Frame Destination Inc. » Resources and Tips

Preservation & Archival Framing of Photos

Mark Rogers — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 18:49:59 +0000

People who are new to framing often have many questions about how to frame their photography in a way that will help prevent yellowing and fading. The Image Permanence Institute (IPI), a leader in the development of practices for the preservation of images, has some great information about archival framing. With their permission, we have taken one of their extensive articles and published it on our website at: A Consumer Guide to Materials for Preservation Framing and the Display of Photographic Images.

This is a very comprehensive article. It starts with an introduction to the various components of the picture frame package, which makes it a great introduction to framing. It then moves into the types of decay that cause degradation of photos, discusses best practices and offers has tips the on proper display of framed photography.

IPI has additional articles on care and stability of photo papers, film and digital prints here: IPI Publications

Framing photos for a gallery show

Mark Rogers — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 19:32:02 +0000

Unless you have considerable custom frame design skill and are able to come up with unique frame designs for each photo and have extra money, it is better to go for consistency. There are several advantages to going with a simple consistent gallery frame such as a black frame with white mat.
1. volume discounts
2. frames do not detract from the artwork
3. frames do not detract from your overall theme
4. easier to swap components if one gets damaged
5. you don’t have to be frame designer or pay one

Before you buy anything be sure to talk to the gallery owner. They should have some insight into customer expectation. They can give you advice on if you need basic archival frames or full museum quality archival components and things like UV-filter glazing. If expectations are not that high, save your money and if you run into a customer that wants more just offer to reframe the piece for them. Many galleries have special requirements such as no glass, or only archival quality.

Cheers,
Mark
Frame Destination, Inc.

A Resource for Framing and Mounting Techniques

Mark Rogers — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 21:29:02 +0000

Now that you’ve seen your hard work and creativity come to fruition, you need to display it so it can be enjoyed by all. But assuming that all framing and mounting techniques are created equal would be a mistake. Methods that are appropriate to your specific piece are critical to the integrity and preservation of your work. Frame Destination offers artists a comprehensive overview of the various mounting techniques on their website. We would like to take minute to review these and help direct you to more this valuable resource and comprehensive guide to picture frame mounting techniques for a full review of techniques.

Guidelines in Preparing for Photo Mounting

When mounting photography, you need to keep in mind that fluctuations in temperature and humidity can affect the piece – even indoors. This can result in the photo buckling or turning up at the corners. Common mounting techniques to prevent this unwanted scenario include the use of acid free hinging tape or tissue, affixing photo corners, or hinging the image to the mount board with a v-hinge or t-hinge. Additional methods include dry picture mounting, wet mounting, spray mounting and pressure-sensitive (adhesive) mounting.

Each of these photo mounting techniques comes with its own set of advantages and disadvantages, depending on your specific set of circumstances. For instance, if ventilation is a concern in your physical environment, you may want to avoid spray mounting, because the glue can be hazardous to your lungs. Another consideration would be the desire for long-term conservation, in which case the use of photo corners is recommended, as they do not require the use of any chemicals.

Full Resources Online at Frame Destination

Banners for Your ArtShow Booth

Mark Rogers — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 20:35:52 +0000

I recently helped Larry Berman of BermanGraphics to come up with an inexpensive way to protect and hang banner photographs on Art Show booth walls. Larry works with Art Show vendors to help get photos of their booth through the jury process. It is inexpensive to get 20×30 prints made now at places like Costco but you still need to get the image protected and hung on the booth wall. Frame Destination created a new product that we call the photo display kit that includes a crystal clear protect bag from Clearbags, 3/16 foamcore backing board, adhesive hangers for hanging on wire or nail, and finally Velcro tabs for mounting to Pro Panels or other types of fabric covered walls. Check out Larry’s article on jury image preparation for booth banners here.

Cheers,
Mark
Frame Destination, Inc.

Want to know how long inkjet prints will last?

Mark Rogers — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 02:07:11 +0000

Aardenburg Imaging & Archives is a great resource doing independent image permanence testing. They are supported by the people making the prints as opposed to the manufactures of inkjet printing products. I strongly believe in the work that AaI&A performs and Frame Destination, Inc. has recently become a sponsor. I want to help increase their membership which gives you full access to their large growing database of print longevity for a variety of inkjet printers, inks and papers. They are testing combinations that no one else in the world is testing.

Aardenburg Imaging and Archives is a company directed by Mark H. McCormick-Goodhart and dedicated to collecting, studying and sharing digitally mastered photographs and fine art prints with an emphasis on materials and processes. The Aardenburg Digital Print Research Program is building a comprehensive lightfastness database of modern digital and photographic printing processes by testing the samples submitted by the membership. Thus AaI&A members will have a direct say in what materials are tested, and the results remain completely independent from other commercial interests. With a growing library of test reports, articles, and tutorials on printmaking and print permanence, the AaI&A website is quickly becoming the premier website to learn about digital printmaking and print permanence.

Cheers,
Mark
Frame Destination, Inc.

Social Media and Picture Framing

Mark Rogers — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:21:17 +0000

I am happy to announce that Frame Destination, Inc. has finally gone social with Facebook and Twitter. I always greatly enjoy interacting with our customers via phone, email, and art events, but this allows us to take that to another level. Facebook appears to be an ideal venue to allow our customers to give us public feedback and learn more about what goes on inside Frame Destination and how me make picture frames. Our customers often tell us they love to refer their friends and this should make that easier. Feel free to become a friend, fan or follower…

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

How I sell my photography gear on eBay

Mark Rogers — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 19:16:17 +0000

It is critical that you have an established account with some time and 100%
positive feedback. If you don’t your bids are limited to scammers, and people
that are ignorant about how eBay works. For products like used camera gear, the
law of supply and demand is as reliable as the law of gravity so I don’t use any
reserve and I set the starting bid at 1 cent. If it is a common item you can watch
it sell a few times and see the price window of where it sells. In general, the
poor quality ads will fetch less money. I always sell at the top of the window.
For my ads, I take lots of high quality pictures. If there is a defect, then I
will take a good picture of the defect, and I will point it out so people can
see what they are getting and feel more comfortable that I am not hiding things.
In addition to the specs I will provide some personal commentary on how I used
the equipment and what I liked about it. This helps people see that I am an
individual selling my own gear, as opposed to a thief selling stolen gear,
someone running a junk sale out of their garage, or a scammer that actually
isn’t selling anything at all. Thief’s and scammers are lazy and do not take
time to create personal ads. I have no need for hidden reserve prices and think
many just use them to try to sell to fools. I also have no need for a high
starting bid, it just cost more money. Since I have no reserve, and a 1 cent
starting bid I will usually have several bids in the first couple days which
helps it stand out in the listings. I have used this method on a dSLR that
ultimately sold for over $1,000. I have also used it for iPods, other
electronics, and tools with no problem. Do not try it with art or framing
products, it won’t work for those types of items.

Cheers,
Mark

Great Artshow Photography Resource

Mark Rogers — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 23:04:00 +0000

Many photographers sell their photographs at artshows. If you are interested in this, or already selling at them you will want to check out Larry Berman’s Artshow Photo website. Larry has been involved in artshow photography selling his own work and helping others with consultation and jury services for many years. He has put together an incredible amount of resources on his website which includes the Art Show Photography Forum on Yahoo. The forum has thousands of members that freely talk about all aspects of art shows from applying to them, preparing your work from post processing all the way to final framing, jury slides, display equipment, and other related topics.

Cheers,
Mark

301 Inkjet Tips

Mark Rogers — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 23:22:00 +0000

Andrew Darlow of Imaging Buffet has a great new book titled “301 Inkjet Tips and Techniques: An Essential Printing Resource for Photographers“. Andrew is a photographer, educator and digital imaging consultant with over 15 years experience in everything from digital photography to color management. The book is packed with over 500 pages of info on everything from equipment and papers to final portfolios and framed artwork.

If you would like to know more about the book before getting it check out Harald Johnson of Digital Printing & Imaging’s interview. Andrew also created a huge online resource of additional content for the book at www.inkjettips.com

Cheers, Mark
President
Frame Destination, Inc.