Art-lover Ginger King wanted to create a new option in wall art for her home and for others. “Original artwork is typically very pricey, and I wanted a unique, sophisticated way to display my personal photos,” said King.

She’s done that with Impel Ink, a new service that prints your photos on fine art metals, rather than traditional surfaces. The satin silver and satin gold metals transform photos with luster.

“One customer referred to it as a ‘unique shimmering quality’,” said King.

“Light actually reflects back through the ink on the silver metal. Photo paper and canvas don’t have the reflective aspect.”

When King contacted me, I could see right away the unique quality in the artwork. The images befit modern or contemporary décor, and can be framed to complement most settings.

Black and white and images without strong color work best on the gold metal that “tends to mute heavily saturated images. The yellow undertones of the gold can have an interesting effect on blue,” added King.

Most all images look good on the silver—King’s favorite finish—especially black and white photos. “A black/white skyline photo of Manhattan I recently printed on the silver is my ‘current’ favorite print,” said King.

“Any image will work as long as the resolution is high, 300 dpi minimum,” said King. To further transform an image, Impel can also apply various visual effects.

Fine art metal is more durable than some metals, but Impel takes steps to prevent scratching. “I spray every print with UV resistant art spray followed by a clear, gloss overlay,” said King.

What are some unusual ways you’ve displayed digital photographs?