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Ceiling Printing in Dubai

Sun Studio prints the surface of a domed or feature ceiling. The artwork is printed flat in our Al Quoz studio, onto acoustic panel, glass or acrylic, and your fit-out contractor installs it so the ceiling reads as one continuous piece. We print for interior designers, fit-out contractors and villa owners in Dubai and across the UAE.

We are the print studio, not a stretch ceiling contractor, and nothing is printed in place: our wall printer works on vertical walls only. Two jobs in our portfolio show the range. A printed dome ceiling in a private residence in Dubai was printed flat on acoustic panel and stretched into the recess. For a Japanese restaurant at Four Seasons, we printed indigo florals on natural linen for the backlit coffered ceiling and the shoji-style screens.

Print my ceiling domeSend a brief

A photo of the ceiling and a rough diameter are enough to start.

An ornamental stained-glass style ceiling dome in blue, gold and red, lit from above

What we can print

A printed ceiling is made flat and only becomes a dome at installation, so the first question is which material the ceiling build-up calls for:

  • Stretched acoustic panel: printed flat, then stretched into a domed or oval recess. This is how the forest dome shown below was made, as an acoustic panel printing job.
  • Glass panels: printed glass for ceilings designed to be lit from behind. Your glazing contractor and engineer specify the glass, and we print it at final size.
  • Acrylic panels: printed acrylic, a lighter panel where the structure above cannot carry glass.
  • Backlit fabric ceiling panels: linen printed panel by panel to each coffer's size, with ink kept even so the light passes cleanly, as a fabric printing job.
  • Ornamental and stained-glass style designs: colour and line printed on the panel in place of leaded glass. A printed panel is lighter and usually much cheaper.
  • Sky, canopy and nature scenes: one image carried edge to edge across the whole ceiling, like the forest canopy of the dome in our portfolio.
  • Coffered and flat feature ceilings: the same printed panels without the curve.

Capabilities on ceiling work

Printed dome or traditional stained glass?

A leaded stained-glass dome is a craft object with a craft price and a structural weight to match. A printed dome answers the same brief differently:

Printed glass or panel dome

The ornament is printed onto the panel, so a traditional, geometric or photographic design costs about the same to print. Panels are lighter, each one can be replaced on its own, and the artwork is proofed flat before anything goes overhead.

Leaded stained glass

The real craft, and the right answer where heritage authenticity is the point. It is also heavy, slow to make and priced by the number of glass pieces in the design. A printed panel gives the look where the budget, the programme or the structure rules leaded glass out.

Who this is for

  • Interior designers
  • Fit-out contractors
  • Villa and home owners
  • Majlis and reception projects
  • Hotels and restaurants
  • Retail and mall interiors
  • Architects

What we need from you

Ceiling work is quoted from the geometry, so the more of this you have, the faster the answer:

Print my ceiling domeSend a brief
  • The dome dimensions: diameter and rise, or the drawing if one exists.
  • The ceiling build-up: what the panels fix to, and whether the dome is lit from behind.
  • The ceiling material: acoustic panel, glass or acrylic, if already decided, and who is supplying it.
  • Who installs: the fit-out or ceiling contractor we should coordinate with.
  • The artwork or the mood: a finished design, or a direction we develop with you.
  • Photographs of the space: the room tells us what the ceiling has to do.
  • The programme: fit-out dates decide when panels must be on site.

How it works

Step 1Send

The dome dimensions, photographs of the space and the artwork or mood.

Step 2Review

We work out how the ceiling is made up, how the artwork is laid out across it and, for a backlit ceiling, what the light needs.

Step 3Sample

A printed section, checked flat, and against the light where the ceiling is backlit, before the job is run.

Step 4Produce

The full job is printed, labelled in sequence and handed to your contractor for installation.

Ceiling and panel work

The first two pictures show the dome ceiling in our portfolio, printed on acoustic panel and photographed during fit-out. The glass pictures are Sun Studio wall and panel work, not ceilings: they show the print a glass ceiling panel would carry.

An oval ceiling recess printed with a misty forest scene, a bare chain hanging from its centre, seen from below during fit-out
An oval ceiling dome in white moulding, its face printed with a misty sepia forest scene
Technicians handling a glass panel printed with a blue and gold stained-glass style floral mosaic
Backlit glass panels printed with colourful Art Deco patterns in a wood-panelled lounge
A UV flatbed printer laying a fiery sunset sky design across large glass panels
A floor-to-ceiling backlit glass wall printed with pastel Art Deco motifs in a furnished office

Technical considerations

A ceiling is looked at from directly below, in raking light, sometimes with a lamp behind it. Those are hard viewing conditions for any print.

Backlighting shows everything
Coverage is controlled across the whole panel, because the pale areas are what the light comes through.
The curve is geometry, not printing
Artwork is mapped so that what is printed flat reads correctly once it is stretched or fixed into the dome.
Glass is finished first
Toughened glass cannot be cut or drilled after toughening, so panels are cut, drilled and toughened first, then printed at final size.
Weight belongs to the structure
Acoustic panel, acrylic and glass put very different loads on a ceiling. The build-up decides which is used, and for glass that decision belongs to your glazing contractor and engineer, not to the printer.
Size follows the press
Our widest press, the IQDEMY EVO 2500, is a belt flatbed 2.5 metres wide. A ceiling wider than the press is printed in sections, and the artwork is split to suit the joints.
Panels are sequenced
Each panel is labelled for its position so the design assembles in order on site.
Proof flat, then overhead
A printed section is approved on the ground, so nothing is discovered at height.

Common questions

Is this a stretch ceiling?
Not the usual kind. A stretch ceiling is normally a PVC or fabric membrane that a ceiling contractor supplies and tensions into a perimeter track, print included. Sun Studio is the print studio only: we print the ceiling surface flat in Al Quoz, on acoustic panel, glass or acrylic, and your contractor installs it. If your contractor wants a membrane printed, send a sample and we will test it.
Can you print a full ceiling dome?
Yes. The dome is printed flat, as stretched acoustic panel or as a set of glass or acrylic panels, with the artwork laid out so it reads as one continuous design once installed. The dome in our portfolio was printed on acoustic panel and stretched into an oval recess in a private residence in Dubai.
Can you print directly onto an existing ceiling?
No. The printer we use for direct wall printing works on vertical walls only, so a ceiling is never printed in place. The artwork is printed flat in the studio, on acoustic panel, glass or acrylic, and then fitted overhead. An existing ceiling needs a recess, frame or fixing system the printed material can go into.
Can the dome be backlit?
Yes, when it is built from glass or acrylic panels, which are usually designed to be lit from behind. Ink coverage is controlled for even glow, and a printed section is checked against the light before the set is run. Printed fabric panels can be backlit too, as in the linen coffered ceiling (not a dome) we printed for a Japanese restaurant at Four Seasons. Our acoustic panel dome is lit from the room.
Is printed glass safe overhead?
That is a glazing and engineering decision, not a print decision. Which glass is safe overhead, and how it is fixed, is specified by your glazing contractor and the project engineer. Sun Studio neither specifies nor certifies glazing. We print the panels they supply, after cutting, drilling and toughening. Tell us early if a panel will be laminated, so the printed face can be agreed and tested.
Can you reproduce a traditional stained-glass design?
Yes, as a printed look. Ornamental and stained-glass style designs are printed as colour and line on glass or acrylic. The result is a flat printed panel with no lead relief, so where heritage authenticity matters a stained-glass maker is the right choice. Any design is proofed flat before it goes overhead.
What does a ceiling dome cost?
It is quoted per project from the geometry: the size, the material, the number of panels, the artwork and whether the ceiling is backlit. Send the dimensions and photographs of the space and we will price the printing. There is no minimum order: a single ceiling is a normal job.
Who supplies the ceiling material?
Normally you or your contractor. Sun Studio does not make glass, acrylic or ceiling systems, but can source glass, acrylic or acoustic panel for the job on request. Glass arrives cut, drilled and toughened at final size. If the material is not chosen yet, send the drawing: we will say what we can print and test a sample before you order the full set.
Do you install the ceiling as well?
No, unless it is agreed for a specific project. Installation is normally by your fit-out or ceiling contractor. We hand over the printed material labelled and sequenced for them, and we coordinate with the contractor on fixing and lighting details where the project needs it.
How long does a dome take?
There is no standard figure. The lead time is quoted with the job once the sample is approved. The programme is usually set by the artwork approval and the fit-out schedule rather than by the printing. Tell us the site dates and we will work back from them.

Have a ceiling in mind?

Send the ceiling dimensions, photographs of the space and whatever exists of the design. We will work out how the ceiling is made up, print a sample section for approval and quote the printing.

Print my ceiling domeSend a brief

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

Ceiling Dome Printing projects

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

An oval ceiling recess printed with a misty forest scene inside a white moulded frame
Private residence: a domed reception ceiling, printed flat on acoustic panel and stretched into the recess.
Natural linen printed with an indigo floral design on the flatbed at Sun Studio Dubai
Four Seasons: indigo florals printed on natural linen for the backlit coffered ceiling and shoji-style screens of a Japanese restaurant.

Technology used

IQDEMY EVO 2500: the belt flatbed, 2.5 metres wide, that prints ceiling panels at architectural size. 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. See the full printer fleet.

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