You have probably noticed at some photo trade show or in some photo magazine that metal prints are all the rage. There are lots of companies making metal prints. I’ve seen prints from at least six different vendors. But I’ve never seen one that comes close to what you get from ImageWizards. They are aptly named. They are wizards and they in fact invented metal prints on aluminum.
I recently had 12 of my images printed between 30 and 40 inches (on the longest side) on aluminum. The process was straight-forward. You do NOT have to use the dreaded ROES system that so many of the labs rely on to send files. You can even just email them if you like. Moreover, there are real humans who will talk to you on the phone about things like file size, resolution etc.
Not everything looks good on a metal surface, but I selected car shots and they are perfect for this medium. Here’s how perfect they are. The company recommends you use a popular brand of car polish to clean the print!
The metal surface is impervious to water damage, etc. You can just wipe off dirt or wet stuff with the very high-quality microfiber cloth ImageWizards includes with each print.
These “high-definition” pieces of “AluminArte” are simply stunning. You may think buzzwords like “HD” are just marketing-speak but they are in fact, accurate descriptions of the final product. The detail and luminosity of these prints is mind-blowing.
ImageWizards can print up to 96″ on the longest side. For anything larger than 30,” the photos come in a hand-made, wooden crate. It’s quite an impressive presentation.
The company is located in North Carolina and everything is made in the USA. The people who work at ImageWizards offer an extraordinary level of customer service. They can explain the different finishes, offer advice on any part of the process, and help you with the order if you need it. Most labs simply don’t offer that level of service these days.
I particularly enjoyed sending my images in and then talking with the staff to get their recommendations on which images would look best on which surface. In the end I told them to just make sure everything looked good, pick what they thought was best and I’d take what I got and be happy. Boy was I – happy that is. One of the things most photographers worry about is will the images look as good on the wall as the monitor. If you trust ImageWizards, the answer will be yes. (As long as you have used some sort of color calibration for your monitor that is.)
There are two small caveats. This service is not cheap. But then again, no metal print worth having is. Second, the prints did come out ever so slightly darker than I expected. It was no problem and on my next set I’ll add between a third and a half stop of brightness to each image before I send it to compensate.
Unfortunately, all the eloquent descriptions I can think of come up far short of how gorgeous these prints are. You really have to see them to believe them. So get the free sample packet if you are seriously considering metal prints and by all means, before you use another provider, take a look at ImageWizards. They are simply in a class by themselves.
If you want the best metal prints money can buy, I can absolutely testify that ImageWizards is the place to go. For a free sample packet and more information visit: http://www.imagewizards.net/contact/
Highly recommended.
(NOTE: Disclosure – ImageWizards was a sponsor for one month of the Photofocus website. It’s unlikely they will be again because we are sold out. This review was made independent of any business relationship with the company, but I wanted to offer full disclosure for those who are concerned about such things.)
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