Metal prints offer beautiful ready to hang option

My fine-art photography gallery is full of amazing images from all over the United States, and they are available for purchase in four media: fine-art paper prints, metal prints, acrylic prints and canvas gallery wraps. But I have a clear favorite.

My choice every time is the satin metal prints.

Why? Well there are several reasons.

Ready to hang

First, metal prints require no frames. They are borderless prints adhered to sheets of aluminum, and they come ready to hang right out of the box.

Each print comes backed with a 1/2-inch aluminum standout box mount. So all you have to do is unbox the print, insert the wall hanger of your choice (I use Monkey Hooks) and place the print on the wall.

That's it.

An aluminum mounting block maintains the the stiffness of the metal print and makes it a ready-to-hang option.

Unique, contemporary look

Metal prints offer a clean, contemporary look that will wow anyone who walks into the room.

The standout box mount on the means the surface of the print seems to float on the wall. It's just a cool look that enhances the beauty of the print itself, with no frame to distract the eye from the photo.

The mounting block creates a 1/2-inch standout so the print appears to float in front of the wall. It's a wonderful contemporary look.

Amazing colors, less reflections

Secondly, metal prints provide amazing color. It's not that the colors on canvas, fine-art paper prints or acrylic isn't stunning; it is. But, man, there's just something about metal that make it hard to pull your eyes away from these prints.

Many metal prints are finished with a high gloss, which really is beautiful. The downside is that the glossy finish results in tons of reflections, sometimes making it difficult to see the details of a photo.

So I went another direction, offering only satin metal prints, which offer a non-reflective surface without muting the colors. So lights don't obscure the view of the photo but the colors still jump off the print.

Metal prints appear to be almost 3D, with great depth and detail that draws you right into the scene.

What about cost?

It's a fact that the least expensive print option is the fine-art paper prints, but the cost of the print isn't the full picture. When you order a fine-art paper print (which really are beautiful options), you can't simply unbox the print and hang it on your wall. You have to have the photo framed, which increases the overall price, and quality framing is expensive.

A nice basic frame with the glass for an 16x24 print can easily cost more than $100, while a custom frame will run much more. Any matting increases the price even more. So once you add a frame and mat that really compliments that awesome print, you're looking at spending several hundred dollars.

Metal prints, on the other hand, don't require any framing. So when you order one of my metal prints, that's the entire investment: You simply order the print and hang it on the wall the minute you receive it.

So metal prints are a great choice if you're looking for a contemporary, unique print that provides amazing eye candy in your living area, office space, camp or man cave.

Watch me unbox a metal print of "Festive Henderson"  and review the advantages of metal prints by clicking over to my Facebook fan page.