Fine Art Photography How To

Xpozer is a fascinating new way to create exhibition-quality photo prints from Bay Photo Lab. How good do they look? If Leonardo da Vinci had seen these…

Xpozer isn’t an ordinary photo print, it’s a phenomenon. From the clean, sharp colors to the three-cornered shipping carton to the ingeniously engineered frame, it’s a brilliantly conceived and cleverly designed system that’s affordable, fun and looks great on any wall.

Procedure
The process is simple. Create an online account with Bay Photo Lab—it takes about one minute. Upload your images and select the size you want. For best results, choose a size that matches or is close to the aspect ratio of your print—there are 22 size options, so that shouldn’t be a problem. Short of that, their online tools allow you to crop your image to fit practically any size.

Images are printed on a “Vivid Satin” material using a 12-color ink set. I uploaded color photos plus a monochrome that I shot with a specially modified, infrared-only Nikon D5000 -- it's shown at the top of this column. The color Xpozer prints are bright, nicely saturated (but not over saturated) and extremely sharp, even in the 30x40 inch size. The color balance is square-on, with clean whites and crisp blacks. The print from the monochrome image file is remarkable. The range from rich black to pure white precisely matches the original image.

The prints are shipped in a cleverly designed triangular box that separates the fabric from the tension frame and wall hanger. The front of the print is covered with a clear plastic film that protects it during transportation and while you are attaching the tension frame to the back of the print.

It took me five minutes, give or take, to unpack and put the first print together, but then again I was taking notes. The second and third prints went much faster, as one might expect. The corner anchors are attached at the factory, so there are only three steps involved in assembly: attach the left side, attach the right side, install the tension bar in the middle between the two sides. Watch the how-to video here.

Xpozer prints float a couple inches away the wall which gives them a gallery look. The center tension bar securely rests on the one-piece wall hanger which attaches to the wall with a single sheet metal screw and an optional wall anchor. Snug, but because it connects to the wall at a single point it’s very easy to tweak until it’s perfectly plumb and parallel to ceiling and floor.

Pricing
Prices vary by size, and there are 22 choices. Currently the smallest size available is 16x16 ($38.00) and the largest is 40x80 inches ($229.00). Check Bay Photo Lab’s website for the full rundown.

After you’ve invested in a complete Xpozer photo print you can change the fabric by buying an Xchange Print and reusing the frame. Xchange Prints include a Vivid Satin Print with four mounting corners attached for easy insertion into your existing Xpozer tension frame.

Conclusion
How good is the quality? It’s outstanding. Xpozer prints are made using 12 colors of ink. Prints are optimized for picky photographers who demand the highest quality. They are a snap to assemble and hang, and look great on the wall. I think they’re also ideally suited for the businessmen and women who need top-quality graphics for a trade show, boardroom presentation or in-store signage.

—Jon Sienkiewicz