Go Big With Large Format Acrylic Printing
One of the things we often hear from customers after they order our acrylic prints for the wall is that they wish they had gone larger to make more of an impact on the wall. That often follows with “how big shall I go?” It’s really comes down to three things – budget, wall space and image resolution.
How Big Shall I Go?
1. Measure Your Wall Space
When having a discussion about a project with a customer that isn’t sure about what size they want we always say it’s a good idea to measure your space to get a sense of what size will fit best. You can also take painters tape or even just masking tape and tape out the size on the wall so that you can stand back and get a sense of the size within the room better.
2. Determine The Max Size You Can Print
Measuring the space for your print is a great start, but just as important is knowing if the photo you want has enough resolution to print at the size you want! This is a common issue. .. Someone comes to us with an iPhone image and they want to print at 50-90″ but it’s just not possible (unless pano). Prints at that size typically require a quality DSLR camera photo or pano iPhone. No, you can’t just resize an image to print at any size you want. It’s a common myth we see over and over again even among pro photographers.
Tip to capture photos that will print large and look great: Either use a quality DSLR camera or use Panoramic feature on your iPhone which stitches images together. We have printed iPhone panoramics up to 96″ wide and they look terrific!
3. Visualize With Augmented Reality Or Gallery Wall Software
Want to take the next step and really get a sense of how your image will look in your space? Try an augmented reality or gallery wall app which allows you to take a photo of your room and then superimpose an image in the room at the size you want. This is beyond the scope of this article in terms of which apps are best and all of them that are any good require payment. The two phone apps are a bit clunky to be honest and aren’t great but might suit your needs. There is no free trial on these either which is a big drawback. The desktop apps are better in our opinion and have free trials. There are three that we feel are the best right now. Perhaps in a future article we’ll do an in depth review of all these services.
Phone Apps
Desktop Apps
- MockupEditor.com
- ArtPlacer.com (nice that they have a one time $6 option if you have one project)
4. Determine Acrylic Thickness & Size. Diptych or Triptych?
The max on our end for large format acrylic prints is 96×48″ for one panel. One way around this assuming you have a file that can be printed beyond 96″ wide (they aren’t common) is to split the image up into panels – two is called a diptych and three is a triptych. Splitting an image into panels is a popular choice even for small prints since you can span a larger space. It can often times make a more dramatic impact on your wall.
As far as acrylic thickness goes you have the option of either 1/8″ or 1/4″ acrylic at very large sizes. We typically recommend the 1/8″ acrylic to keep the weight down. Every piece is backed with rigid dibond and includes a full subframe (with french cleat hanging) to help keep the acrylic print rigid and prevent bowing.
5. Some Examples!
We’ve done thousands of these big acrylic prints over the years and they are dramatic indeed! Here’s a small sampling to inspire you!
96×27″ 1/8″ acrylic print with metallic paper.
Big acrylic triptych in three 36×60 panels.
Here’s a video we shot after acrylic face mounting a 96×48 metallic print many years ago. In fact it was one of the first huge acrylic prints we did. Unfortunately, it was shot opposite large picture windows and the glare is hitting it, but you can see how dramatic this is.
Would you like us to create a BIG acrylic print for you? Feel free to get in touch and we can discuss file resolution, size, cost, etc. Our online order system is only for prints 40×30″ and smaller so you can send us files for printing big pieces at https://bumblejax.wetransfer.com and let us know what you need. You can see more about how we make our acrylic prints here.
Do you have an office or corporate space and in need of office wall art? We have millions of affordable high resolution images that can print large over in our online art gallery.
