Image Wizards is a North Carolina based lab that makes metal prints. I'm not talking metallic prints like you can get from any lab, but prints actually printed on real aluminum.

Their website asks "remember the first time you saw HDTV"?  It calls it's prints "AluminArte", and describes them as being high definition.

I decided to give them a try. Prints are offered with a high gloss, satin, or brushed satin finish.  IW recommends satin for portraits, so that's what I had made.

The print was not shipped in a box, it was actually shipped in a heavy plywood crate!

It came mounted on a black-edged aluminum frame and was ready to hang.

Okay, so what's the deal?   The print is very, very nice. It has good color, is reasonably sharp, and the mounting/framing is clean and modern.  

However, based on the marketing hype (and the high price!) I was expecting more. While it's a nice print, it doesn't look any sharper or more vibrant than the canvas prints I get from Simply Canvas.  It looks like a nicely printed Fuji luster print that I get from my regular lab. For the price (about $300 for a 16x20, including framing and shipping) I did expect more.  

If you look at the sample images on their site, most of them are of very vibrant subjects like underwater images of colorful tropical fish.  I think that this product would indeed make stunning high gloss prints for landscape, wildlife and architectural prints - but for portraits, I think I'll take a pass.

3.5 stars out of 5

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