Picture Frame Dimensions can be very confusing since there are lots of different types of dimensions used in picture framing. Artwork size is the size of the print that you want to frame. It may or may not be the size of the image. You can print a 12×18 image on 13×19 paper. The artwork size is 12×18 but the paper size is 13×19. Frame size typically refers to the size of the glass the frame will hold. An 11×14 frame should have an inside dimension a little larger (normally 1/8 inch) so that 11×14 glass and backing will fit inside the frame without binding. If you use a mat to add borders around the artwork it will increase the size of the frame. A common mat for 11×14 artwork has 2-1/2 and 3 inch borders creating a frame size of 16×20. Although the mat is for 11×14 artwork, it will not have an opening that size. Most off the shelf mat boards will be cut 1/2 inch smaller so that the mat will overlap the artwork by about 1/4 inch all 4 sides. Custom frame companies and most Frame Destination picture mat boards are cut 1/4 inch smaller so they will not cover up as much of the photo. The mat opening should never be the same size as the artwork. If you do not want any of the artwork covered up you can do what is called float mount and use a matboard that is larger. Such mat openings will often be cut 1/2 to 1 inch larger so there will be a gap between the artwork and the image of at least 1/4 inch. In that case either paper (if the paper is larger than the image) or the mounting board will be exposed. Care must be taken to ensure the exposed border is an appropriate color for the overall picture frame presentation.
Cheers,
Mark
A common question from those new to framing is glass vs acrylic for the picture frame glazing. Glass is used almost exclusively for inexpensive off the shelf ready-made frames because it is cheap and acrylic is used almost exclusively by mail order or internet framing companies because it won’t break during shipping. At Frame Destination we sell both glass and acrylic but we limit the size of glass we ship to 20×24 inches to help reduce the chance of shipping damage. Acrylic is also lighter than glass which reduces the shipping cost. Custom frame shops will mostly use glass unless the frame is larger than 32×40. For large work they will tend towards acrylic because the glass gets very heavy at those sizes and you have to give extra attention to making sure the frame can handle it. The wall hanging hardware also has to be able to handle the extra weight. Museums prefer acrylic over glass because if the glass breaks it can slice and destroy rare artwork. Some galleries prefer acrylic due to reduced liability. Glass has a green tint due to the iron content unless you purchase a higher end water white or museum glass which costs more than acrylic. The drawbacks to the acrylic are increase cost over standard glass, lack of scratch resistance, and static charge. For a more comprehensive break down of the pros and cons of both, see glass vs acrylic on the frame information section of our website.
Cheers,
Mark
Frame Destination has recently added 6 new black wood picture frame profiles. They all have a smooth matte black finish ideal for gallery style framing. They vary from 3/4 to 2 inches wide. Our new wood frame 876 has 7/8 inch rabbet to allow plenty of room for double triple mats and spacers. It is just a little wider than our popular 3/4 inch wide profile such as 872 so it is better suited for larger frames. Our new wood profile 880 is even larger. It is over 1 and 1/2 inches wide and has a full 1 inch rabbet making it ideal for even larger framing jobs. If you don’t need a lot of depth, but you want more frontal presence to your frame our wood frame 875 has a full 2 inch wide face. We also carry the mats, mountboards, and glass or acrylic, and we can do custom wood frames.
Cheers,
Mark
Selecting a matboard for the first time can be challenging when you are not familiar with the terminology. To help make this easier I have updated the Frame Destination website to provide more information about our matting choices. Click on our Mat Board Help Page. We offer the three basic types of mat board: wood pulp, alpha cellulose, and cotton rag. They range in cost and cost and archival capabilities. Wood pulp, otherwise know as paper mat board is the least expensive but only recommended for temporary framing. Alpha cellulose and cotton rag matboards are archival because those materials are naturally inert and acid free. Papermat can be buffered but they will return to being acidic over time.
Cheers,
Mark
Frame Destination sells custom wood picture frames. On our website you can select the type of wood moulding, matboard, mount board, and glass or acrylic. One of the less obvious choices for our wood frames is the points. We use flexible metal taps called points that we fire into inside edge of the wood frame to hold all the contents in place. See the picture. If you are ordering everything from us you can use an easy selection for points which is “fit contents ordered”. We will place the mat, backing, and glass into your frame and the fire the points in directly behind the mount board. If you are going to use your own glass, mat or backing board then you will need to determine how thick everything will be and then select the proper depth for the points. For example, say your picture is already dry mounted on 3/16 inch foamcore and you buying wood, mat, and glass from us as a complete wood picture frame kit. Your foamcore is 3/16, our glass is 2mm which can rounded to 1/8 and 4-ply mat board is 1/16. Once you add all that up you end up with a total of 3/8 inches and so you select that option for the point’s depth.
Cheers,
Mark
In general there are three types of acrylic for picture framing: Standard Acrylic, UV-Filter Acrylic, and Non-Glare Acrylic. Standard acrylic is the most optically pure. It is more optically pure than glass also since glass has green tint. UV-filter acrylic or glass has a yellow filter which causes a minor warming effect. This effect is not as bad as the green tint effect in regular glass. Non-glare acrylic has an etched surface on one side. Cheap versions of this can create a hazing effect but higher quality versions just cause a minor loss in sharpness that is hard to notice as standard viewing distances but will be detectable by the creator of the photograph upon closer inspection. This loss of sharpness gets worse with distance making non-glare acrylic unusable for shadow box framing. I have tested a number of different types of non-glare acrylic and found Cyro to be the best at reducing glare with minimum loss of sharpness and of course that is what we sell. The best option is proper lighting because then you can use less expensive acrylic, and not have any reflections or loss of sharpness. You can find more info here: Acrylic choices for Picture Framing.
Cheers,
Mark
Frame Destination upgraded the frame kit page on our website to support custom sizes and double and triple mats. Now you only have to enter the custom size once and then you can select the moulding, mat board, backing and glass or acrylic. We have two different frame kit pages: wood frame and metal frame kits. When you first enter the page you can tell it if you want no mat, single mat, double mat or triple mat. If you don’t want any mat then you just select CUSTOM in the size pull-down and enter the size frame you require. If you want mat board you can enter the size of the opening in the mat board and then select the size of the mat boards around the opening. The webpage will calculate the frame size and automatically put in the appropriate custom size components to match the mat board dimensions you entered.
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 have recently made some improvements to the custom mat ordering process on our website to speed it up. In the past the website was constantly recalculating the cost as you entered the mat dimensions for the opening and borders. We have turned that off and added an “update size” button that tells the website you are ready for it to calculate the external mat size and the new cost.
We have volume discounts for our custom matboard starting at quantity 4 for the same size and color. You can see the new discounted mat price by changing the quantity after the mat is in the shopping cart. The next mat board price break is at quantity 10.
We have three different types of mat board for your matting needs:
Archival Bainbridge Alphamat 4-ply Mat board
Archival Bainbridge Alpharag 8-ply mat board
4-ply Paper mat board for temporary picture framing
We also have a clearance section for mat board at near our cost.
If you are interested in being notified about updates to the
clearance section on our website you can click here:
Newsletter Registration
In the registration window be sure to check “website clearance section – update notice only”
Cheers,
Mark
