For a while now, I’ve done a canvas print shootout that compares multiple canvas printing companies in terms of the quality of their prints.
I decided to expand my comparison to include companies that offer metal prints as well.
As you no doubt surmised from the title of this article, I set a $100 budget for my metal prints. I wanted to see just how far I could stretch that budget.
So, I sent the exact same image file to each printer. I tried to get the same sized print from each printer as well, but some of them didn’t offer custom sizing, so I had to opt for the closest-sized print.
Then, once all the prints arrived at my door, I compared them side-by-side on a number of metrics, which I’ll explain below.
Table of Contents
- Update for 2021: The Best Metal Prints Money Can Buy
- Update for 2022: Who Makes the Best Metal Prints?
- 2020 Bay Photo Quick Metal Print Review
- 2020 Nations Photo Quick Lab Metal Print Review
- 2020 Costco Metal Quick Print Review
- 2020 Artbeat Studios Quick Metal Print Review
- 2020 Mpix Metal Quick Print Review
- 2020 Shutterfly Quick Metal Print Review
Update for 2021: The Best Metal Prints Money Can Buy
After the success of 2020’s metal print shootout, we rinsed and repeated the process. This go ’round, we have six contenders – some of the same companies from last year and some fresh faces to explore as well. The participants for the 2021 Metal Print Shootout are outlined below (with links to the individual 2021 metal print reviews for each company:
- Bay Photo
- Costco
- Pictorem
- Mpix
- Whitewall
- Artbeat Studios
You can check out my final evaluation of this year’s crop of contestants in the video above!
Update for 2022: Who Makes the Best Metal Prints?
This year, we included five companies in the annual metal print shootout. The companies tested this time around have been featured in past metal print shootouts with varying degrees of quality. Who steps up to the plate this year and who stumbles out of the gate? Find out in the 2022 head-to-head summary of each company’s performance or by checking out the individual reviews below:
- Whitewall Metal Print Review
- Costco Metal Print Review
- Shutterfly Metal Print Review
- Bay Photo Metal Print Review
- Artbeat Studios Metal Print Review
I announce the winner of 2022’s shootout in the video above. Have a look to see which company I most highly recommend!
Bay Photo Quick Metal Print Review
The Bay Photo metal print I ordered was packaged very, very well. It was impressive to see the lengths to which they went to protect the print. Kudos to Bay Photo on that front.
Upon opening the package, I found a print that had excellent resolution. The image was sharp and detailed as well. It has incredible luminescence, too. That’s because Bay Photo infuses the dyes directly into the sheet of aluminum. The result is beautiful colors that are vibrant and bright.
One thing I immediately noticed is that the colors were slightly off. Bay Photo added more red to it, which is apparently a common practice for Bay Photo for some reason. The added red didn’t bother me a lot, but it is something worth noting if you choose Bay Photo for a metal print.
On the back is a nice mounting system. It’s attached to the print very well and offers good support for hanging the print on the wall. The mounting system is perfectly centered and level, which is obviously important!
Overall, this is an impressive print. It wasn’t quite the top dog in my rankings, but it was darn close!
Here’s the cost breakdown of this print:
- Print: $94.50
- Shipping: $14.99
- Tax: $7.32
- Total: $116.81
I was slightly over budget with this print, but the extra $16.81 was worth the quality I got!
Nations Photo Lab Quick Metal Print Review
My Nations Photo Lab metal print arrived well-packaged and without any damage. That was a good first step!
Upon opening the box, I found a print that gave me a good first impression. The detail of the print is pretty good, with nice resolution throughout. The detail and resolution weren’t quite on the same level as some of the other prints I ordered (i.e., Bay Photo, Artbeat Studios), but it was definitely in the top half of the pack.
Like my Bay Photo Metal Print, this one also had a slight reddish tint to the color. Again, this wasn’t a huge deal for me, but it’s worth mentioning that the color accuracy is ever so slightly off.
One of my favorite things about this print is the shadows and highlights. The whites are nice and bright with excellent contrast, yet very little loss of detail.
The shadows offer nice, deep tones without being blocked up. Together with the highlights, this gives the print excellent pop.
On the back is a simple hanger. The problem with it is that it’s slightly off-center, which means it hangs slightly askew. This is a simple error that should’ve been caught before the print was shipped.
Furthermore, the edges of the mounting bracket are rather sharp. Not only could it cut your fingers, but it could also do damage to the wall when it’s hung up.
Here’s the cost breakdown of this print:
- Print: $88.33 (with a 15% off coupon code)
- Shipping: Free
- Tax: $0.00
- Total: $88.33
I loved the fact that I didn’t have to pay for shipping or tax. That meant I was well under budget and I got a great looking print. That’s a great combination!
Costco Quick Metal Print Review
I’d never ordered metal prints from Costco before, and this experience didn’t encourage me to order another one…
The first thing I noticed about this print is that the colors are a little muddy. There’s a lack of vibrancy to the print that the original image file certainly had. Additionally, this print isn’t quite as crisp and sharp as the original image either.
On top of that, the print looks grainy to me. This is especially true in the sky. I double-checked the image file to ensure that this grain wasn’t present when I sent the file to Costco. It was not. This means that their printing process added that grain, which is a definite negative.
But the biggest problem I had with this print is that there were scuff marks on the print. The scuffs weren’t terribly large or noticeable, but it still shows that the quality control process failed.
The mounting hardware on the back is so-so. You get a piece of wood to adapt the mounting bracket for vertical or horizontal hanging, which is nice.
The print is made with UV-resistant ink, which is nice, but you only get a glossy option. I’d prefer to have an option for matte, but for whatever reason Costco doesn’t offer that at this time.
Here’s the cost breakdown of this print:
- Print: $63.99
- Shipping: $5.99
- Tax: $4.96
- Total: $74.95
The low shipping price was great, as was the grand total, which was far below my $100 threshold. However, this print didn’t provide the best value for the money. There were printing mistakes, and honestly, the quality of the metal itself wasn’t as good as other prints on this list. So, while Costco’s metal print was affordable, it’s not one I’d buy again.
Artbeat Studios Quick Metal Print Review
Without a doubt, the best metal print of the bunch was the one from Artbeat Studios.
First impressions were fantastic – this print looked and felt like the high-quality metal print I was after.
For starters, the print had a nice weight to it that indicated that quality metal was used. Artbeat Studios uses Chromaluxe® brand HD aluminum sheets which is the highest quality metal on the market. In fact, this stuff is guaranteed to resist fading for more than six decades. Not bad!
The print itself has superb color accuracy. There are no color casts like other prints in this shootout. The color is simply excellent.
The resolution and detail of the print are equally as good. Specifically, the detail in the cave walls in the foreground is absolutely spot-on.
Since this print has some weight to it, the mounting hardware is extremely important. Fortunately, Artbeat Studios got the hardware just right.
The mounting piece is solidly constructed. It’s attached well to the print, too, so you don’t have to worry about it failing over time. The mounting piece is made of wood and offers vertical or horizontal hanging options. Plus, it’s smack in the middle of the print and perfectly level (as it should be!).
Here’s the cost breakdown of this print:
- Print: $97.04 (with a 20% off coupon)
- Shipping: $9.99
- Tax: $7.76
- Total: $114.79
This was one of the pricier prints, and as you can see, I went over budget. However, this is hands-down the best of the bunch, so that extra $14.79 is well worth it for the quality of print you get in return.
Mpix Quick Metal Print Review
Mpix is one of the companies that doesn’t allow you to order a custom size. That put a bad taste in my mouth right from the outset. I get why printers standardize their sizing – it’s cheaper – but at the end of the day, if you’re looking for the best metal print, you should be able to get it in whatever size you like.
Anyway, I was impressed with the speed with which Mpix got this print to me. Shipping took four days, which isn’t bad at all since the print had to be made and shipped from Kansas to California.
Upon inspecting the print, I noticed that there is some significant softness in the details. As I noted earlier, the image was crisp and sharp when I sent the file, so this softness of details occurred as a result of the Mpix printing process.
Despite the softness, the print has a nice look to it. The colors are superb – some of the best of the bunch. The image is nice and contrasty as well.
On the back is a simple mounting bracket. I don’t particularly like that the bracket is made of foam, but it’s at least in the middle and level, which is more than I can say for some of the other prints in this shootout.
The biggest problem I had with this print is that there is a faint indentation in it. The reflectivity of the print makes it hard to photograph, but you can see a slight line in the photo below.
This happens sometimes when a company cuts the metal to make the print. At the end of the day, it isn’t a huge issue, but at the same time, Mpix’s quality control folks should’ve noticed the dent and reprinted the image.
Here’s the cost breakdown of this print:
- Print: $97.49 (with a 25% off coupon)
- Shipping: Free
- Tax: $7.56
- Total: $105.05
This print is pretty good, with some minor issues that, if fixed, would make this a competitive entry for the top spot. But, since there were some issues, this Mpix metal print is a middle-of-the-road option that ended up being over budget.
Shutterfly Quick Metal Print Review
Shutterfly is another company that doesn’t offer custom-sized printing. As I mentioned before, this is a bummer, though I understand that cost effectiveness drives that decision.
An issue that’s more significant than the lack of custom sizing is the length of time it took Shutterfly to get the print to me. It took a full eight days to arrive, which is a ridiculous amount of time, especially considering the quality of the print I received.
The print looks and feels cheap. Unlike the prints from other companies, like Artbeat Studios, this print had very little weight to it. The metal simply feels flimsy.
Additionally, the details of this print got very soft. It’s so bad, in fact, that I’d rate the resolution of this print at just 5 out of 10.
Another hit against this Shutterfly metal print is that the colors are also off. The accuracy is simply not there from the original file, which resulted in a print that is by far the worst in terms of color accuracy.
Things aren’t any better on the back…
The mounting hardware looks cheap and feels cheap too. The main mounting block isn’t on the print straight, so it hangs slightly askew. This is a simple quality control issue that should never happen!
Here’s the cost breakdown of this print:
- Print: $62.69 (with a 35% off coupon)
- Shipping: $12.99
- Tax: $4.48
- Total: $80.16
In my experience with this print, the price is far, far too high for the quality you get. Add in pricey shipping that takes forever, poor print quality, and flimsy metal, and you have a recipe for a metal print that comes in last in this shootout.
At the end of the day, I got a couple of excellent prints (Artbeat Studios, Bay Photo), a couple of middle-of-the-road prints (Nations Photo Lab, Mpix), and a couple that just weren’t up to snuff (Costco, Shutterfly).
As I mentioned before, Artbeat Studios ended up being my favorite metal print. The quality was superior in every way to each of the other prints in this shootout. If you’re in the market for a gorgeous, high-quality metal print, give Artbeat Studios a try!
Just so you know, some of the cool stuff we mention comes with affiliate links, meaning we earn a commission if you buy (no extra charge to you!). Plus, we occasionally feature sponsored content, but rest assured, we only shout out products we genuinely stand behind.
