All You Need to Know About Custom Wooden Photo Gifts
Although traditionally printed photographs and polaroids have their place in precious memory collections, other forms of photo-keeping are gaining popularity. In an era where technology is rapidly evolving, having a picture printed on wood or acrylic would seem like better alternatives to boring film-based photos.
But custom wood pictures aren’t all that great, right? Truth is: They are, and they come in all shapes and sizes. Here is our guide to all things related to wooden photo blocks, exploring on different types, how they’re made, why they’re so good and where to get them:
Wooden Photo Blocks are Diverse
There are many types of wooden photo gifts, but the most common kind is the exceptional “print on wood”. These photo blocks are personalized, and while they are made of just one variety of material for their body, they can come in all shapes and sizes – And those come with different purposes along the way.
Wooden Square Photo Block
Perhaps the simplest wooden photo block shape. It’s also one of our flagship photo products. The Wooden Square Photo Block is for those who feel that simplicity is, sometimes, the best gift!
Wooden Hexagon Photo Block
The Wooden Hexagon Photo Block looks like a honeycomb – and rightly so. The six-sided nature of the photo block allows you to put them together, making them great block shapes to create your own hive of family montage over time.
Wooden Rectangle Photo Block
Wooden Rectangle Photo Blocks are special due to their multi-oriental nature. When a photo is printed on landscape, it allows for the setting of where the photo is taken to be flashed out. If printed in portrait, it makes subjects appear taller.
Wooden Leaf Photo Block
Beautifully symmetrical and perfect for two or more in one single shot. The leaf shape symbolizes nature and balance, as all things should be.
Wooden Round Photo Block
The round-shaped nature of this wooden photo block allows any subject within the frame to be the focus of the shot. It also adds a sense of coziness and gentleness to whoever is within the frame.
How are Wooden Photo Blocks Made?
The process of creating your own personalized photo print on wood is not as complicated and labor-intensive as their acrylic counterparts. All it takes are the proper wooden block types, the ink to print your personal photos, and the machinery to do so.
Here is a simple step-by-step break down on how they are created:
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Step 1 - The Wood is Prepared: First, the printing service provider will need to choose the right wood. There are usually three types of wood that are used to print photo blocks – Plywood, Pinewood, or Rosewood. Plywood is used as a cheap and easy option to work with. The other extreme comes from Rosewood that has a premium look and feel to it while being extremely durable. The right balance comes from Pinewood: A type of wood that has the right durability yet comes at an affordable price.
Once the wood is chosen, it is cut based on the requested shape, and is buffered to make sure that the sides are smooth to prevent the possibility of splinters poking through the fingers of those who hold it. The faces of the wooden block must also be smoothened evenly in order for the photos to be printed evenly. -
Step 2 - Your Photo is Printed: Unlike acrylic photo blocks where your photo must be printed to a type of film and then integrated into an acrylic sheet, instead, your photo is printed directly onto the wood of the wooden block.
When you send your favourite captured memory to a printing service provider, the service will first digitally centralise your photo to a 3-dimensional rendition of the prepared wooden block. This rendition is then sent to a printer where the data would help align the photo onto a physical photo block.
The prepared wooden block is then placed onto the printer, physically centralized, and the printing begins.
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Step 3 - A Wooden Photo Block is Given: Once the wood has been fully prepared and the photo has been printed directly on top of the wood, what’s left is for the printing service provider to nicely pack the finished product and send them to the person who ordered it!
And when the personalized wooden photo block has arrived, the person can enjoy it or give it as a gift.
Every wooden photo block goes through these three simple steps from checkout to the hands of those who deserve them. What makes our Wooden Photo Blocks different from other photo printing services?
We use Pinewood for every wooden photo block. Every photo is also printed using durable ink and UV printing technology, making the blocks not only impact damage-resistant, but also resistant to fade and moisture.
Why are Wooden Photo Blocks Better at Displaying Photos?
You might think displaying personalized pictures on wood might not make any difference compared to traditional photo frames. Your standard run-of-the-mill frame is, after all, generally made of wood or plastic. But there are benefits to using wooden photo blocks instead of the standard photo frames:
- Wooden Photo Blocks are Much More Durable than Traditional Photos
Have you ever dropped a traditional photo frame by accident? If you did, chances are, they were hard to clean up because the frames are flimsy or had a face made of glass.
You won’t have to worry about cleaning up a mess with a wooden photo block. If a wooden photo block is dropped, it might leave a dent, but it won’t break apart so easily. It’s hard for the block to chip off too, especially if they’re made of pinewood or rosewood.
With a wooden photo block, you also won’t have to worry about missing glass shards around the floor when you drop a glass-faced photo frame. Thus, they make great objects for toddlers or babies to handle.
What’s more, our photo blocks are printed using durable ink and UV printing technology. Unlike traditional photos that are easily damaged by water or sunlight, our photo blocks are resistant to fade and water damages.
- They can be Printed on Both Sides
That’s right – what makes the wooden photo blocks so special is that they can be printed on both sides. Traditional photos can only hold an image on one. This means that whenever you create one through a photo-printing service, you have the opportunity to showcase two of your favourite captured memories in one block!
- Their Personalized Features Make All-in-One Gift Solutions
Having your own 2-in-1 printed personalized pictures on wood means that they make for durable all-in-one gift solutions. Giving a wooden photo block as a gift means that you won’t have to worry about finding photo frames. If you’re getting the blocks from a photo printing service, you also won’t need to worry about delivery, or even printing them yourself.
What’s even better is if the printing service offers some kind of gift box solution. Then you don’t even have to head out to the malls to curate and find your own gifts – You can just have the printing service do everything for you!
Where can Wooden Photo Blocks be Displayed?
Because the photo blocks are made of wood, they are capable in fitting into any and every setting. The most common places wooden photo blocks are displayed are either the office or at home, on your work bench, a home’s family altar, or even by the side of your bed. Many who own wooden photo blocks even hang them on the walls – You can use multiple wooden hexagon photo blocks to create a honeycomb family montage, or just mix and match the shapes to create your own photo family tree.
The real question is: Who Should Wooden Photo Blocks be Given?
And the short answer is: Anyone, really. So long as it is appropriate for the occasion. We would really recommend you give a personalized wooden photo block as a gift to those you are close to; to those you have shared memorable moments with. Your family members, spouse, or close friends are great examples. On the flip side, they also make great corporate gifts if you’re looking for anything appropriate for your employees.
Where can I Buy my Own Personalized Pictures on Wood?
Finding printing services that offer personalized wooden photo block printing is really easy these days – All you need to do is to conduct a simple Google search.
However, before you go off to the search engine, did you know that we, The Moments Lab, can help you create wooden photo gifts too? You can find all of the available types of wooden photo blocks we’ve mentioned, and we pride ourselves in using better materials than the average wooden photo printing service.
You can also print your photo blocks on both sides with us – Just upload two of your most precious memories you want to showcase, and we’ll handle the rest!
Finally, if you’d like to make your gift look so much sweeter, we have gift boxes too, so that all you need to worry about is giving the gift to your loved ones!
If you’re looking for other photo products, we have them too. You can check them out at The Moments Lab!