Acoustic Panel Printing in Dubai
Sun Studio prints artwork in UV ink onto acoustic panels at our studio in Al Quoz, Dubai: PET felt, fabric-faced, slatted timber and perforated panels. A wall that has to absorb sound can then carry a graphic instead of being a grid of plain grey rectangles. Panels are printed flat on our IQDEMY EVO 2500, a belt flatbed 2.5 metres wide with no machine limit on length, so a full panel is printed in one piece, not tiled.
Printed acoustic panels go into offices and meeting rooms, recording and content studios, schools and universities, clinics, restaurants and hotel interiors across the UAE: anywhere the acoustic treatment is visible and therefore part of the design. The panels usually come from you, your fit-out contractor or your acoustic supplier, and there is no minimum order. Our finished work includes a misted forest printed onto acoustic panel and stretched into a domed reception ceiling in a Dubai residence.
What we can print on
Acoustic panel is a category, not a material, and the facing is what we are actually printing on:
- PET felt panels: the pressed polyester board used across modern offices, and the most common request.
- Fabric-faced panels: where the print goes onto the facing textile over the absorbent core.
- Slatted and grooved timber acoustic panels: where the print is on the timber or MDF face rather than on the absorber behind it.
- Perforated board: where the perforations do the acoustic work and must stay open.
- Panel sets and repeating layouts: artwork split across several panels to make one image on a wall.
- Baffles and hanging elements: printed on both faces where they are seen from both sides.
- Sample panels: printed before a room's worth is committed.
Printing capabilities
The governing rule here is different from every other substrate: the print must not close the surface that does the acoustic work.
- Direct UV printing Cured onto the panel face.
- Controlled ink coverage Laying enough ink for the image without flooding and sealing an open or perforated surface.
- Full-colour artwork Photographic images, pattern, brand graphics and large-scale typography.
- Artwork split across panels One image running over a set, registered panel to panel.
- Print on both faces For baffles and free-hanging elements.
- Colour matching to a scheme Panels printed to sit with the rest of the interior finishes.
- Sample-first working Strongly recommended here, because the facing varies so much between products.
Printed panels or a graphic applied over them
The alternative to printing the panel is applying a printed film or fabric over it. On an acoustic wall that choice has a consequence that is easy to miss.
Applied film over a panel
A vinyl or laminate applied over an acoustic panel puts a continuous, non-porous sheet across the face.
That is the problem: an absorber works by letting sound into the material. Seal the face and you have a decorated board that no longer does the job it was specified for. If acoustic performance is in the specification, this route can quietly undo it.
Printing onto the panel
Direct printing puts ink on the face without laying a continuous film over it, so the surface stays open and the panel keeps working, provided coverage is controlled. That is the part that takes judgement.
Heavy, flooded ink coverage on a felt or perforated face can itself begin to close the surface. That is why we print samples for acoustic work more often than for anything else, and why the artwork and the panel type are discussed together rather than separately.
Printed by your panel supplier, or your panel printed by us
A printed acoustic panel can arrive already printed by the company that supplies it, or you can send plain panels to be printed here. Each route suits a different job.
Through your panel supplier
Some acoustic panel suppliers supply and print panels in one order. Some of them set a minimum quantity for printed panels.
The panel's absorption and fire figures come from its manufacturer.
Through Sun Studio
We print any panel you have already specified or received, whatever the brand, from one feature panel to a whole room set, with no minimum order.
A printed sample on your actual panel comes first, to agree colour and coverage. We print the panels, and your contractor installs them.
Who this is for
Acoustic work reaches us from:
- Interior designers: treating acoustic panels as a visible finish rather than a technical necessity.
- Fit-out contractors: acoustic packages inside an office or hospitality programme.
- Offices and corporate interiors: meeting rooms, phone booths and open-plan treatment.
- Recording, podcast and content studios: where the treatment is the room's visual identity.
- Schools and universities: classrooms and halls.
- Restaurants, hotels and clinics: noise control in spaces that still have to look finished.
What to send before we can quote
The facing matters more than the dimensions here, so lead with it:
- The panel product: PET felt, fabric-faced, slatted timber, perforated board. The manufacturer and product name if you have it.
- A sample panel if at all possible. This is the one service where we would genuinely rather have a physical piece.
- Panel dimensions and thickness.
- Quantity, and whether the artwork runs across a set or repeats per panel.
- The artwork, and how it should be laid out across the wall.
- Whether acoustic performance is specified: an NRC or similar figure in the spec changes how we approach coverage.
- Where the panels are going, and whether they are seen from both sides.
Not sure which file to send? Our artwork preparation guide covers file formats, vector conversion and what each surface needs.
How it works
Panel product, sizes, quantity and artwork, plus a sample panel if you can.
We check the facing and the artwork together, and how coverage should be handled.
We print a test panel. On acoustic work this is the norm rather than the exception.
The set is printed, registered panel to panel, checked and packed.
Printed acoustic and panel work
Two photographs of Sun Studio work, printed direct onto the panel in Al Quoz, and one reference visual.
Technical considerations
Every other substrate on this site is judged on how the print looks and how well it sticks. An acoustic panel has a third test: it still has to absorb sound afterwards.
What that means in practice:
Do not seal the surface
Perforations stay open
The facing is the substrate
Texture
Absorbency
Registration across a set
Size
If a spec sets an acoustic figure
Common questions
Can acoustic panels be printed?
Does printing affect the acoustic performance?
What types of acoustic panel can you print?
Do you supply the acoustic panels?
What is the largest acoustic panel you can print?
Is there a minimum order for printed acoustic panels?
Can you print onto panels that are already installed?
What artwork should I send for felt and fabric panels?
Have acoustic panels to print?
Send us the panel product, the sizes, the quantity and the artwork, and a sample panel if you can get one to us. We will print a test, confirm the coverage and tell you what the set will take.
Acoustic Panel Printing projects
Real Sun Studio work involving this service. See the full portfolio.
Technology used
IQDEMY EVO 2500: the belt flatbed used for panel work, with coverage controlled so the surface stays open. See the full printer fleet.
Sun Studio belongs to the same Dubai group as PRO TECHnology, which distributes IQDEMY equipment in the Middle East, so read our view of the machine with that in mind.