This will be useful if you’re a picture framer, if you enjoy doing DIY picture framing or if you’re planning to get something framed by your local framer.

Remember, these are the mistakes, avoid them if at all possible.

picture stuck to the glass

1. Let your picture touch the glass

When you come to re-frame this botch job, you had better cross your fingers that there’s still an image on the paper and it’s not all stuck to the glass.  Here’s an example that Eagle Graphics had to repair on the right:

Always leave a space between the glass and the print.  You can do this with a plastic spacer, a slip frame or a mount.

2. Choose your mounts and frame to match the room you’re putting the picture in

Camouflage framing at its best -

“Do you like my new picture?”

“Where on earth is it?”

People have said “I don’t want a blue frame because there’s nothing blue in the room”…. Well, why are you planning on putting this big blue print in the room?

If you frame something to match the room, then you have to re-frame it every time you re-decorate or move house.  Frame it to make the print look fabulous, and you have a feature that will go with you anywhere.

3. Use paper instead of a proper card mount

I’ve seen this so many times, people have cut out a hole from the paper that was in the ready made frame.  Even if you choose a coloured piece of paper, this still looks very bad.

Always use acid free mount board, and if you don’t have the resources to cut it yourself, then ask a local picture framer, it’s not an expensive job but it makes a huge difference to the finished look.

4. Use cheap mount board

This is fine as long as it is cheap acid free mount board, but if not, then within a year or so, the bevel on your aperture will be a nicotine yellow, and your print may have a burn mark where around the edges.

5. Use cheap backing board

This is similar to the above, the acid will burn the print. Use something like Corri-Cor® Archival Water-Resistant, which will not only be acid free but will also help prevent moisture damaging the print.  Corri-Cor® is light weight too, so it’s good for large framing projects.

6. Use a tiny little mount

This will make your framing job look very unprofessional. The proportions will look strange, you will have stripes running around the edge of the print and the overall appearance will be busy.  If you have an ample mount, it pushes the frame away so you can focus on the print and not the frame. We recommend a minimum of a 3″ mount on most framing jobs, but if it is a larger print, then you will want a larger depth of mount.

Here’s a good example of a mount that is too small:

If budget is the motivation behind this choice, then leave it in a draw and wait until pay day.

7. Use masking tape or backing tape to stick the print in

Like this guy…

You don’t want to do this because first of all, you will have problems detaching the print if you need to re-frame it, and secondly it may not be acid free.

8. Tape your print to the mount all the way around

Although Minnie has chosen a mount width that is far too small, she does show you how to tape an image in to the mount very well:

9. Cut the print

If you have a limited edition print or an original, then you’ve just massively reduced the value.  If you don’t want a large white space, then use a mount to pick out some of the colours from the print.

Summary

This is work in progress, and I will be updating this with new things to avoid when framing a picture, so if you would like to add anything, please leave a comment.

Thank you,

Katrina

Kevin is an artist with character, and among other things, he produces some very quirky artwork.

You can see some of his other work here: Bearskinrug

Florence Coates won the prize draw for £100 to spend in store… and rather than the raffle that we had anticipated, she won at the toss of a coin!

It just shows that you have got a great chance to win in local events.

There was 20% off framing and all open edition prints in store, and Jane Forster was in with her hand made cards at a special launch day price of £3.50. Jane’s cards are still available in the Marple shop for £3.95.