The Do's and Don'ts of Framing Prints

Wreck

Is Here To Serve
Staff Member
Jan 26, 2009
32,986
USA
While this thread title sounds so informative ... I'm really seeking out information actually. :hilarious: But hopefully over time it can be edited and become a great resource.
 
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Very much a newbie question:

I only have two prints, one from Mondo and one from Odd City.

Is storing them in the tubes they got sent until I get them framed a big NO NO?

My Stout Drive print have been stored in the tube since I got it earlier in the summer, same goes for Gabz Fargo I received a couple of weeks ago.

I have no idea when I can get them framed.

What's peoples opinion? I know its not ideal, but is it "ok" or a big fat NO?

Thanks. :)
 
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Very much a newbie question:

I only have two prints, one from Mondo and one from Odd City.

Is storing them in the tubes they got sent until I get them framed a big NO NO?

My Stout Drive print have been stored in the tube since I got it earlier in the summer, same goes for Gabz Fargo I received a couple of weeks ago.

I have no idea when I can get them framed.

What's peoples opinion? I know its not ideal, but is it "ok" or a big fat NO?

Thanks. :)

Its just not ideal.... Very small chance anything happens to them realistically. There just going to take a long time to flatten when you finally do take them out of the tubes. If however you plan on leaving them in there for "years" then I would caution you against it as sometimes when people leave prints in tubes for years the ink on the prints (especially metallics) can start to "break". But in general for short time storage you should be just fine.
 
Thanks buddy.

Yeah I'm planning on getting them framed in a not so distant future. ;)

Problem is there's no such shops where I live so I would have to look and buy frames online I think and I have no idea where to start. I'm not so keen to pay a small fortune either.

We'll see how it goes. ;)
 
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My question may seem stupid but for an art print realized ​​with metallic ink, it is to be preferred Plexiglas or glass ?

Thanking you in advance
 
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My question may seem stupid but for an art print realized ​​with metallic ink, it is to be preferred Plexiglas or glass ?

Thanking you in advance

Sorry, missed your question. :emb: It really depends on your preference. Acrylic can be just as clear as glass depending on how much you want to spend. The museum acrylic & glass should give you the same non-glare clear effect.

Note, in the US insurance will not cover art that is framed with glass. Glass breaks, art is likely to break.
 
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Sorry, missed your question. :emb: It really depends on your preference. Acrylic can be just as clear as glass depending on how much you want to spend. The museum acrylic & glass should give you the same non-glare clear effect.

Note, in the US insurance will not cover art that is framed with glass. Glass breaks, art is likely to break.

I prefer the glass. :D

I just wanted to know if the glass and the sun was well with the metallic ink.
 
My question may seem stupid but for an art print realized ​​with metallic ink, it is to be preferred Plexiglas or glass ?

Thanking you in advance

This is just MY OPINION but from my research and feedback I have received from extensively looking into archival grade framing.... PLEXI/ACRYLIC is significantly less prone to sticking to prints/pictures than glass is... It seems to me more times then not when a print sticks to the glazing its almost always glass and not plexi.

And plexi has the has the added bonus of being far less prone to breaking and like Rose said far less chance it will damage the art if it does breaks. And consider this.... a 24x36 framed piece hanging in the hallway for some *strange reason* (And strange things do seem to happen when kids are nearby..... curious little cats!) decides to fall and break just when kids are nearby in the house... glass will break and the after-math of that is just not a pretty thought. Plexi is much lighter and far less likely to do kids harm if the frame falls off the wall for some reason. And if your in a earth quake area that gets tremors and such here and there... like rose said insurance WILL NOT COVER damage to the art caused by glass breaking (may vary though depending on your location I guess...).
 
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The framework will be in my room and I think there will be no sun above.

But the plexiglass is prone to scratches and I'm afraid it shows over time.
 
The framework will be in my room and I think there will be no sun above.

But the plexiglass is prone to scratches and I'm afraid it shows over time.

Plexi is more prone to scratches.... no question about it. But if you take care when cleaning it shouldn't get scratched assuming its not in a high traffic area of the house I should think.

For me personally the advantages of plexi outweigh those of glass so Im going with all plexi for my frame-up's.
 
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so got discussing thinsg with a mate the other day and he mentioned acid free frames...totally stumped me

Been buying my frames off ebay and they look great...but no idea if they are suitable or not. Now the backing on these is like some sort of fake wood/mdf/fibre-y substandce...no idea what its called. Is this ok or will this cause issues? if so I assume I can replace this backing only rather than the whole frame and backing

looking for advice on this please as I'm totally unsure

I'm UK based in case that's a factor, after discussion with Roseart (I bought something from him on eBay and didn't realise he was on here) he thinks someone UK based may be in a better place to advise


Currently I have a few Mondo's and looking to get more so wanting to make sure they stay pristine
 
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If you want to conserve your artwork for a long time, you'll need to frame using ALL acid-free materials. Doesn't matter how cheap the frame is but you'll need to add either a mount or spacers in front of the art so that it doesn't stick to the glass/acrylic over time. If you Google for 'mount board' and look for 'acid-free' or 'Conservation grade'. No need to replace the cheap mdf backing, but you will need an acid-free 'backing board' (sometimes known as 'barrier board' to place behind the art so that both sides of it are not touching anything other than the mount and the acid-free board.

If the cheap frames you are buying already come with a mount, thrown them away and replace them with acid-free mounts because they are usually cheap tat and not acid-free.

The only other thing you can then do is use UV filtering glass/acrylic, but in my opinion you only want to use this if the piece you are framing is very valuable either monetary or sentimentally (because it's quite expensive).
 
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ok so this is probably a stupid question....when framing a print should the matting be the same width all the way round or should it be wider at the top/bottom.

Thanks :thumbs:

(My print is 3ft X 2ft btw.)
 
Personally I'd say keep it the same all the way round but you can have it different if you wanted too
 
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^Thanks mate. Going to see about getting it framed tomorrow so will ask for the same width all the way round. :thumbs:
 
Is there a place online that sells the frame, mats, and acid free backing in one go?

I want to see about ordering this cause the local framing places, even Michael's with a 60% off coupon want close to $300 to frame a poster.
 
Is there a place online that sells the frame, mats, and acid free backing in one go?

I want to see about ordering this cause the local framing places, even Michael's with a 60% off coupon want close to $300 to frame a poster.

There are quite a few....pictureframes.com, framedestination, americanframes. ..
 
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