How To Print Onto Acrylic? Step by Step Guide

From being used for lenses and screen, to becoming a creative form of gifting and decoration; the use of acrylic sure has come a long way. Today acrylic sheets are an ideal choice for printing photos and arts, and are seen as an aesthetic alternate to the traditional photo frames.

However, if you believe that photo prints on acrylic are as straightforward as paper printing, you are mistaken. To get the most out of acrylic paintings, you must have a thorough understanding of how to execute them.

To save you the hassle, in this article we’ll debunk all of your concerns regarding on how to print onto acrylic. We will guide you through the different techniques and styles and also discuss the efficient method to do so.

So without any further ado, lets dig in!

Can I print onto acrylic sheets?

Acrylic sheets can be printed in the same way as regular paper. However, you can't print on acrylic sheets using the same printer that you use to print on paper. The acrylic sheets are composed of exceptionally thick glass, and the operation requires the use of a specialist digital printer.

Printing on clear acrylic can also be quite beneficial. To make sure it doesn't ruin your artwork, it can withstand a lot of strain. It's also acid-free, so unlike paper prints, it won't turn yellow or fade over time. It's not just elegant, but it's also less expensive than most glass.

Without a doubt, you can now effortlessly print onto lightweight acrylic sheets and retain your artwork endlessly.

How do you print on acrylic?

Now, there are two options for printers, one is the manual acrylic printer, and another is digital. We are going to talk about both so you get a clear idea of which one would be more convenient for you.

Manual Printing

Step 1: Clean the acrylic glass properly. You may use alcohol spray for smooth cleaning. 

Step 2: Mark the sides of the acrylic to keep them aside from the printing press’s sidebars and accurate printing.

Step 3: Take the image on the screen you want to print onto acrylic.

Step 4: If you have to print different colors on the acrylic, then make sure to create individual screens.

Step 5: Place the clean sheet of acrylic on the printer. Make sure the surface is completely flat to avoid any misprints.

Step 6: Slowly roll the roller over the acrylic horizontally. Make sure not to push the roller with pressure. 

Step 7: As your design is printed on acrylic, use a blow dryer or anything that gives out hot air to avoid bleeding the acrylic

Your fantasy is now printed on a fancy glass.

Digital Printing

Step 1: The first step before your print on acrylic is to digitalize your art. 

Step 2: You may make a masterpiece on illustrator or download a picture. And if you have a hard copy, then just use a scanner to scan it and take it on your computer. 

Step 3: Clean the acrylic with alcohol spray for smooth printing.

Step 4: Place it on the flat surface of the printer.

Step 5: Connect the printer with your computer. Here's how to set a default printer in windows and mac.

Step 6: Install the printer’s software with the CD provided with it or download it from your printer’s website.

Step 7: Go to your digital printer software installed on your computer

Step 8: Select the image or painting on the printer’s software and select the dimensions of your acrylic sheets

Step 9: Let the UV Rays take care of the rest.

When compared to manual printing, digital printing is less expensive. If you need a large number of designs imprinted, digital printing is the way to go. Also, you don't need hot air to stop the bleeding because the printer has a built-in head wipe. In general, digital printing is simple to use and grasp.

How to print text on acrylic?

On a corporate building, the company’s name on acrylic is often seen. It does look really professional when only the name is printed on acrylic boards, and you wonder how to print on acrylic boards. A professional look doesn’t always mean that it is really hard to do it. Printing text on acrylic is quite easy, and here’s how you do it.

Step 1: Open MS Paint or any designing applications like Illustrator on your computer.

Step 2: Add the text button on the toolbar that is present at the top of the canvas.

Step 3: Trial and error your fronts to see which one suits your text and the personality.

Step 4: Choose your desired font size.

Step 5: Add the background color if you want any or just leave it blank.

Step 6: Save the file as JPEG.

Step 7: Place the acrylic on the printer.

Step 9: Head up to your digital printer software.

Step 10: Select the JPEG image and hit printer.

Like any professional acrylic board, the acrylic will begin to be painted, and your personalized text will pop up slowly.

How to screenprint on acrylic?

Screenprint on acrylic is everything you need if you have a hand drawing that you want to display and maintain on your wardrobe. Let's imagine you've drawn a great scenery and want to put it on acrylic. Here’s how:

Step 1: Put your drawing on the acrylic manual printer

Step 2: Take the color that you want to apply to your drawing.

Step 3: Place it on one of the printer's top surfaces.

Step 4: Spread the color that you chose to give the touch your art with.

Step 5: Put the acrylic on the bottom of the printer’s acrylic section.

Step 6: Take a scrubber and gently wipe through the color 

Step 7: To get the best color, repeat it numerous times softly.

Step 8: As you wipe through, the drawing is being printed to your acrylic.

And that's all there is to it; piece of art is now printed in acrylic.

You can use a variety of colors on your drawing, but you'll need to be really creative here. Changing the screens will let you achieve this.

How to print photos on acrylic?

Acrylic photographs make a wonderful personalized gift for everyone. It's essentially a more advanced version of the standard framed images produced by photo studios. Both manual and digital printers are capable of printing photographs. Scroll up to see the steps outlined in the article.

A digital printer is recommended over a manual printer for printing photos. There would be no need to switch out the panels for changing hues. If you're going to use digital printers, you'll need a digitalized image. If you don't already have it on your computer, simply scan the image and save it.

If you want to make acrylic wall displays, using regular acrylic printers is not a good idea. There are industrial acrylic printers where you may print your images on that large acrylic.

Laser print on acrylic

If I had to sum it up in one word, laser print on acrylic is magnificent. Laser printing produces a crisp image with outstanding contrast and color tones. Another benefit of laser printing on acrylic is that it helps to smooth out the edges. It can be seen that there was no damage on the prints at the edge, indicating that this is the most precise print on acrylic.

Laser printing is also suitable for multi-color prints. When your artwork has a lot of colors, a laser is an ideal option. It manages to color every single detail on your acrylic painting accurately and without any faults. 

The ink is followed by UV rays, which allow the ink to turn around at the speed of light. Because of this advantage, the inks dry almost instantly as the laser exposes the acrylic.

Final words

With each passing day, everyone is becoming more familiar with acrylic screen prints. People are beginning to realize how easy it is to print on acrylic. As a result, they upgraded from traditional frames to acrylic, which offers greater durability and the assurance that their priceless memories will not eventually fade.

It's stupid not to print your photograph, trophy, hand-drawn artwork, or even your company name on acrylic since it only takes 9-10 simple steps.