Type of aluminum finish best for mounting photographs to?

[bmsorg]

We're hoping to expand our mounting services to include aluminum, and have a supplier for sheets of aluminium.  Though we are uncertain which type of finish is needed / ideal for mounting fine art inkjet prints?

There may be more options, but our supplier has offered... milled, polished, brushed, and anodized aluminum as options.

The anodized seems like a good route, though the most expensive.  While with Milled and the other options, we're uncertain they will be archival or might adversely effect the print somehow.

Any help as to which type of aluminum surface / finish needed for mounting would be wonderful.

thanks,
Brandon

[bill t.]

The brushed and anodized surfaces will take adhesives better than other surfaces, but are more expensive.  You would want your panels cut with a saw rather than the giant shears used by metal suppliers.  The shears create a rounded corner on one side, and a heavy burr on the other.

You will need to foster and maintain a very close relationship with your supplier, so they understand that the visual presentation of the panels is important.  Grease, scratches, non-square cuts, and iffy tolerances are the standard for panels bought from metal suppliers.

I would advise you to use aluminum composite panels instead, which are two aluminum veneers with a plastic material in between.   Dibond is one brand, but there are many clones available at lower cost.  Get them from signage and plastic sheet companies.  They are made with presentation high on the list.  You will still want to specify panels that are cut with a saw rather than a shears.  If you need to size the panels in your shop that can be done with very little sawdist using a Festool tracksaw with a good quality shop vacuum.

[Phil Indeblanc]

Good info Bill

[John V.]

Also consider how you actually plan to hang them, and what surfaces need to be bonded during that process, and what adhesives would be required. Wood to aluminum, aluminum to aluminum, painted to bare, bare to bare, etc... I've used 3m vhb tapes, but they are particular to the surfaces being bonded.

[bill t.]

Yes hanging the panels has issues.  One often used option is to epoxy extruded aluminum "L" sections in a square pattern on the back of the panel, mainly for rigidity.  The top L section would have two holes drilled in that could be wired or hung on a piece of wood screwed to the wall with two nails extending up from the top.  The problem is, epoxy is not 100% reliable over the very long term, the panels will expand and contract every day and the glue will be subject to those tiny but relentless geologic stresses.  The thought of a sharp-edged panel dropping onto a sleeping person from above their bed is worrisome.  For security reasons I would tend to attach the panel to the wall with metal standoffs or some other method involving screws through the panel itself and into the wall.

[aaronchan]

Just wondering what's the advanctage mounting on Aluminium over Dibond?

aaron

[bill t.]

Aluminum and stainless steel panels are more rigid than aluminum composite panels like Dibond, and have less tendency to warp with temperature swings.  At the same thickness they are much heavier than Dibond.  The edges look monolithic on solid aluminum panels, versus the exposed laminate structure on Dibond.  Pure aluminum panels are a PITA to cut and edge-sand in your shop, Dibond is relatively easy.  Solid aluminum is very expensive these days.

Can't find the shot of Anne Liebovitz carrying the 2025-T6 aluminum panel under her arm, but if I could you would be darned sure to see it here.  There are many grades of aluminum panels, the common 6061 panels are mushy and unpleasant to work with, OTOH 2025 aluminum machines very crisp and yields super defined, weapon-like edges.  Or maybe she had a 7075 panel, same deal.

The biggest difference is that except for some very premium suppliers, it is difficult to get aluminum panels that are consistently cosmetically appropriate for presentation purposes, and "features" like brushing and such will come with a high degree of variation over time.  Dibond is primarily for refined fabrication applications and signage, it tends to reach you in a good and consistent condition and the brushed versions always look the same.  And both types of panels are a damned nuisance to handle and store while they are in your shop, they tend to brutalize everything they come in contact with including you, those corners in particular are nasty.

[Richard.Wills]

One massive advantage of aluminium is that it doesn't act like a capacitor in the way that DiBond does, and so isn't an evil static bunny.
Take a delivery of 8x4 sheets of dibond on a dry day and you are likely to get an almighty jolt from the static charge the sheets build up by moving against each other. Equally, peel off the protective coating on a sheet of DiBond, and feel the hairs on your arms (and any rogue speck of dust in your workshop) be drawn to the surface. Mopping down the surface of the ACM with IPA helps to reduce the static for a short period, prior to mounting, as well as removing any surface grease.

3M UHB or VHB tape is the way to go - you can get a primer to help bond aluminium to aluminium - creates a bond that that is absolutely permanent.

[aaronchan]

One massive advantage of aluminium is that it doesn't act like a capacitor in the way that DiBond does, and so isn't an evil static bunny.
Take a delivery of 8x4 sheets of dibond on a dry day and you are likely to get an almighty jolt from the static charge the sheets build up by moving against each other. Equally, peel off the protective coating on a sheet of DiBond, and feel the hairs on your arms (and any rogue speck of dust in your workshop) be drawn to the surface. Mopping down the surface of the ACM with IPA helps to reduce the static for a short period, prior to mounting, as well as removing any surface grease.

3M UHB or VHB tape is the way to go - you can get a primer to help bond aluminium to aluminium - creates a bond that that is absolutely permanent.

What is IPA?

[bteifeld]

isopropyl alcohol