Plexiglass was first brought to market in 1933 by Rohm and Haas Company in Germany (Now called Evonik Industries Germany), under the trademark Plexiglas? It has since been sold under many different names including Lucite, Perspex and Plaskolite. Smoothgift uses Plexiglas?.
Plexiglass transmits up to 92% of visible light and filters ultraviolet (UV) light at wavelengths below about 300 nm.. These attributes along with its attractiveness, durability and resistance to warping make it an ideal interior and exterior sign and displays material.
Cleaning and maintaining Plexiglass is relatively easy. Always make sure that you are using a soft, clean cloth. First, blow the dust or dirt off, or use water and a soft cloth to float the dirt off. A mild solution of dish-washing detergent and warm water takes off stubborn dirt easily without doing any harm. Never, ever, use cleaners containing ammonia. Thus, cleaners such as Windex or 409 will harm your piece of Plexiglass. Use only products specifically recommended for cleaning Plexiglass such as Novus, Plexiclear or Brillianize etc.
Fine scratches on Plexiglass can be removed with a mild abrasive polish. Heavier scratches, such that you can feel with your fingernail, will require some extra efforts to remove with a bit of sanding and buffing. These services are available at Smoothgift.
What is plexiglass?Plexiglass Artwork paperweight is perfect for displaying copy prints of your favourite paintings, artwork, diplomas and cerificate, awards etc. Perfect for display on office desks, home windows, dressing tables etc.
There are various available options including engraving sides of the Plexiglass, most popular paintings print, etc.
The plexiglass we use is the best of quality. Whether you are exposing your piece to indoor or outdoor UV light, UV can significantly degrade the quality of any artwork or document when left over time. Our plexiglass UV-protection keeps out the damage caused by the sun''s rays. It is resistant to Ultra-Violet (UV) light.
When you mount your paintings on a plexiglass at Smoothgift, you will be adding a new dimension to your paintings. The mounting process which incorporates use of special double-sided optical clear silicon adhesive ensures that the reproduced prints is firmly glued to the back of the plexiglass leaving no strips, air-bubbles nor silvering. What you get is a highly transformed paintings with vibrant colours and enhanced fine details. A centre piece for any room.
To send us the photo you would like to mount please do one of the following:
- Upload your photo/image files (also scanned images) to us from this website (in 'quot;Available Options'quot; below) or
- send it to us by email or
- If your file is on CD/DVD contact us (please use the contact form 'quot;Ask a question about this product'quot; just above the products images on this page) for the address to send it to by post.
After we receive your files or prints, your photo will then be printed on a professional highly glossy Kodak photo paper or on a glossy and transparent photo vinyl.
The printed photo is then mounted with a special double-sided optical clear silicon adhesive vinyl behind the Plexiglass so that you can now see your paintings through the Plexiglass. Now the image looks so real and vibrant.
Print Resolution:
Most photo editing file formats such as .PSD, BMP,TIFF, PDF, JPG, PNG, are accepted.
Most of the time, images can be enlarged from their original low resolution (small) size to the required bigger size. To ensure excellent quality, photos and scanned images are advised to be in the Minimum Prints resolution.
The rule of thumb with required Minimum Prints resolution is to use the professional standard of 300 pixels/inch for resolution. This is our recommendation.
Mounting VS printing
Why mounting is better than printing: Compared to directly printing on perpex and other substrates, our process produces a much better quality because the image is first printed (in a professional photo lab) on a high quality photo paper. The special double-sided optical clear silicon adhesive vinyl used for mounting is ultraviolet UV resistant. So is the plexiglass block. The mounting system and the UV resistance attribute help to ensure that the image mounted on to the plexiglass is protected as well as retains it's quality over many years.
Also, when images and texts are printed directly on substrates (e.g. plexiglass), that makes it permanent. The substrate cannot be reused. With our system, the substrate can always be reused, for example, the substrate can be remounted with a new photo, a new certificate, a new business deal, e.t.c. Direct printing on substrates lacks these qualities.
Engraving and Gilding
If your order involves engraving and or gilding, you would be sent an image of the texts and artwork to be engraved by email, for your approval before engraving. We will not engrave your work until you have given us your consent to do so.
Smoothgift offers both Sandblasting engraving and Hand engraving methods. Sandblasting engraving is a true form of art. It is the most versatile form of engraving and as such, it requires specific skill set. It is distinct from other form of engraving like computer controlled form of engraving (e.g. cnc engraving, laser engraving, etc). With sandblasting engraving, no two engraved pieces are ever exactly the same.
Hand engraving is the most authentic form of engraving. It is almost as versatile form of engraving as sandblasting engraving. It shows character and just like sandblasting engraving, no two engraved pieces are ever the same.
Both engraving methods are perfect for texturing on all hard surfaces. While sandblasting cannot achieve deep engraving only on steel and metal surfaces, deep engraving and carving can be achieved with hand engraving or with a combination of sandblasting and hand engraving on steel, plexiglass, glass, acrylic, metals, woods, stones and on almost all other hard surface objects. The result is usually stunning and impressive. See more about our different engraving methods in 'quot;help'quot; or 'quot;Engraving'quot;.
Gilding is an elaborate process that requires special skill set and plenty of time for drying but the beauty of the end product makes it worthy of the time and efforts put into making it.
Although our gilding services includes oil gilding, water gilding and powder buff gilding, only oil gilding is offered for most of the products on our website. However, our customers are welcome to request for either the traditional water gilding or powder buff gilding.
While water gilding and powder buff gilding cannot be burnished or polished, oil gilding can be.
Smoothgift offers the following leafs for gilding:
Real 24 karats gold leaf
Real silver leaf and
Imitation gold leaf
It is worth noting that while the imitation gold leaf gilding requires protection cover in form of clear acrylic sealer against potential UV damages, Real 24 karats gold leaf gilding and Real silver leaf gilding do not require any protection against the UV damages because they are genuine leafs. They will never tarnish or oxide. They will always retain their shines.
Face MountingMounting process This product is recommended for personal use or as a gift for: Business colleague and partners, family members, friends or yourself.
Suggested occasions: Widely applicable e.g. wedding photos, holidays, new born baby, graduation etc.