and alleviate any concerns you may have.
It's important to keep in mind that typically, reviews coming from the company website itself can be manipulated. Focus on trusted 3rd party sources. The most reliable are Trustpilot, Reseller Ratings, Consumer Affairs, Sitejabber, Yelp, and social media reviews at Facebook and Google.
Pictorem Reviews (as of 1/22/24)
Trustpilot: 73 review (3.4/5)
Yelp: 14 reviews (1.9/5)
Facebook: no reviews seen at FB which is strange given the number of likes/fans
Hopefully, this report has provided the necessary details to understand the differences between us and Pictorem to make an informed decision for your printing needs. As mentioned before, consider ordering a small print from each company and see which you like best and factor in cost. We hope to have the opportunity to make you an acrylic print one day! We do have a satisfaction guarantee, so if for some reason you're not happy, we'll make it right for you. That's our promise.
While we sell to everyone, many of our customers are photographer or artist resellers who want to sleep at night knowing their customers are getting gallery quality prints that arrive damage free and on time. If anything goes wrong we work to make it right immediately.  We see it over and over throughout the 15 years in business - people try to save money going cheap and it cost them far more in the long run due to failed prints and lost reputation with inferior products.  We're not saying that's the case with Pictorem but do your due diligence and get that test print!
| Note: If you're a customer or representative of Pictorem and feel any information in this article isn't accurate please contact us right away and we'll make an update. |
