Frame Destination Inc. » Picture Framing

Pros and Cons of Acrylic for Framing

Mark Rogers — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 23:29:33 +0000

Many art galleries prefer artwork that is framed with acrylic. Acrylic is a type of glazing that can be used in place of glass for picture framing. It is often referred to by the brand name of Plexiglas. Frame Destination sells a high quality acrylic manufactured by Evonik under the brand name Acrylite®. Listed below are the pros and cons of acrylic.

Pros:

Shatterproof

Lightweight compared to glass

More optically pure than glass (no green tint)

Excellent thermal insulator

Cons:

Scratches easily

Will attract dust due to its static electric properties

Susceptible to bowing (not as stiff as glass)

More expensive than standard glass

We suggest that you weigh the pros and cons before deciding if acrylic is right for you. For instructions on how to clean acrylic please see our care guide here: Acrylic and Plexiglas Cleaning and Static Removal

References: “Caring for your art: A guide for artists, collectors, galleries and art institutions” by Jill Snyder.

Rough Guide to Framing Photographs

Mark Rogers — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 13:53:32 +0000

Customers who are first-time framers often ask “What’s the best way to frame my photograph(s)?”
There are two main considerations when framing your photographs: 1) Aesthetics and 2) Conservation.

AestheticsTraditional fine art paintings are often framed in decorative, baroque-styled frames. While this may be appropriate for a Rembrandt or a Monet hanging in the Louvre; photographs generally call for something more elegant and subdued, such as a wood frame with a simple finish or a sleek, dark metal frame. The key to framing photographs is subtlety; you want the viewer’s eyes to remain focused on the image, not the frame. Keep this principle in mind when selecting a mat as well. White, off-white or neutral mat colors are generally the best choices. In addition, black is sometimes appropriate, as are double mats in complementary colors. It all of course depends on the photograph; however, we at Frame Destination Inc. tend to favor the words of William of Ockham “All things being equal, the simplest solution tends to be the best one”.

ConservationFraming is a form of archival storage. Digital images are, for the most part, ‘safe’ when properly stored on electronic media, but once printed onto paper they become subject to the same dangers of light, dust, moisture, temperature extremes and acidity as film prints. Mats and mount board come into direct contact with your photograph. Using acid-free, archival quality mats and mount board to frame your photographs is the best method of protecting your image against acid and moisture, both of which can lead to staining and irreversible damage. Conversation is a science onto itself; further information about conversation matting and framing can be found at the Library of Congress’ guide to matting and framing website http://lcweb.loc.gov/preserv/care/mat.html.

Click here: for additional information about framing photographs.

Purchase fine art photography frames, archival mats and mountboard at:
Frame Destination, Inc.

Mat Board Opening Size

Mark Rogers — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 21:18:28 +0000

Dimensions for mat board openings can be very confusing. It is very counter intuitive, but the opening of a mat board should never be the same size as the photograph or print being framed. Usually it is a little smaller and sometimes it is larger, but not the same. Most pre-cut mats are cut 1/2 inch smaller than the photo print. That allows the mat to overlap the image by 1/4 inch on both sides. That brings up another confusing issue. If you want 1/4 of overlap the mat window must be cut 1/2 inch smaller and not 1/4 inch smaller because there are two sides. Personally I think 1/4 inch is too much overlap and so do most custom framers so the default for prints that are smaller than 18×24 is 1/8 inch overlap on Frame Destination pre-cut mats. For example, an FDI mat for 11×14 print would be cut to 10-3/4” x 13-3/4”.

Sometimes people will do what is called float mounting where the mat opening is larger than the image being framed. This is done to ensure that no part of the image is covered up and also to allow for a signature below the image. When doing this it is common to leave a 1/4 to 1/2 inch gap between the image and the mat board for the top and sides of the print. That means that width of the mat opening will be 1/2 to 1 inch larger than the image. When leaving room for a signature the bottom gap will usually be 1/2 to 1 inch. That results in the height of the mat being 3/4 to 1-1/2 inches larger than the visible part of the image.

Cheers,
Mark
Frame Destination, Inc.

Proper mat size for matting an image

Mark Rogers — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 20:37:56 +0000

Determining the proper mat size opening for a print can be a little confusing. One simple rule is that the mat opening should not be the same size as the print or photo. They will not be exactly the same size and it is nearly impossible to get them lined up perfectly. Off the shelf picture frames usually have mat board openings 1/2 inch smaller. For example if you purchase a 16×20 inch frame for 11×14 prints the actual opening in the matboard will usually be 10 1/2 x 13 ½ inches. This results in the mat overlapping each side of the print by 1/4. Personally I consider that too much so Frame Destination mats are cut ¼” smaller which allows for just 1/8” overlap of each side except for prints larger than 18×24. When the mat overlaps the print you do not have to worry about the color of any paper border around the image or the color of the substrate the image is mounted to. The mat board will also help keep the image flat.

Although allowing the mat to overlap the image is the most common matting technique, another option is to use a mat opening that is larger than the image. This matting technique will prevent the image being masked and allows for a signature to be visible below the image. Usually the side and top borders are between 1/4 to 1/2 inch and the bottom is between 1/4 and 1 inch. The bottom will usually be equal to the top and sides unless there is a signature. For example if the signature is under 1/2 inch then you can use 1/4 or 3/8 inch top and side borders and 1/2 inch bottom border. If the signature requires 3/4 inch then you can use 1/2 top and side borders. In this case the mat opening will be 1 inch larger than the image width, and 1 1/4 inches larger than the image height. A common mistake is to forget to double the border size when calculating the opening.

Cheers,
Mark
Frame Destination, Inc.

Picture Frame Moulding Corner Samples

Mark Rogers — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 16:51:52 +0000

picture frame corner sample

It can really be difficult to tell form internet web pictures if a particular picture frame moulding is right for your application. Even with color calibration, it is difficult to know how black a black frame is, or how a Cherry wood will look under your lightening conditions. If you house is like mine, it is not exactly the same light temperature as a typical studio strobe. To make it easier to get sample’s of the metal and wood moulding offered by Frame Destination, we have created a series of straight and corner sample pieces. The straight pieces are 6 inches long and an inexpensive way to hold and observe the actual moulding’s color and texture and shape. We also offer corner samples which are little more expensive since they involve considerably more labor on our part to create but can be invaluable when helping you or a prospective customer that may be purchasing frame photographs from you. You can see all of the samples here: Frame Corners Samples

Cheers,
Mark
http://www.framedestination.com/

Metal and Wood Picture Frame Assembly Videos

Mark Rogers — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:45:43 +0000

Frame Destination has recently started using YouTube to add videos to our website. We get a lot of questions from our new customers about the assembly of our metal and wood picture frames. Although a picture is worth 1000 words, a video can be worth even more! We have created two videos that show the complete process from receiving one of our metal or wood picture frames to mounting your image, to final assembly, and installation of the hanging kit. The picture frames used in the videos are complete picture frame kits with metal or wood moulding, foamcore backing board, 4-ply mat board and acrylic glazing. The frame assembly videos have been added to our website in the section for frame assembly instructions. You can check them out here: Wood Picture Frame Assembly Instructions and Metal Picture Frame Assembly Instructions.

Cheers,
Mark
Frame Destination, Inc.

What is archival foamboard?

Mark Rogers — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:30:58 +0000

There are a number of differences between archival and non-archival versions of foamcore and these differences will vary between different manufacturers.

A general guideline is that regular foamboard and regular matboard are considered ok for temporary and/or very inexpensive framing. I am not a conservator, but I have heard that minor decay in the artwork will start to occur within 5 years. This will vary dramatically based on the type of framing components, the environment (light, temperature, humidity) of the frame package, the chemistry of the print, and type of mounting. Although some decay may occur, it may not be very noticeable without doing an A/B comparison with the original.

Archival mat board and foam board will usually have the following characteristics:
Composed of acid free material
Composed of lignin-free material
Buffered to help maintain the alkaline pH

Bainbridge has a Micro Chamber technology called Artcare™ that goes a step further and allows their archival products to actively absorb harmful components entering the framing package. This can be especially useful in the case of foamboard. Archival foam board will have an archival mounting surface to protect the print, but the foam in the center will out gas over time. The Bainbridge product will absorb this out gassing.

Cheers,
Mark
Frame Destination, Inc.

Special New Bubble Bag Makes Framed Art Transport Easy!

Mark Rogers — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 19:00:07 +0000

GalleryPouch Bubble Bag

Frame Destination Inc. has partnered with Andrew Darlow of The Imaging Buffet to bring to market our new GalleryPouch™ Gold art bubble bags to solve the problem of safely transporting framed art and canvas gallery wraps to and from art galleries and art shows. Our best version of GalleryPouch™ Gold includes a resealable Velcro® flap. GalleryPouch™ Gold is available in over 100 standard sizes or full custom. They are available in square, rectangular and even tube shapes to help protect rolled canvas. We also offer the GalleryPouch™ Gold with just a flap and no Velcro® as a cost saving alternative. We have created a bubble bag help page with calculators to help you determine the size you need.

The GalleryPouch™ Gold is a premium bubble bag composed of heavy duty laminated 3/16 polyethylene bubble. The bubbles are sandwiched between two layers of durable polyethylene sheet to help protect the. The bag can be used over and over again to protect and transport art work. Our photography customers can also use the bags to help provide additional protection to portfolios or even tri-pods with the tube shaped GalleryPouch™ Gold.

Cheers,
Mark
President
Frame Destination, Inc.

http://www.framedestination.com

FDI ready-made frames in 8×10 and 16×20

Mark Rogers — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 20:23:58 +0000

Ready-Made Picture Frame

Frame Destination has recently added a couple of new standard frame sizes to our selection of FDI ready-made picture frames. The FDI picture frames were originally created to offer an inexpensive framing option for inkjet prints in non-standard sizes such as 8×12, 11×17, 12×18, 13×19, 17×22, and 17×25. Many people are using them for framing all kinds of other artwork so now we have rounded out the line with standard sizes 8×10, 8.5×11, 11×14, and 16×20.
These are black metal frames (our profile 2) with a smooth white 1/8 foamcore backing, and glass.

Of course if you need a different size you can just go to the frame kit section of our website. Just select “Frames” – “Complete Kit” from the top menu bar. Select “no mat”. That will bring you to our metal frame kit page for complete frames without a mat which include free hanging kits. You can select one of over 60 different sizes or select custom and create your own size. Then just select
Moulding Style: “Profile 2”
Mount Board type: “Foamboard Regular 1/8 inch”
Glass or Acrylic: “Glass”

Of course you can select other options if you want acid free or a mat. Profile 2 is not very tall so if you do want a mat then you will want to select “Profile 117” which looks the same from the front but has a deeper rabbet.

Cheers,
Mark

Bulk Raw Sheet Mat Board

Mark Rogers — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 18:01:54 +0000

Frame Destination recently announced the addition of bulk or raw sheet mat board to our website. We now sell raw uncut matboard directly from the manufacturer for increased savings. These sheets are roughly 32×40 inches. Since we are not cutting them, we can pass on the labor savings to you. If you wish to cut the inside mat opening yourself, but would like to save time by having us cut the outside you can order blank mat board sheets that are cut down to one of our 60+ sizes. We can also cut the mating to a custom size.

Cheers,
Mark