Acrylic (Plexiglass) Face Mounted Prints by Bumblejax

Acrylic Prints Specialists since 2009. Made In Seattle. Visit: www.bumblejax.com
Call or Text us today at 206.451.1352.
Here the face mounting process is done using metallic paper and acrylic (plexiglass) to create acrylic prints emulating the diasec method. Your photo is printed to photo paper then face mounted to acrylic and backed with dibond. We offer acrylic in 1/8", 1/4", 1/2" and 1" with a variety of custom acrylic prints options which which include Anti-Glare and Trulife acrylic.
We've been producing acrylic prints in Seattle for over a decade and continue to use the superior face mounting process to achieve the widest color gamut and superior vibrancy. See more about our acrylic prints at: www.bumblejax.com/acrylic-pri...
There are many ways to produce acrylic prints and provide a cheaper product, but you get what you pay for. It's important to know what you're paying for. We have a detailed guide on what to look for when choosing a print lab for your acrylic prints:
www.bumblejax.com/content/acr...
NOTE: Logo will not appear in the print. This was a promo piece we did where the customer agreed to our logo.

[@FotovivaCoUk]

Super video, great detail in showing how acrylic prints are made, well done guys!

[@demented12]

Awesome job man! More than having the skills is the love you apply in your craft,I can see both in yours.

[@Bumblejax]

Nice comment thanks!

[@Bumblejax]

PLEASE NOTE: We don't include a logo in our prints. This happens to be a promo piece we did which included our logo. Also, regarding comments about glare, this was filmed in a space with massive windows on the opposite side so it's more pronounced than it would be in most locations. That said there is glare in acrylic and 99% of our customers don't mind. It's the same as with traditional glass. If it's a problem for you, we do have an anti-glare acrylic that is able to retain most of the vibrancy in the 1/8" thick acrylic while minimizing glare about 40% or so. The TruLife acrylic we offer also diminishes glare a bit. Contact us for more details. www.bumblejax.com/contact/

[@EdMacKerrow]

Nice to see the process, I have been a happy customer of your acrylic face mounted prints, they look excellent and quality, friendly service.

[@Bumblejax]

Pleasure working with you Ed. Thanks for the feedback!

[@acetatoestudio]

thanx a lot, watching you work is like seeing a dancing couple. you both made it look so easy. congratulations for making art with art.

[@ScottSmithPhotos]

Nice video - love the METRIC shirt!

[@dopratsdo6910]

love it,thanks for the video.i feel more confident now,coz i had a job to do acrylic facemount 40x60 inches next week

[@BellevueFineArtRepro]

Very helpful. Well done. thanks for sharing that.

[@krissiet4718]

My first time seeing this (guess I have been hiding under a rock) and you have WOWED ME! These pictures look simply amazing! Now I am on my way to see how much these cost...🤞

[@bblackburn1823]

Thanks for the well done video!

[@Bumblejax]

Glad you liked it!

[@markharris5771]

A very impressive video, I think it’s something I’ll leave to the pros though. I think more than anything this video showed Peter's incredible skills and for what you need to charge for this I would rather know it’s been done right.

[@Bumblejax]

There's a lot that can go wrong on these Mark! Thanks for the comment.

[@FharishAhmed]

WOW!

[@briannap3954]

I've been shopp around for Acrylic prints and landed on your webpage and was super impressed by how informative it was, in addition to the customization options. I've still been looking to see if there is another comparable option at a better price point (for me and my situation) but this video tipped the scales for me. The amount of painstaking detail and attention you put into these prints are obviously well worth the price. I applaud you for being so informative and upfront with your process as it really helped me make my decision. You guys care about quality.

[@Bumblejax]

What a nice message thank you Brianna :)

[@eddieshell]

@@Bumblejax Where are you located

[@jimsink9148]

Webbing the laminator sometimes exposes too much of the adhesive to dust. You don't want to pull back the liner until right before it touches the print or acrylic. Doing it by hand give you a little more control.

[@CIB67]

09/12/11 ... The videos are very informative ~ I'm another one who you've sold again, great video!

[@sarahevans2257]

Great video! what type of glue are you using on the furring strips?

[@dopratsdo6910]

sounds easy,but i couldnt done it so perferctly,OMG.

[@dennislane8332]

Beutiful work

[@Bumblejax]

Thanks Dennis!

[@thomps6s]

Looks great, but aren't you leaving skin oils when you wipe with your hands? What s the archival quality of this process?

[@l4c1na]

I was wondering what kind of acrylic do you use?

[@YuriFineart]

That result really is out of this world, really looks amazing however I checked the pieces of my local lab recently and they unfortunately charge about 300 dollars to do a similar process for an image of the same size

[@YuriFineart]

***** yea, I am sure it is worth the price

[@mijvideos]

Wood slats? What adhesive do you use or could you recommend using to glue the wooden slats?

[@lrigitano]

great work!! whats the laminator specs brand..etc. thanks a lot

[@philindeblance]

That is a great way to display artwork and photo prints! That image would look much better if they didn't include the black strip running across the top. The lower strip with name looks perfectly in place, the top ruins the bleed off effect. But thats the image....The process you guys did is fantastic!

[@DIZEMANPHOTO]

Have you tried tack cloths used by auto painters to remove dust? I am not big on the idea of hand oils on the acrylic surface. In the old days of printing in darkrooms, we used an Anti-Static Brush to clean negatives of dust. There are no wide Anti-Static brushes?

[@ir4kk]

I really want to do this at home with 1/4 thick 12x12in pieces and ill buy the double sided adhesive i need but i dont have any thing comparable to the use of that roller that makes it perfect. i mean if i get a rolling pin do you think i could finagle something with that?

[@bigsqueegee]

What is the spray you use? Is it really necessary? Our laminators put the laminate on dry.

[@lohne87]

That glare / reflection though!

[@Wft-bu5zc]

It's usually not bad, that's just because they hung it across from a big window. If you hang acrylic prints anywhere that's not directly across from a direct light source, it's fine. Lights coming from above or the side are fine.

[@Bumblejax]

Wft is correct in their comment below.. Unfortunately, our lab at the time was in a space with huge windows and this was shot directly across. It's the same kind of reflection you'd see with traditional glass. It can be minimized with good overhead lighting and strategic placement. There is matte acrylic which removes/diminishes glare but with that comes a reduction in vibrancy. It's one or the other. We do offer photo mounting without the acrylic face on bamboo, raw aluminum and dibond if glare is a major concern.

[@sh91899]

Don't say that... the TruLife, in my experience, removes a bit of glare without ANY sacrifice in color that you'd get with a cheaper non-glare like Evonik

[@Bumblejax]

I should mention that we do offer an anti-glare acrylic which reduces glare by about 50% and the Trulife acrylic which reduces around 25-30%. Most of our customers order the standard acrylic.

[@Lensmagix]

Wow

[@jasonjinx]

Oldskool method! Cool but reverse flatbed print would look cleaner.

[@ColinZwirner]

Flatbed printing quality is absolutely horrible compared to inkjet facemount.

[@galdor738]

Amazing. Just one question, when you have the final product, can you cut the acrylic into customized pieces? (CNC)

[@Bumblejax]

Not typically recommend with face mounted acrylic prints, but you could with direct to acrylic printing.

[@billlove6493]

Have you tried using tack cloth?

[@jimsink9148]

It depends on what you mean by "archival." Once laminated, the print is never coming off that acrylic. I wouldn't recommend this process for something you can't reprint. As far as longevity goes, it will depend on how it's stored and which version of Optimount you use. Optimount Ultra has a UV blocker in it. That combined with the uv blocking properties of the acrylic should make your prints last longer than you will.

[@swisswatchimport]

is the optimount called lamination ? is that optimount glossy or matte ?

[@Kdooley101]

Hi . Very impressive. Do you pay close attention to detail in your printing? My last order had a huge photoshop drag smear. I missed it on the smaller computer screen. You missed it on a very large print. How do you normally handle these type of situations? Thanks for the otherwise great prints.

[@Bumblejax]

Hi Kevin, thanks for your feedback and sorry we weren't able to catch this for you. Every file is manually reviewed and we absolutely contact customers if we catch anything that appears "off". Honestly, sometimes things that may be off to a customer looks as if it's a part of the image and supposed to be there and maybe we miss something here and there as well. We have reviewed the photo and see a smear, but felt it wasn't so obvious to us. While we do a darn good job catching issues, It's our policy that we're not responsible for any errors in the image submitted for printing. That said, if you contact us through our support channel we can offer you a greatly discounted redo.

[@vickifrance]

Good job guys..that's a lot of work. They do look great, not a fan of the reflections, but the art work looks very sharp.

[@Bumblejax]

Thanks Vicki! Unfortunately, our lab at the time was in a space with huge windows and this was shot directly across. It's the same kind of reflection you'd see with traditional glass. It can be minimized with good overhead lighting and strategic placement. There is matte acrylic which removes/diminishes glare but with that comes a reduction in vibrancy. It's one or the other. We do offer TruLife acrylic that diminishes glare roughly 25% with no reduction in vibrancy, but's quite a bit more. Another option is photo mounting without the acrylic face on bamboo, raw aluminum and dibond if glare is a major concern.

[@avanunitedministries]

Anyone knows where to order the adhesive and acrylic panels ?

[@kevinrourke3193]

Great video guys.Curious why BumbleJax does not use direct to print acrylics? We received samples of .220 Plaskolite OptixDA(gloss) and OptixDA/NG(non-glare) off a new HP latex machine. Looks mint. One is actually been cut post print allowing inks to bleed to the edge. Nice effect.

[@Bumblejax]

Hi Kevin, the direct to acrylic printers are getting better but still don't compare to face mounted prints in terms of color accuracy, vibrancy and longevity. They will fade in sunlight over time. Pigment inks will last a lifetime. We don't really recommend direct to acrylic for fine art which is what we focus on, but for signage and other instances where perfect color and longevity aren't big concerns the cost is considerably lower.

[@taammohamed6301]

good job . What is the name of the printer used?

[@moosec6985]

I learned how to mount acrylics from the video and have done about 20 since! The biggest I have done is a 20 x 30 successfully. I am now trying to roll a 30 x 45 inch print but am getting bubbles EVERYWHERE! All over the surface of the photo when I put the double sided adhesive one. Do you know what is going wrong? Thank you!

[@Bumblejax]

Congrats on that! It's definitely more difficult to do the larger you go, and unfortunately there are so many variables involved it would be impossible to pinpoint it without a thorough review of your process. Also, please note some of our methods are closely guarded trade secrets we can't reveal. Just be sure to experiment with different pressure, speed of running the print through the laminator, paper type, etc.

[@byyamid7257]

where could i buy the adhesive? i'm trying to do a project and cant find this type of adhesive anywhere!

[@estilodecora7474]

www.sealgraphics.com/us/us/v/5951/1834/seal-optimount-ultra#.XcC1nkVKh24

[@spimages]

amazing end result man !! i'm in the UK and have tried this,i have a HP Z3100 44" and a Jetmount laminator, the double sided mount film i use seems to leave thousands of micro bubbles all over it only visible under bright light, i heard diasec doesn't do this however you use Optimount which is a doublesided adhesive film too,is this optimount film the key to no bubbles ? is it different to normal d/sided film ? cheers man

[@MrHooP]

I've noticed this too.. but only when viewing the acrylic from the edge and not the front..

[@TCaruso69]

Why would you precut a piece of optically clear adhesive and not just web the lamainator?

[@Brandonthebeastsolis]

What material are you printing on? Is it a poster paper? or Vinyl... Can't sem to find the answers anywhere! I just bought a 7g Royal Soverighn Heat Assist Laminator to do this and I still get the silvering :/

[@Bumblejax]

Hi Brandon, we print to a grade satin or metallic paper. Not all papers work well with acrylic face mounting so you have to be careful there.

[@dsigndesign9455]

Great job , can you do us a favour and tell us what the black board you used there in the end? Seems like foam board?? Thank you

[@Bumblejax]

We use dibond as the backer .. it's typically available in black or white.

[@julianricardodiaz]

hi, how many PPI's should a picture have to print in a big scale like that in the video, thanks!!!

[@Bumblejax]

Hi Junis, sorry for the incredibly late reply! Really depends on the quality of the camera. We print with exceptional quality down to 80 PPI if a high end DSLR camera is used. Generally speaking we like to see at least 100-120 PPI (native pixels, no resizing)

[@rafaelacosta2915]

Hi, amazing work. Want to know about the sintra with adhesive. Where I can get it?.Thanks

[@Bumblejax]

Hi there, it's really best to use dibond as the backer material.

[@Mandiherring25]

What is that black adhesive backing you use? Is there anywhere I can buy those?

[@dsigndesign9455]

Same here , i am reading the comments if anyone asked what the black pieces they stick to the behind of the acrylic in the end :-) seems like foam board

[@pinkeye00]

I wanted to order, but does that Bluejay logo show up on all your prints??

[@pinkeye00]

lol :) k. *shew*

[@ggstylz]

I appreciate this is an old video and as much as I love this finish, I’ve noticed a lot of acrylic prints reflect way too much. I guess the idea would be to find a place that makes them using non reflective materials.

[@Bumblejax]

Hi there, we certainly provide some anti-reflective acrylic options as well including Trulife. There is generally some loss of vibrancy, but not too much, particularly with Trulife. It does come at a much higher price point too.

[@ggstylz]

@@Bumblejax Awesome thanks for letting me know.

[@andreamedina4692]

When placing my order for this type of process on your website, which one do I request?

[@Bumblejax]

Hi Andrea, sorry for the late reply on this. You're welcome to contact us through our website for a speedy response! You can go to the Create Order link in the main navigation and then choose the Acrylic 1/8, 1/4, 1/2

[@googleuser7202]

Hi I am not a professional photographer but stumbled across this video. I would like to know what kind of paper you used to print the image on. I have heard of something called fujiflex not clear as to what that is but if you can explain what fujiflex is and what kind of paper you print it on other readers would appreciate it thanks

[@Bumblejax]

Hi, the fuji is a c-print and they do look great but our shop is an inkjet shop using pigment inks. The c print process can be toxic and more time consuming. The inkjet prints have caught up to and some believe have exceeded the quality of c prints in many cases. We use a metallic paper that offers a comparable look to the fuji... great depth and vibrancy.

[@hateUmankind]

to get those any image size is kind of expensive price for poster size the one are cheaper is the picture size unleast you want them bigger which i like the most about my poster of anime movie or gamer or picture of me with Dr.Dre they lot of site you can find out there just make sure you image size is the size on your Monitor TV Screen to have a good image for big poster so you can sent to make Custom size to turn out is great

[@adamw2785]

And here I thought you actually printed on the acrylic itself, or transferred the inks somehow. This is way easier! lol

[@Bumblejax]

Hi Adam, we use the face mounting method as opposed to the direct to acrylic printing method because it yields significantly better results in terms of color accuracy and vibrancy. This process is more for fine art rather than graphics/signage, etc.

[@jonathanmapfumo5289]

How much would a print that size weigh?

[@Bumblejax]

Hi Jonathan, it's about 10-15lbs.

[@leonardoquesado2623]

that was a 50x75cm?

[@Bumblejax]

This particular piece was a 36x24" but we can do up to 96x48" on the 1/8" and 1/4" acrylic.

[@jimsink9148]

That's just compressed air for dusting.

[@therealchickentender]

And then everyone started copying it. Still have never seen mounting anywhere that's as well done as the work you guys do.

[@Bumblejax]

Thank you so much for that kind comment! Certainly there is just a little more competition now than there was nearly 10 years ago :) Most are direct printing to acrylic which really isn't comparable but certainly cheaper!

[@therealchickentender]

Does that direct-to-acrylic method last though I wonder???

[@Bumblejax]

The UV printing to create them is quite new so time will tell. The technology is improving but there is a wide range in terms of the quality of the UV printer and testing is just now beginning to be done.

[@cassandradejavu901]

Hi can you guys do posters?? I have a few national forest posters I’d love to get done!!!

[@Bumblejax]

Hi Cassandra, I'm sorry we don't since in rare cases the print can be damaged during the process. If it's not easily replaceable we won't take it on.

[@thierryysebaert]

Better use alu instead of wood ? But cool explanation !!!!

[@Bumblejax]

Hi Thierry, we offer a variety of customization options one of which is aluminum subframe with french cleat. Our wood hanging option is much easier to hang and a bit cheaper.

[@adamfilip]

using your hand to wipe dust, seems like bad idea.. most dust is dry skin

[@evanconway9384]

Right? The oil from your fingers being permanently sealed between print and acrylic doesn't sound ideal.

[@Bumblejax]

Our process yields gallery quality acrylic prints free from imperfections. If how we produce these caused these kinds of issues we wouldn't be in business very long.

[@beneichinger9566]

it would look MUCH better without the bumblejax logo on the front.

[@Bumblejax]

Hi Ben, this was a promo piece we did early on. We definitely would never add a logo to a customer print.

[@ir4kk]

saw pricing and shit bricks. why tf have i not invested in to a printer and machine and started my own business?

[@Bumblejax]

It's a very difficult process most companies won't take on. Issues can come up at every turn.