{"id":4146,"date":"2017-04-23T17:08:41","date_gmt":"2017-04-23T22:08:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bumblejax.com\/content\/?p=4146"},"modified":"2018-11-14T12:36:17","modified_gmt":"2018-11-14T17:36:17","slug":"photos-on-glass-vs-acrylic-face-mounting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bumblejax.com\/content\/photos-on-glass-vs-acrylic-face-mounting\/","title":{"rendered":"Photos On Glass Vs Acrylic Face Mounting"},"content":{"rendered":"

In taking customer calls, live chats and emails we see a lot of similar questions being raised about product specifications along with some confusion about what exactly our customer is looking for. \u00a0Today, I wanted to clear up a bit of confusion as well as lay out the differences, advantages, and disadvantages between photos on glass and photos on acrylic.<\/p>\n

I think some of the confusion lies in the fact that sometimes people see an acrylic print in a gallery and not knowing exactly what it is, assume it is glass. \u00a0If the photo you see in a gallery is frameless it will almost always be acrylic. \u00a0Adding to the confusion, some companies are using “glass” and “acrylic” interchangeably in their marketing copy so you might be thinking you’re getting glass, but it’s actually acrylic!<\/p>\n

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So, first and foremost know exactly what you’re buying – acrylic or glass. \u00a0There are important distinctions to be made between having your photos printed on glass vs printed on acrylic. \u00a0There are also important distinctions to be made with the acrylic photo products so do your due diligence and know EXACTLY what you’re paying for. \u00a0“You get what you pay for” absolutely applies in the printing industry! \u00a0If acrylic is what you’re after be sure to have a look at our acrylic prints shopping guide<\/a><\/strong> which highlights variations in product components and manufacturing differences.<\/p>\n

PHOTOS ON GLASS<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

For the purposes of this article, please note that when I say “photos on glass” I’m not referring to photos framed in the traditional way with a matte, glass and frame. \u00a0I’m referring to the companies printing directly to glass with a UV printer. \u00a0It’s not a common process and there aren’t many companies in the US offering it, but there are a few. \u00a0At the moment, printing to glass with a UV printer is more popular in Europe, but it may become more popular in the States for signage in particular. \u00a0For fine art applications, like we provide here at Bumblejax, I don’t see direct to substrate printing (whether it be glass, acrylic, wood, etc) rivaling the quality of printing to high grade photo paper and mounting to acrylic anytime soon. \u00a0You just can’t achieve the same color accuracy and vibrancy.<\/p>\n

There are some advantages to printing photos to glass, but this process is really best suited for applications outside of the fine art space where transparency is important. \u00a0In addition to corporate signage, you might see photos on glass in things like privacy screens, awards and even shower doors.<\/p>\n

I view the photos on glass products in the fine art space as more of a novel idea than anything else. \u00a0Here are some advantages and disadvantages of printing to glass vs printing the photo to high grade photo paper and face mounting it.<\/p>\n

Comparing Photos On Glass VS Photos On Acrylic (Face Mounting Technique)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Advantages Of Printing To Glass<\/strong><\/p>\n