Can Acrylic Photo Prints Enhance Photos?

Acrylic photo prints have a lot of fabulous and unique qualities. But the majority of people still aren’t that familiar with them – meaning that when they want to display a personal photo, they tend to choose a mat board or even just a plain card backing. Which is a real pity, because a photo acrylic print is a genuinely sophisticated and quality-enhancing alternative, and it’s just one click away.

Not Your Regular Glass…

Acrylic glass (also known by various trade names like Acrylite, Lucite or Plexiglas, depending on the shop you’re visiting) is a transparent thermoplastic often used as an alternative to silica-based glass. Although classified as a type of glass, acrylic isn’t made from silica but is a synthetic polymer. Developed in the late 1920s, the material was introduced to the mass market in 1933 under the trademark Plexiglas. As of 2024, it’s one of the most popular formats for customizable wall decor items in the world. This article aims to show why it’s such a favorite.

…But No Less For That

There are several reasons why acrylic glass is the most popular substitute for regular glass. With its excellent tensile and flexural strength, complete transparency and high UV tolerance, acrylic glass makes a superb covering for your favorite photo. Unlike its chemical sibling polycarbonate, acrylic doesn’t contain bisphenol-A, a potentially harmful compound – and it’s less expensive to produce too.

Thanks to all these qualities, acrylic has become one of the most popular glass substitutes on the market.

Discover Your Photo Anew

Having shared a few historical insights, let’s return to the main theme. When weighing the benefits of acrylic prints against their canvas alternatives, if there’s one potential flaw of canvas you might want to consider, it’s this: there is the possibility of slightly diminished contrasts and accents. If your chosen photo doesn’t boast a vivid palette, you might end up with an image less punchy than you’d hoped.

Acrylic glass, on the other hand, will enhance the strongest hues even further and bring the weaker ones back to life.

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The crystal clear nature of acrylic means it will significantly boost the sharpness of your photo while also increasing the dynamic range of the image. Expect beautiful velvety dark areas that contrast wonderfully with vibrant splashes of intense color. Your photo will become richer and more expressive. Photo acrylic prints work particularly well with photos that have dominant areas of negative space; they’re especially suitable for monochrome fine art photography.

Acrylic photo prints are also renowned for their striking three-dimensional quality, which is imparted by the thickness of the glass. With light reflecting and playing on the surface of your photo print, your image will take on a whole new life!

Why You Should Consider an Acrylic Photo Print Instead of a Photo Canvas Print (Or Choose Both)

Although in some respects it’s hard to choose between acrylic and canvas, as they both have their pros and cons, there are certain differences between the two formats that are worth mentioning.

An important difference between a canvas and acrylic photo print lies in the material on which your image is printed. Canvas is of course a fabric, and has a textured, grainy surface. Acrylic prints meanwhile see your photo reproduced on a perfectly level, pure-white backing sheet, which is then covered by the sheet of acrylic glass. It’s a complex procedure, but the results make it more than worthwhile.

Another difference is that regular canvas prints can be viewed as a more casual decor solution (suitable for practically any setting), while acrylic photo prints have an extra stamp of sophistication (making them perfect for office environments and contemporary galleries). Taking your photo to new aesthetic heights, the acrylic glass will provide effortless flair wherever it’s lacking!