Frame Destination Picture Framing

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.

Frame Destination, Inc. is happy to announce that we have added support for uncut mat board to our website under top menu “Components -> Uncut Mat Board”. Uncut mat board has no window cut in the center to display photographs or other artwork. This matboard is cut to specific size (except for 32×40 raw sheets). It is for people that like to cut their own custom size window openings, or for people that are float mounting and need a color matched backing board to mount the image to. It is also for people that just prefer to mount to matboard instead of foamcore mount board. The least expensive (per square inch) mat board size is our 32×40 raw sheet. It is uncut direct form the manufacturer. Since we have no cutting labor we can sell it for less, but please note, it will not be exactly 32×40 in size or square.

Of course we will offer this new product in standard frame sizes such as 16×20 and 18×24, but it is also available in many non standard sizes such as 12×18, 13×19 or 16×16. We have over 60 different sizes and you can also just select custom in the size pull-down and specify any size you need including large panoramic sizes.

We have three different types of uncut mat board:
4-ply Archival (acid and lignin free) Bainbridge Alphamat
8-ply Archival (acid and lignin free) Bainbridge Cotton Rag
4-ply Buffered Paper Mat Board

Cheers,
Mark
Frame Destination, Inc.

This is a mounting technique for when you just want to temporarily mount and image for transport and casual display, but not frame. Assuming you are printing the image yourself, leave about a 1 inch white paper border around the image. Use photo corners to mount it to foamcore that is little larger than the image and then shrinkwrap the entire package. The photo corners will keep the image centered on the foamcore and the shinkwrap will keep it from bowing out of the photo corners and protect it from finger prints. If the foamcore is larger than the paper, minor dings should only hurt the foamcore and not the image.

Cheers,
Mark

Foamcore is one of the most popular mounting and frame backing materials for pictures. For the most part there are two concerns when selecting foam core: thickness and archival level. It is most commonly available in either 3/16 or 1/8 inch thickness. Frame Destination sells both for the same cost. We recommend 3/16 unless your frame does not have enough rabbet depth to hold it. 3/16 is less likely to warp and provides additional picture stability for large picture frames. Our customers selling photography in artshows will often use 1/8 foam core mounting board when selling matted only works of art because they take up less space. More will fit in their display bins and they are easier to transport. The second major concern is achievability. Foamboard is generally available in regular and acid free forms. If you are concerned about your print lasting then of course you should use the acid free form. If your primary concern is cost effectiveness then you should use the regular foam board.

Cheers,
Mark

If you are selling matted and mounted photo’s or other print art you can save money buying the products in bulk rolls. We carry Lineco Self Adhesive Linen Hinging Tape L533-1015, Hinging Tissue L533-0125 and Picture Frame Sealing Tape L387-0151 in bulk rolls. For example if you buy the regular 33.3 foot roll of Hinging Tape your cost is 32 cents per foot (at our wholesale price). If you buy the 150ft roll your price drops to 21 cents per foot for a total savings of over 34%. If you don’t need as much as bulk roll offers you can still save money with are quantities discounts that start at JUST TWO rolls.

Here are the bulk roll part numbers for the above tape products:
Self-Adhesive Linen Hinging Tape 150ft L533-1055
Self-Adhesive Hinging Tissue 98ft L533-0126
Self-Adhesive Picture Frame Seal Tape 500ft 387-0155

Cheers,
Mark

We recently added a couple of new products. Lineco Photo Tabs are an acid free archival double sided adhesive used to permanently mount photos and other items into an album or scrapbook. They are safe for inkjet prints and photographs and passed the Photo Activity Test.

Photo corners are a great archival photo mount for picture framing since they allow you to do your photo mounting without any chemicals coming into contact with your picture. Not all photo corners are created equal. Make sure you do not use photo corners that contain PVC plasticizers or acidic compounds. The two most common types of archival quality picture corners are made from polyester film, more commonly know as Mylar (Dupont Mylar Type D) and polypropylene.

Mylar Photo Corners are the first choice of museums and provide the clearest plastic. Polypropylene Photo Corners are not as clear as Mylar but are also inert, acid-free, safe and also widely used for mounting. Polypropylene corners also cost about half as much as Mylar photo corners.

Plastic clarity and archival ability are more of a consideration for photo albums and sleeves since photo corners are generally not visible in photo frames and have little contact with the print. I have read that Mylar is good for centuries and Polypropylene is good for decades (I have not verified this). When storing prints under plastic care should be taken to keep the relative humidity below 80% other wise the print can stick to the plastic. This is more of an issue with the albums since photo corners to not have much contact with the print and typically and may only cover the white border if available.

Mylar, Polypropylene, and Polyethylene are all safe plastic materials and they are all odorless. This is a good indication they are not out gassing harmful chemicals. If you have your prints stored in plastic albums or sleeves that you are not certain about, a quick test is to simply smell them. An example of a harmful plastic smell is that of a shower curtain.

An alternative to photo corners is Mylar See-Thru Mounting Strips. They are used to mount the edges of the artwork instead of the corners.

Cheers,

Mark

I love photography and since I own a picture frame company that caters to photographers I get questions just about every day about how to mount photographs. I have created a picture frame info webpage that provides an overview of just about all of the various picture frame mounting techniques and has some in-depth descriptions and pictures of some archival methods that are inexpensive and very easy to do at home. I included info on everything from dry mounting to archival t-hinging. Most importantly I included pictures. When trying to explain a t-hinge mounting technique, a picture is definitely worth a thousand words. The page also has some info about different types of acrylic for frames and some info about gallery style picture framing. It is a work in progress so I would love to hear feedback about what else I should add or mistakes.

http://www.framedestination.com/picture_frame_mounting.html

Cheers,

Mark