Re: Print Framing - A New Year's Resolution

From: Don Bryant <dstevenbryant@mindspring.com>
Subject: Print Framing - A New Year's Resolution
Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2006 22:23:46 -0500

> One of my New Year's resolutions is to frame and hang work of my photography
> collection. No, not my work, but work that I have in my collection made by
> other photographers.

Is there a reason not to frame your own work???

> Several of the prints are quite large, and after matting and framing they
> will be 16x20 or larger. So, I've thought it best to use acrylic or
> plexi-glass instead of glass glass to reduce weight. The print media
> includes, silver gelatin, photo-gravure, color ink jet, and alternative
> process work.

16x20 frame is the smallest frame I bought in last 5 years. When I use
aluminium frame (Neilsen), I can definitely feel the weight
difference. I don't worry about the weight of 16x20 glass frame when
hang properly on wall, but I do feel a significant difference when I
carry many framed photographs at once. It's also easier to carry a
stack of plexi sheets than glass from the shop to studio.

These days, I use 24x24 or 24x32 wooden frame with glass more
frequently. I wouldn't want to carry many of them at a time, but
weight is not a problem.

A problem with plexi is that it is easy to get scratched. You should
buy plexi with protective sheets intact, and peel them off immediately
before assembling the frame. I wouldn't try to clean it. After
framing, outer surface can be cleaned by regular method (Windex and
cloth) but be gentle in wiping.

Plexi may be superior in absorbing UV light, and this may make a
difference if you want to frame original color work, for
example. Plexi is also better in terms of lack of tint, though good
glass should be perfectly clear. (A lot of cheap factory assembled
frame kits use glasses with greenish tint...)

I use 8-ply matte window for 16x20 and larger, and cutting a large,
clean window out of 8-ply board is a bit of skill. Also, securely and
archivally mounting a 20x24 piece of paper may take a bit of thoughts,
too.
Received on Sat Jan 14 03:43:21 2006