Photo Prints on Glass, Acrylic, Aluminium and Wood in Dubai
Sun Studio prints your photograph directly onto glass, acrylic, aluminium and wood at our studio in Al Quoz, Dubai. The UV ink is cured onto the surface itself, so the picture is part of the piece rather than a paper print mounted behind it. One print is a normal order, and it is delivered within 2 days.
We print onto rigid surfaces only: not on paper or canvas, and we do not do office printing. Each material gives a photo a different look, so the first question is where the print will hang and how you want it to read.
Send the photo and the size. One print is fine: there is no minimum order.
Which material suits which photo
The same photograph looks different on each surface:
- Acrylic: depth and gloss. Printed on the back of clear sheet, the picture is seen through the acrylic.
- Glass: a clean, glossy face, with the print on the back so the front stays bare glass.
- Aluminium: printed without white, the metal becomes the lightest tone and the picture shines and changes with the light; printed over white, the colours stay true.
- Wood: the grain and warmth read through the colour, or a white base under the photo holds its colours.
- Black and white or colour: monochrome and high-contrast photos suit bare metal and wood; photos that depend on bright whites or exact colours want a white base.
Acrylic photo prints
On clear acrylic a photo is usually reverse printed: mirrored and printed on the back of the sheet, with white laid behind it, so the picture is seen through the acrylic and keeps its depth and gloss, and the face you touch is plain acrylic. On opaque or coloured sheet it is printed on the front.
The office gallery wall in our portfolio is a set of monochrome landmark prints reverse printed on 10mm acrylic. How the methods compare is in how acrylic printing works, and sheet types are on our acrylic printing page.
Glass photo prints
A photograph on glass is printed with UV ink straight onto the glass, usually on the back face, so the glass sits between the viewer and the picture and the print is out of reach of cleaning. A white layer behind the photo keeps its colours from turning into a tint.
If you do not have the glass, we can source it for you; we do not cut or toughen glass ourselves. A colour photograph on a crystal award is the same idea at a smaller scale, and glass at architectural scale is on our glass printing page.
Aluminium prints
Printed straight onto aluminium with no white underneath, a photo becomes a picture made of metal: the aluminium is the lightest tone, it shows through the printed tones, and the image shifts as the light moves. Printed over white, the photo keeps accurate colour and clean whites. Either way the ink is printed onto the metal, not sublimated into a coated panel.
The halftone photograph at the top of this page was printed on our UV44 flatbed straight onto brushed aluminium. Aluminium prints that let the metal show through explains how the look is made, and panels and plates are on our metal and aluminium printing page.
Wood prints
On wood the photo and the timber share the picture. Printed with no white base, the ink is translucent enough for the grain, knots and warmth to read through, and colours come out warmer and darker than on a screen. Printed over white, the photo holds its colours on an opaque ground.
Raw solid timber can show a faint stripe along the grain, so a wood print is proofed on the actual board. UV printing on wood and MDF covers grain, sealing and white ink in detail.
Prints we have made
Sun Studio work, printed direct onto the surface in Al Quoz.
Sizes and how to send your photo
Send the photo, the size you want and the material:
- Sizes: from a small piece to a large panel. Our Direct Color Systems UV84 has a 4 x 8 ft bed, and our largest press, the IQDEMY EVO 2500, is a belt flatbed 2.5 metres wide with no machine limit on length. Send the size and we confirm the fit.
- One print is fine: there is no minimum order, and the price per piece falls as the quantity rises.
- Delivered within 2 days, or collect your print from the studio in Al Quoz.
- Send the original photo, as large as you have it. On WhatsApp, send it as a document so it is not compressed.
- Say where it will hang, indoors or outdoors, so we can advise on the material.
- Rigid surfaces only: we do not print photos on paper or canvas.
Common questions
How do I get a picture printed on glass?
Is a printed photo on glass permanent?
Can I order a single print?
How fast can I get my photo print?
Do you print photos on paper or canvas?
Have a photo to print?
Send us the photo, the size and the material you have in mind. We will tell you how it will look on that surface, and your print is delivered within 2 days.
Technology used
Photo prints are made on our UV flatbed printers: the Direct Color Systems UV84 and UV44, and the IQDEMY EVO 2500 for large panels. See the full printer fleet.
Sun Studio belongs to the same Dubai group as PRO TECHnology, which distributes Direct Color Systems and IQDEMY equipment in the Middle East, so read our view of the machines with that in mind.