The craft
Metal, and paper.
Rivet & Rouge works in two ways. Vintage art and pin-up can be sublimated onto aluminum, so the picture is a slim metal panel. Pin-up posters are printed on paper, in the layout of a classic advertisement. They share a mood. They are not the same object.
Sublimation on aluminum
Dye-sublimation on aluminum is a way of printing a picture onto a coated metal panel.
The panel is a thin sheet of aluminum with a white coating that can take dye. That coating is a polymer, often polyester. The picture is printed with sublimation inks onto a transfer sheet. Heat and pressure turn the ink into a gas. The gas enters the coating. When the panel cools, the dye is set there.
Because the dye is in the coating, the picture is not a sticker and not a film lying on the surface. It should not peel the way a surface laminate can.
The white coating gives colour a clean ground. A gloss coating reflects a little light — that is the slight sheen. The metal edge stays visible. There is no mat and no glass unless a frame is added later.
Aluminum is rigid and thin. It does not cockle the way a loose sheet of paper can in a damp room. It is still a print. Long, hard sun can fade colour. This page does not promise a number of years, and it does not describe the panels as outdoor signs.
Shops use different blanks and presses. The account above is the ordinary process, in plain language. It is not a warranty.
What makes the panel feel different
01
The object is the print
You are looking at a piece of coated metal, not a poster behind glass.
02
The edge is slim
The aluminum shows as a hard, thin border. On this site, corner rivets are only a way of presenting the samples.
03
The surface can gleam
A gloss coating adds a soft reflection. Turn it, and the light moves. Paper does not do that in the same way.
The third line
Pin-up posters on paper
A pin-up poster is a different product. It is a print on paper, laid out like a mid-century advertisement: a figure, a headline, and a short line of type.
The ink stays on the sheet. It is not sublimated into a metal coating, and the poster is not an aluminum panel with a paper look. Beside the sheen of metal, paper reads matte. It bends. It wants to be kept flat, or rolled with care, and it is usually framed or mounted if it hangs on a wall.
The posters on this site are original drawings in that advertisement manner. They are not reprints of real campaigns. They do not copy famous pin-up paintings or photographs. Words such as “Quiet Floral” or “The Late Local” belong to the sample. They are not brands you can buy.
Paper weight and sizes are not listed yet. If you want to talk about a poster, use the inquiry form and say so.
How a poster is made, plainly
- 01
The advertisement is drawn. On this site, that drawing is original.
- 02
It is printed in ink on paper. This is not the heat-transfer process used for the aluminum.
- 03
The sheet can be kept flat, sleeved, or framed. It stays a poster.
Side by side
| Point of comparison | Aluminum panel | Pin-up poster |
|---|---|---|
| Pictures | Vintage art, or pin-up | Pin-up in an advertisement layout |
| Surface | Coated aluminum, with a possible soft sheen | Paper, matte beside the metal |
| Where the image sits | Dye in the polymer coating | Ink on the sheet |
| The object | A rigid, thin panel | A flexible sheet |
| Display | Hangs as a panel. Glass is optional. | Usually framed, mounted, or kept flat |
| On this site | Samples only. No prices. | Samples only. No prices. |
Nothing here is a catalogue of sizes or a promise of what is in the studio today. Inquire and say whether you mean a panel or a poster. The shop is in Lachute, Quebec, and inquiries are followed up.
