Dibond vs Aluminium (for printing on directly or mounting print to)

[hmmokthen]

Hello,

I am exploring different materials to directly print onto or mount prints onto; and I have come across Aluminium and Dibond. From what I have read it seems that dibond is 2 sheets of aluminium with resin sandwiched between the sheets — this means that it would be lighter than a pure sheet of Aluminium at the same thickness.

What I really wanted to know was is there any difference in print quality and finish options between the 2 — I can only assume that they both use the same types of aluminium sheet as I have read nothing to suggest otherwise.

For instance Im assuming that both Dibond and Aluminium can have the "brushed aluminium/metal" look, which is directly printed on with a metallic look and whites cant be printed (are transparent).

Does anyone have experince with both materials and can explain the differences and/or confirm my assumptions? thanks very much

 

[wpfay]

I have worked with both and the ACM panels (brand name DiBond) are easier to handle that sheet aluminum. The sheet aluminum was perhaps 2mm thick, where the ACM panels are 4mm.
I see a trend away from the solid panels, which could be attributed to cost.
These have to ne treated like any other ink-jet print and preferably glazed for protection. The caveats that come with the product reveal an inherent fragility of the surface, both from physical contact, and from errant water based solutions. Suggested maintenance is a new, dry microfiber cloth.

Another advantage of ACM is that you can cut it without any special tools. A display company I do business with uses a hand-held knife and a straight edge, though there are more sophisticated tools for the job available.

 

[hmmokthen]

Appreciate the info. Are the ACM panels and the solid aluminium using the same type of aluminium? (and therefore the print quality and print options should be the same?)

 

[wpfay]

I have no idea about the quality of the aluminum (it is pretty much a metal unto itself, but surface treatments can certainly vary).
I'm not up on aluminum alloys, if there is such a thing.
I do use aluminum cookware with specially treated surfaces. Anodization is a common treatment, but I don't think that is used in the applications we are discussing.
Tech sheets are probably available from the distributors or the manufacturer.

 

[Eric A]

You can dye-sub to these but to the best of my research you cannot direct print to them with a regular printer. you have to use Silverlight or Allure, both of which are very hard to find these days. We use both of them. Otherwise we just end up mounting a print to aluminium and putting gloss laminate over it. If anyone knows of any other direct print metal for aquious prints please post it!
Eric

 

[wpfay]

You can dye-sub to these but to the best of my research you cannot direct print to them with a regular printer. you have to use Silverlight or Allure, both of which are very hard to find these days. We use both of them. Otherwise we just end up mounting a print to aluminium and putting gloss laminate over it. If anyone knows of any other direct print metal for aquious prints please post it!
Eric

The pieces I have gotten were from EU resources, Belgium and Switzerland. Whatever the technique is it is translucent in the sense that you can "see" the metal below the pigments. It is also somewhat fugitive and then there's the warnings about exposure to water. Kinda what lead me to ink-jet assumption.
I can check with the galleries where I got them and see if they know.
I have also seen the dye-sub to aluminum plate that is opaque. I don't think that dye-sub would be possible with ACM because of the heat involved.

 

[Shayla]

You can dye-sub to these but to the best of my research you cannot direct print to them with a regular printer. you have to use Silverlight or Allure, both of which are very hard to find these days. We use both of them. Otherwise we just end up mounting a print to aluminium and putting gloss laminate over it. If anyone knows of any other direct print metal for aquious prints please post it!
Eric

I asked a printer friend, and he said, 'I don't know anything about direct print to metal. I just use dye sublimation to Chromaluxe aluminum.'
In the beginning, he had some trouble with ink chipping at the edges of the prints. I've also heard that such surfaces can be damaged, if
later exposed to water. But sharing, for what it's worth.

 

[Eric A]

I asked a printer friend, and he said, 'I don't know anything about direct print to metal. I just use dye sublimation to Chromaluxe aluminum.'
In the beginning, he had some trouble with ink chipping at the edges of the prints. I've also heard that such surfaces can be damaged, if
later exposed to water. But sharing, for what it's worth.

I have run into those issues too