ACP Panel Printing in Dubai

Sun Studio prints directly onto ACP (aluminium composite panel) at our Al Quoz studio in Dubai, for signage companies, fit-out contractors and brands across the UAE. The graphic is printed onto the coated face of the panel rather than applied as vinyl over it, which removes the seams, bubbles and lifting edges that large applied graphics are detailed around.

ACP printing here means ink on the panel coating. Panels are printed on our IQDEMY EVO 2500, a belt flatbed 2.5 metres wide with no machine limit on length, so a standard 1220 x 2440 mm sheet fits across the belt and a sign-scale panel is printed in one piece, not tiled. We are not an ACP sheet distributor or a cladding contractor, and facade installation stays with your contractor. ACP is the default signage and cladding board across the UAE (light, flat, rigid and easy to rout), so direct printing is used for ACP sign boards and fascias, wayfinding and directory panels, shopfront and mall signage, exhibition builds and interior cladding graphics.

Print my ACP panel Send a brief

Tell us the panel size and whether it is being routed or folded. One printed ACP panel, a sample or a full schedule: no minimum order quantity.

Five bilingual Area of Safety signs with raised braille, lined up against acrylic sheets in the workshop

What we can print

ACP is a sandwich: two thin aluminium skins over a plastic or mineral core. What we print onto is the coating on the skin:

PVDF-coated panel: the architectural grade, coated for exterior durability.
Polyester-coated panel: the common interior and signage grade.
Standard and fire-rated core: PE and FR panel both print; the core matters for the building, not for the ink.
Brushed, mirror and metallic-effect faces: where the panel finish is meant to show through the graphic.
Sign faces, fascias and directory panels: the everyday case. For a schedule that mixes ACP with acrylic, metal and board, see signage printing.
Routed and cut panels: printed after fabrication so the graphic lands correctly on the finished shape.
Large panels: printed in one piece, not tiled. The belt is 2.5 metres wide and the machine sets no limit on length, so send each panel's width, height and thickness and we confirm the fit.

Printing capabilities

ACP is a well-behaved substrate, and most of the decisions are about the coating and the fabrication order:

Direct UV printing Cured onto the panel face with nothing laminated over it.
White ink Printed as a base where the panel is dark, brushed or metallic and colour must read true.
Print without white So a brushed or metallic face shows through and becomes part of the graphic.
Full colour at sign scale Photographic artwork, gradients and fine bilingual type.
Raised (embossed) texture UV ink built up in layers on the panel face, up to 6 mm high, for logos, lettering, braille and texture you can feel, on the 2.5-metre press and on our smaller flatbeds. How to combine it with a colour fade is set out in gradient and embossed printing on ACP panels.
Large-format panels Printed edge to edge in one piece on the IQDEMY EVO 2500 belt flatbed, so a sign-scale panel has no join across its face.
Print onto routed shapes Panels cut to profile first, then registered and printed.
Surface preparation Cleaning and, where the coating calls for it, an adhesion promoter.

A Dubai Municipality park sign with English, Arabic and braille text, fresh off the printer bed — Printed straight onto the panel face. No vinyl, so no seam and no edge to lift.

Printing ACP direct or applying vinyl to it

Most ACP signage in the region is still made by applying printed vinyl to a plain panel. Both routes work; they fail differently.

Applied vinyl

A printed sheet is laminated and applied to the panel. It is quick, widely available, and the graphic can be stripped and replaced without replacing the panel.

The weaknesses are physical: large panels need more than one drop, so there are seams; edges and routed cut-outs are where lifting starts; and in UAE heat, applied film on an exterior panel is working hard.

Direct printing

The ink goes onto the panel coating itself. There is no film, so no seam anywhere on the face, no edge to lift, no bubbles and nothing to peel at a routed cut-out.

The trade-offs run the other way: the panel has to come to the studio, fabrication has to happen before printing, and changing the graphic later means a new panel rather than a new sheet of vinyl.

Who this is for

ACP work comes almost entirely from trade:

Signage companies: the largest group by far.
Fit-out contractors: cladding and fascia packages inside a wider programme.
Exhibition and event builders: stand panels and fascias on tight timelines.
Retail contractors and shopfitters: shopfront and mall signage.
Architects and designers: specifying a printed panel finish rather than an applied graphic.
Facilities teams: directory, wayfinding and statutory panels.

What to send before we can quote

ACP is straightforward to price once we know the panel and the fabrication:

Print my ACP panel Send a brief

Panel dimensions: each panel's width and height.
Panel thickness: 3mm and 4mm are the usual.
The face: plain colour, brushed, mirror or metallic, and PVDF or polyester coated if you know.
Whether panels are routed, cut or folded, and whether that is done already.
Quantity, and whether the panels are identical.
Artwork, with a note on whether the panel face should show through.
Indoor or outdoor, and where in the UAE it is installed.
Whether you are supplying the panels or want them sourced.

Not sure which file to send? Our artwork preparation guide covers file formats, vector conversion and what each surface needs.

How it works

Step 1Send

Panel sizes, thickness, face finish, quantity and artwork.

Step 2Review

We confirm the coating, how white should be handled and the fabrication order.

Step 3Test

On an unfamiliar coating or for exterior work, a sample piece is printed and checked first.

Step 4Produce

Panels are printed, checked and packed with the protective film left on where it helps.

Printed ACP and signage panels

Sun Studio work printed in Al Quoz. The first four photographs are ACP panels from the Accor office project. The signage that follows, including panels from the Museum of the Future wayfinding job, was printed direct onto the sign panel. The last photograph is a material reference, not a printed job.

Two ACP panels aligned on the flatbed so the red and white artwork runs unbroken across the join — Accor office project: one artwork printed across a set of plain black ACP panels.

A gold scroll motif printed direct onto the black face of an ACP panel

Foliage and colour fields printed across adjoining panels on the press bed

Finished printed panels standing together in the studio before installation

A black rigid panel printed with a bilingual Arabic and English stadium evacuation plan

Parking, tickets and restroom wayfinding panels with raised bilingual lettering for the Museum of the Future

Museum entrance and metro station directional panels with a graduated green ground

An unprinted brushed metallic panel face — Material reference, not a printed job: an unprinted brushed metallic finish, the kind of face that printing without white lets show through.

Technical considerations

The single most useful thing to understand about ACP is that you are never printing onto aluminium. You are printing onto the coating applied to the aluminium skin, and that coating decides everything. Bare and anodised sheet is covered under metal and aluminium printing.

What matters in practice:

The coating is the substrate

PVDF and polyester coatings behave differently, and PVDF in particular is engineered to shed things, which is exactly what makes it durable outdoors and worth testing before a large run.

Protective film

Leave it on until the panels reach us. It is removed at the press, and panels stored uncovered pick up dust and scuffs that show through the graphic.

Fabricate first

Rout, cut and fold before printing. Folding a printed panel puts the ink film under strain right at the fold line, which is where it will crack.

Routing after printing

Sometimes unavoidable, and worth flagging so the artwork can be set out with tolerance at the cut line.

Panel flatness

ACP is flat and stays flat, which is why it prints so well, but panels stacked badly or leaned against a wall can bow.

Exterior exposure

UAE sun and heat are a real test of any surface layer. For exterior signage we would print and check a sample rather than assume, and say so honestly rather than quote a lifespan.

Cleaning

How a panel will be washed matters. Tell us if it is going somewhere with an aggressive cleaning regime.

Common questions

Can you print directly on ACP?

Yes. UV ink is printed onto the coated face of the panel and cured immediately, with no vinyl applied over it. ACP is one of the better substrates for direct printing because it is flat, rigid and consistently coated.

Do you supply ACP sheets or install cladding?

No. We are a printing studio, not an ACP distributor or a cladding contractor. We print sign boards, fascias and cladding graphics on the panel coating; sheet supply in bulk, fixing systems and facade installation stay with your contractor. We can source the panels for a job we are printing if you ask.

Can you print on Alucobond and similar branded panels?

Yes. Alucobond and the equivalent aluminium composite products all print the same way, onto the coating on the skin. Tell us which product and coating you are supplying so we can check it.

Is printing possible on coated and PVDF panels?

Usually yes, but PVDF is engineered to resist things sticking to it, which is exactly why it lasts outdoors. For PVDF-faced panels, and for any large exterior run, we would print a test piece and check adhesion before committing.

What is the largest ACP panel you can print?

It depends on the panel as much as the press. Our IQDEMY EVO 2500 is a belt flatbed 2.5 metres wide with no machine limit on length, so a sign-scale panel is printed in one piece, not tiled, and flatness and handling matter as much as the raw dimensions. Send the longest panel in your schedule and we confirm it before quoting.

Should I supply the panels?

Most clients do. Signage companies and fit-out contractors supply and fabricate the panels and send them for printing. If you would rather we sourced them, say so with the sizes and finish.

Is there a minimum order for ACP printing?

No. We print one panel or a full schedule. Lead time is quoted per job once any sample is approved, because it depends on the number of panels, the coating and whether the panels arrive already routed and folded.

Should panels be routed and folded before or after printing?

Before. Folding a printed panel strains the ink film exactly at the fold, which is where it will crack. Rout, cut and fold first, then print.

What artwork file is required?

Vector for logos, type and bilingual signage with type outlined, and high-resolution raster for photographic artwork sized to the panel. Include the cutting file if the panel is routed, so the graphic can be registered to the shape.

Have an ACP project?

Send us the panel dimensions, the face finish, the quantity and the artwork, and tell us whether the panels are already routed. We will come back on the coating, whether it needs testing, and what the run will take.

Print my ACP panel Send a brief

Or call +971 4 346 7422 · info@sunstudio.ae

ACP Panel Printing projects

Real Sun Studio work involving this service. See the full portfolio.

A botanical artwork spanning several printed ACP panels across a building elevation, the panel joins running through the design — **Accor office project**: A botanical artwork printed across ACP panels for a building elevation.

A bilingual directional sign with a gold fort floor plan pointing to the Majlis, Sheikh’s Room and Weapons Gallery — **Sharjah Al Hisn Museum**: bilingual wayfinding panels printed on aluminium for the restored fort.

Technology used

IQDEMY EVO 2500: the belt flatbed, 2.5 metres wide, used for panel and board work at signage scale. 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.

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