Thanks for the replies.
I just now wrote GroGlass to find out how much Artglass WW actually is. I'm glad that Tru Vue has competition, but here in Anchorage, Alaska, Tru Vue is all the framers have so far, as far as I know.
It's great to hear that Groglass is developing an alternative to the way too expensive Optium acrylic. To me, keeping prices low so the
average person can by a print is very important. Money is so tight these days.
I'm looking for inexpensive alternatives to spraying with PrintShield. I like its result, but the spray is pretty toxic. Not spraying or covering prints at all may be an option for Epson's latest HD inkset, which is supposed to be water resistant and have a lot more longevity, but for other inksets, probably not.
Metal seems to be the rage, but many don't realize it has a lower color gamut, using only 8 inks max, and I have a hard enough time getting a big enough gamut with Epson's HDR 10 inks. And metal's longevity isn't what Chromaluxe outright claims on their site, according to Wilhelm Research's tests, which states 64 and 65 years, depending on inkset, and that's with an up to 35% color fade. Hopefully, Aardenburg Imaging will do a more precise test soon.
It's also really nice to be able to print at home, to be able to really dial in color accuracy.
I think metal has caught on largely because standard glass obscures prints terribly. People like the vivid look, where the colors can pop.
Acrylic prints seem to be really nice, and dont' have the color gamut drop off (depending on which printer is used), but no one does them locally here.
I imagine that Tru Vue's TruLife acrylic shouldn't be laid on top of the print without adhesive connecting the two together, which is similar to the question asked above regarding glass laid directly on top of the print. Acrylic of this thickness may not lay flat enough too.
High quality pigment inkjet prints are still state-of-the-art in terms of longevity, color gamut and detail. Their biggest disadvantage seems to be that they've been obscured by glass, and with canvas, the water based spray coating, which I don't find as transparent as PrintShield.
Covering prints with standard glass may be a huge reason that inkjet prints have dropped in sales tremendously, once people saw metal prints that aren't obscured at all — while they're also often told false claims about metal's superiorior longevity, etc..
Presenting pigment inkjet prints as vividily as possible is tremendously important, while keeping the cost as low as possible so the average person can buy them instead of metal.
People are used to looking at super vivid and bright LCD displays. Prints behind standard glass probably look like dullsville in comparison. Standard glass can't cut it anymore.
Thanks for really diving into this, Samuel!
I found this video on GroGlass' Facebook page. Less than 3 minutes and impressive: "GROGLASS - corporate video"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQdNLW7apqk&t=2s