Review: Displate Metal Posters are really cool if you can find something you like

Displate offers individuals beautiful metal posters to decorate their homes, offices and more. They have posters featuring artwork from a wide range of franchises and media, as well as more general art such as nature and animals. Some of the great franchises include Star Wars, Power Rangers, Dungeons & Dragons, Borderlands, One Piece and Cyberpunk 2077The Displate team was kind enough to send me four posters so I could share my experience with you all, but all thoughts below are my own.

My thoughts on displate can be split into two parts: using the website to find the posters I want and the actual quality of the posters and installation. Using their website seems decent at first, but it quickly becomes apparent that there is a lot of work that goes into it and I think at least some of it has to do with the licensing. My wife and I were trying to search and find awesome posters for some of our favorite games like Metroid and The Legend of Zelda, but when we searched for one of those, nothing came up. However, when we looked at other posters, we saw posters for both franchises. See what the problem is? There are a lot of awesome posters that you basically have to be lucky to find, which is a real shame. I hope Displate can find a way to improve this.

Another issue with finding a poster to order is that it is overrun with AI art. I know this is a divisive topic, but I believe in supporting artists, not AI. Aside from Displate removing all AI art (I don’t think they will anytime soon, but I’d love to be proven wrong), I would like them to make two changes to the site. First, label all AI art as such with a label that is easily visible while browsing without having to click on it. Second, include a feature that allows people to remove AI art from search results.

These two issues made me honestly think that maybe I wouldn’t take Displate up on their offer. However, my wife and I ended up finding four posters that we liked and were excited to see how they would turn out. We ordered one in each of the three finishes they offer (matte, gloss, Textra on select posters) so we could give our opinions on each. For reference, The Dread and the Dead poster is gloss, the Red Ranger poster is Textra, and the other two (Ice Bear from We are just bears AND Sonic) are matte finish. All photos were taken in the same location within 5 minutes of each other under the same lighting.

I’m happy to report that the metal posters appear to be very good quality. They’re lightweight, but they feel sturdy and the art looks really nice. Installation is surprisingly easy as well. In fact, one thing I really appreciate is that you don’t have to worry about being super precise with how you mount it for fear that it won’t be exactly where you want it. You put the magnet(s) on the wall in about the right spot and then you put the poster on top and you can adjust it as needed without having to move a nail or anything.

Now it’s time to talk about the three finishes. Matte and gloss are exactly what you would expect. The matte finish seems to have slightly more muted colors due to the finish, but honestly I don’t think I would have noticed if I hadn’t also received a glossy poster. The gloss finish makes the colors more vibrant, which is nice, but the tradeoff is the glare you get. Do you want glare and vibrant colors or no glare and slightly muted colors?

Textra is a newer finish offered by Displate and is only available on select posters. Unfortunately, it seems that the Textra finish is only available in medium size (17.7″ x 12.6″), so you won’t be able to get large, beautiful posters with this finish. That said, the 3D effect is really cool. The Power Rangers the poster i received with the Textra finish also has a nice mix of matte and gloss. The edge is a matte gray finish, but the rest is glossy, which helps show off the grooves. It’s really the most eye-catching, in my opinion. The biggest downside is that it’s the most expensive of the three finishes (fairly so for the extra engraving). I do wish it came in at least a large size (26.6″ x 18.9″).

I think Displate offers a good product overall. My wife and I agree that the posters deserve a 10/10, but the poor site experience really drags it down overall. If you don’t want something that’s officially licensed, it can be really hard to find what you’re looking for. I think they could definitely improve how things work to make it easier to find interesting fan art and sift through AI generated art. Once you find posters you like and have them, setup is easy and they look really nice if you have the money.