Metal Prints

Product Details

How in the name of science are these made?!

Aren’t they cool? Metal prints are one of the most popular ways professional photographers print. They’re made using a special dye infusion process that prints directly onto specially coated aluminum sheets. This results in a glossy, luminescent finish.

Each print arrives with a floating hanger that can be easily hung on a nail or hook. Choose from 35 sizes in square, rectangular, round, and panoramic.

Can I print my Instagram photos on metal?

Yep, metal-up those IG photos! Newer Instagram photos are 1080x1080 pixels, so are technically large enough for printing as large as 10x10”. Older Instagram photos can be much smaller, so may not be large enough for this product.

For the highest quality print, we do recommend using your original files for this particular product as Instagram does compress images. We have more information on how large we recommend printing photos here.

What size do my images need to be for the larger Metal Prints? I don’t want them to turn out pixelated.

Us either. Check out the minimum photo sizes below. We also have a fantastic guide on how large you should print your photos here.

Square Metal Prints:

  • 4x4" (10.16x10.16 cm): 612x612 pixels 
  • 5x5" (12.7x12.7 cm): 612x612 pixels 
  • 8x8" (20.32x20.32 cm): 800x800 pixels 
  • 10x10" (25.4x25.4 cm): 1000x1000 pixels 
  • 16x16" (40.64x40.64 cm): 1600x1600 pixels 
  • 20x20" (50.8x50.8 cm): 2000x2000 pixels 
  • 24x24" (60.96x60.96 cm): 2400x2400 pixels 
  • 30x30" (76.2x76.2 cm): 3000x3000 pixels 

Rectangular Metal Prints:

  • 4x6" (10.16x15.24 cm): 400x600 pixels 
  • 5x7" (12.7x17.78 cm): 500x700 pixels 
  • 8x10" (20.32x25.4 cm): 800x1000 pixels 
  • 8x12" (20.32x30.48): 800x1200 pixels 
  • 10x20" (25.4x50.8 cm): 1000x2000 pixels 
  • 12x18" (30.48x45.72): 1200x1800 pixels 
  • 12x24" (30.48x60.96 cm): 1200x2400 pixels 
  • 12x36" (30.48x91.44 cm): 1200x3600 pixels 
  • 16x20" (40.64x50.8 cm): 1600x2000 pixels 
  • 16x24" (40.64x60.96 cm): 1600x2400 pixels 
  • 20x30" (50.8x76.2 cm): 2000x3000 pixels 
  • 20x40" (50.8x101.6 cm): 2000x4000 pixels 
  • 24x36" (60.96x91.44 cm): 2400x3600 pixels 
  • 30x40" (76.2x101.6 cm): 3000x4000 pixels 

Round Metal Prints:

  • 5x5" (12.7x12.7 cm): 612x612 pixels 
  • 5x7" (12.7x17.78 cm): 500x700 pixels 
  • 8x8" (20.32x20.32 cm): 800x800 pixels 
  • 8x10" (20.32x25.4 cm): 800x1000 pixels 
  • 11x14" (27.94x35.56 cm): 1100x1400 pixels 
  • 12x12" (30.48x30.48 cm): 1200x1200 pixels 
  • 16x16" (40.64x40.64 cm): 1600x1600 pixels 
  • 16x20" (40.64x50.8 cm): 1600x2000 pixels 
  • 20x20" (50.8x50.8 cm): 2000x2000 pixels 
  • 24x24" (60.96x60.96 cm): 2400x2400 pixels 
  • 24x30" (60.96x76.2 cm): 2400x3000 pixels 
  • 30x30" (76.2x76.2 cm): 3000x3000 pixels 
  • 30x40" (76.2x101.6 cm): 3000x4000 pixels 

How do I know if my photo will print well?

Our uploader will block photos that are too small for a particular metal print size, but it is unable to tell if a photo is blurry, pixelated, or taken in low light. These are all factors that can cause a correctly sized photo to not print as well. A good way to tell if your photo will print well on a larger scale is to check the resolution. We print at 300 dpi and photos at or near this resolution will print best.

 If you are still nervous, you can perform what we call the "zoom test" on your image prior to upload. Open up your photo on your computer's photo viewer, and zoom in a little bit. If you see pixelation when you zoom, this will also show up in print.

As a general rule, we recommend printing photos that are taken in natural light. Indoor photos at low light can look fuzzy. Check out our photo editing guide that will help you choose and edit your photos for the best possible prints. 

Still hesitant to print? Email our team of customer service empaths at hello@sps.io for helpful guidance. 

A Note on Cropping

Our Metal Prints are always printed full bleed. Due to the nature of full bleed printing and trimming, we recommend keeping all important subjects at least 0.25” from the edge of your print shown on the cropping menu or print preview. Full bleed prints can be cropped up to an additional 0.25” from this preview so we recommend keeping all vital limbs, heads, and text away from these crop lines.

Anything else I should know about Metal Prints?

  • The floating hanger will be attached in accordance with the orientation of the photo. If you have something a bit more abstract that you are worried will be hung in the wrong orientation, please email us at hello@sps.io with your photo attached in the proper orientation so we can pass a note on to production.
  • Our metal prints are water resistant. However, they may lose some of their vibrancy over time if they are hung outside, exposed to direct sunlight, or submitted to the elements.
  • Metal prints are not magnetic. 

Order Metal Prints on our website and Print Studio App.