Overview
If you've ever stood in front of a photograph in a serious gallery - not a poster, not a canvas, but a proper fine art photograph displayed in a proper fine art context - there's a good chance what you were looking at was a face mount acrylic print.
It's the format that serious photographers choose when they want their work displayed at its absolute best. It's the format that high-end hotels use for the statement pieces in their premium suites. It's the format that collectors and interior designers reach for when the image is important enough that the display method needs to honour it completely.
Face mount acrylic printing
also known as the Diasec process - is, simply put, the finest way to display a photographic or printed image on a wall. And at Art Smiley Biz, it's a format we produce with the precision and care it deserves.
What Is Face Mount Acrylic Printing?
With direct UV printing, the image is printed directly onto the surface of the acrylic sheet. The result is excellent - vibrant, clear, glossy. It's the method we use for most of our standard, framed, and backlit acrylic prints.
The result is a print that appears to float just beneath the surface of the acrylic. The clarity is extraordinary - the acrylic acts as a lens, amplifying the depth and vibrancy of the image beneath it. Colours appear richer. Shadows are deeper. Highlights carry a luminosity that's almost impossible to describe accurately in words - you really do need to see it in person.
And because the print is bonded to the back of the acrylic rather than printed onto the front, the acrylic surface itself provides complete protection for the image - against UV light, against moisture, against physical contact. Face mounted prints last, in the right conditions, for decades without any perceptible degradation.
Here's the distinction worth understanding
because face mounting is fundamentally different from direct UV printing on acrylic, even though both produce acrylic wall art.
Face mounting
the Diasec method - works differently. The image is first printed onto premium photographic paper or a high-quality print medium, achieving the full tonal range and colour accuracy that photographic printing delivers. That print is then bonded directly to the back face of a clear acrylic sheet using a specialist optical adhesive - a process that requires precision, the right environment, and genuine expertise to execute without bubbles, without dust inclusions, and without any distortion of the image.
Why Face Mounting Is the Premium Choice
But for certain images and certain applications, it's the only format that truly does the job.
If you're a photographer displaying your work at the level it deserves - face mount. If you're a hotel or a hospitality group putting statement art in your premium suites and public spaces - face mount. If you're a collector or a serious art buyer who wants a reproduction that honours the original - face mount. If you've commissioned a bespoke artwork and you want to display it in the finest possible way - face mount.
The difference between a good acrylic print and a face mount Diasec piece is the difference between impressive and genuinely extraordinary. Most people can't articulate exactly why one looks better than the other. But everyone notices.
I want to be honest here
face mount acrylic is not the right format for every project. It costs more than direct UV printing. The production process is more involved. The lead time is slightly longer.
The Face Mount Process at Art Smiley Biz
The print is produced on premium photographic media with colour profiles calibrated for the specific image. The acrylic sheet is cleaned meticulously - any dust or contamination that gets trapped under the adhesive layer will be permanently visible, so this step is done in a controlled environment.
The optical adhesive is applied evenly and the print is bonded to the acrylic in a process that requires patience, experience, and attention to detail. Any bubbles are worked out before the adhesive cures. The finished piece is inspected under controlled lighting conditions before it leaves our facility.
The back of the assembled piece is typically finished with a Dibond or aluminium composite backing panel - this adds rigidity, protects the print from behind, and provides the mounting surface for installation hardware.
We take the process seriously
because the Diasec method leaves no room for shortcuts.
Sizes and Acrylic Thickness
Face mount prints are available across our full size range. For the acrylic sheet, we work with 4mm and 6mm for most face mount applications - the optical clarity of these thicknesses is optimal for the Diasec process, and the weight remains manageable even at larger sizes.
For very large face mount pieces
above 150cm in either dimension - we assess structural requirements individually and advise on the appropriate thickness and backing configuration.
Who Chooses Face Mount Acrylic
Fine art photographers showing work in galleries, private collections, and high-end residential spaces. Hotels and resorts investing in premium art installations for suites and public areas. Interior designers working on luxury residential projects in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and across the UAE where the quality of every material choice is scrutinised. Corporate clients commissioning flagship art pieces for headquarters and boardrooms.
And increasingly
homeowners who've seen face mount acrylic in a hotel or gallery context and want the same quality in their own space. Which is more achievable than most people realise.
Delivery and Installation
Face mount acrylic pieces require careful handling during transport and installation - the bonded print and acrylic assembly needs to be protected from impact and flexing throughout the process. We handle every face mount delivery and installation ourselves, across Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, and the wider UAE. No third parties. No shortcuts on the handling.
Installation hardware
typically a French cleat system or custom wall fixings depending on the size and weight of the piece - is specified for each project and installed with the same precision we bring to the print itself.
This Is the Finest Acrylic Print Available
There's no format we offer that produces a more impressive result than a well-executed face mount acrylic print. If the image matters - if the space matters - and you want the absolute best the medium can deliver, this is it.
Art Smiley Biz
face mount acrylic prints of the highest quality, delivered across Dubai & the UAE.