Printing on plexiglass?

[ronald louis]

Is anyone here familiar with the photographs of Thomas Struth?

They're oversized frameless photographs that seem to be printed on plexiglass. At least that's the impression. Perhaps they're applied behind the plexiglass sheet somehow.

It gives a beautifully smooth, glossy effect.

Does anyone know how it's done?

--
Ron in Italy

 

[Phil Rose]

Is anyone here familiar with the photographs of Thomas Struth?
They're oversized frameless photographs that seem to be printed on
plexiglass. At least that's the impression. Perhaps they're applied
behind the plexiglass sheet somehow.

It gives a beautifully smooth, glossy effect.

Does anyone know how it's done?

A quick search in Google ("Thomas Struth plexiglass") brings up many, many references to the fact that his works are C-prints which are "face-mounted to plexiglass". No special printing, just special gluing, I guess.
Phil

 

[Bob Snow]

Is anyone here familiar with the photographs of Thomas Struth?
They're oversized frameless photographs that seem to be printed on
plexiglass. At least that's the impression. Perhaps they're applied
behind the plexiglass sheet somehow.

It gives a beautifully smooth, glossy effect.

Does anyone know how it's done?

I have seen frames in one of the hobby stores such as Michaels or Hobby Lobby which had plexiglass on both sides which gives this effect. However, they have a very thin "gold" outer frame...

bob snow

 

[ronald louis]

If Thomas Struth's work is mounted on plexiglass, I'm wondering how it's done. What kind of adhesive is used? Something absolutely transparent (and that allows mounting with no air bubbles).

It must be quite an undertaking with such large prints. But the effect is stunning. The photos seem to MADE of plexiglass .....and they're absolutely frameless.

Ron in Italy

 

[Ed Nazarko]

It's all the rage in the commercial decorator-oriented NY photo galleries. Roland printers, and several other very high end commercial grade inkjets, can print on plexi of various thicknesses. (Or anything...) You print on the back, so have to reverse the image before printing. I've had a couple done, as large as 3x4foot. Doesn't work well with every image.

Is anyone here familiar with the photographs of Thomas Struth?
They're oversized frameless photographs that seem to be printed on
plexiglass. At least that's the impression. Perhaps they're applied
behind the plexiglass sheet somehow.

It gives a beautifully smooth, glossy effect.

Does anyone know how it's done?

A quick search in Google ("Thomas Struth plexiglass") brings up
many, many references to the fact that his works are C-prints which
are "face-mounted to plexiglass". No special printing, just special
gluing, I guess.
Phil

--
Ed

Make pictures, don't take them - it leaves more for others.

http://www.onemountainphoto.com

 

[ronald louis]

Ed:

Since I first posted my question about this, I've found a place in Milan that does print on flat plexiglass sheets. The machine is not a Roland ( I can't remember the name, it's German and begins with a "Z").

I need to mount some architectural photos for a show in my town here. From those that I've seen, this process gives such photos a rather fresh and immediate quality.

What kind of results have you had? You mention that it, "doesn't work well with every image". Could you explain further?

I've also read of another process called "Diasec" that instead of printing, bonds the photos to the plexiglass.

Thank you for your help

Ron in Italy

 

[Phil Rose]

His prints are conventional (C-type) paper prints just face-mounted (glued) to plexiglass.
Phil

Is anyone here familiar with the photographs of Thomas Struth?
They're oversized frameless photographs that seem to be printed on
plexiglass. At least that's the impression. Perhaps they're applied
behind the plexiglass sheet somehow.

It gives a beautifully smooth, glossy effect.

Does anyone know how it's done?

A quick search in Google ("Thomas Struth plexiglass") brings up
many, many references to the fact that his works are C-prints which
are "face-mounted to plexiglass". No special printing, just special
gluing, I guess.
Phil

--
Ed

Make pictures, don't take them - it leaves more for others.

http://www.onemountainphoto.com

 

[Ed Nazarko]

It does great with very saturated and/or contrasty images. Subtle images are pretty much a waste of plexiglass - the effect itself isn't so subtle, and you end up wishing it was on watercolor paper.

I've seen some enormous black and white architectural detail photos printed on it that are breathtaking. Also some heavily manipulated color images (in the category of photoshop art) and I've done super-macro shots of flowers for a couple of people who wanted them. If you shoot architectural shots, I'd think you'd want to go for your most dramatically lit images, or those with a tremendous amount of color saturation and density. It also isn't very impressive at a small scale, but when you start to get really large, over 20x30, the plexi printing starts to add value.

There are a number of folks who can do this now, so I'm not suprised you found someone. They should be able to look at a number of your candidate images and advise you pretty well.

Ed:
Since I first posted my question about this, I've found a place in
Milan that does print on flat plexiglass sheets. The machine is not
a Roland ( I can't remember the name, it's German and begins with a
"Z").

I need to mount some architectural photos for a show in my town
here. From those that I've seen, this process gives such photos a
rather fresh and immediate quality.

What kind of results have you had? You mention that it, "doesn't
work well with every image". Could you explain further?

I've also read of another process called "Diasec" that instead of
printing, bonds the photos to the plexiglass.

Thank you for your help

Ron in Italy

--
Ed

Make pictures, don't take them - it leaves more for others.

http://www.onemountainphoto.com

 

[Lawrence Keeney]

Is anyone here familiar with the photographs of Thomas Struth?
They're oversized frameless photographs that seem to be printed on
plexiglass. At least that's the impression. Perhaps they're applied
behind the plexiglass sheet somehow.

It gives a beautifully smooth, glossy effect.

Does anyone know how it's done?

--
Ron in Italy

Ron,

I purchased some Clear PET Film with adhesive that is designed to be printed on and placed on windows. I have not used it for photographs, but I do use it for printing nameplates for prototype electronic equipment. The material prints well and is completely transparent; even the adhesive.

A search on the internet for PET film may give you some ideas.
--

'Good judgement comes from experience. Unfortunately, the experience usually comes from bad judgement'. - from an Australian Aviation Magazine.



--
Lawrence

 

[ronald louis]

If Struth's work is simply face mounted, I'm wondering how it's done. Those prints are huge yet the mounting is flawless. It must be quite an undertaking. Easier said than done. What kind of adhesive could be used?

I see there is something out there called the Diasec process, which is apparently a patented method for bonding photos to plexiglass, but there's not much info on the internet searches I've done. At least no studio in Italy seems to offer this service.

Right now I'm interested in the idea of printing directly on the plexiglass. Today was a holiday here, so tomorrow I'll call the studio in Milan that has a machine that does this type of printing, and see what they suggest.

Ed : I also read that it works best with saturated colours. These photos are, in fact , manipulated in PS and have a brightly saturated contrasty look. They will be at least 80cm x 80cm. I'm looking forward to hearing the cost.

Ed: I looked at your web site. My compliments. i'd like to see more of your architectural fotos of NYC

--
Ron in Italy

 

[Carl Schofield]

Seal makes a product called Optimount that is an optically clear double sided adhesive film that can be used for face mounting prints to plexiglass. I think that the 3M PMA C-35 cold mount system will also work, but I haven't tried either product.

Is anyone here familiar with the photographs of Thomas Struth?
They're oversized frameless photographs that seem to be printed on
plexiglass. At least that's the impression. Perhaps they're applied
behind the plexiglass sheet somehow.

It gives a beautifully smooth, glossy effect.

Does anyone know how it's done?

--
Ron in Italy