Your quite right. it is all down to personal preference, but what we try to do is to use the vaguest of colours, such as on the Banksy, Trolleys. Using the smallest amount of orange to compliment the small amount of orange in the handle of the trolley. Obviously it totaly depends on the item being framed but i like to think that adding a small piece of excitement on the right picture actually makes the final product compliment the artwork. Some pieces have enough going on in them to justify a neutral mount combination and at the end of the day your main interest in the framed product is the actual artwork. So i never try to upstand the piece that I`m framing

No problems . There are so many options of glass available at the moment it is quite a puzzle in itself. Personally i try to stay away from using standard float glass, as although it is a nice clear glaze it has a very minimum UV protection. Diffused-Reflection glass (also known as non-reflective glass) has about the same minimum UV protection as float glass but is acid etched to reduce reflection.
There are many varieties of UV glass and all have varying protection values.

Possibly the most popular UV glass I would recommend is TruView Conservation Clear. Although it is coated only on 1 side, and has a barely visable ripple effect, it blocks out approx 97% of damaging UV light and gives a good clear representation of the artwork. It is also very reasonably priced.

Diffused UV glass has the same UV protection as Conservation Clear but with all diffused glass you will lose clarity and contrast of your artwork. It is ideal if hung where reflections are of concern and will cost slightly more than Conservation Clear.

Then there is (and my personnel favourite), Waterclear (Muesuem) glass. This has a 98%+ UV protection but is a lot clearer than any other glass, making the colours look as they do without glass. It is made in specially coated fine layers that gives a near perfect anti-reflective property, without the acid etching of diffused glass, giving ultimate viewing clarity. It is definitely worth comparing, side to side, with other glass to see exactly how good it is. Only downside is it is expensive but very much worth the extra cost on your pride and joy.

Acrylics and perspex`s are also available in UV protection (approx 98%, varying) but i would recommend getting them scratch resistant also. Which will unfortunately push the price up.

Ultra Violet light is not only found in sunlight but in most types of lighting. And although UV protection glass/acrylic will considerably slow down the deterioration of your artwork you should never hang a valuable piece in an area that gets prolonged amounts of sunlight, or intense artificial light.

I hope this helps you out and I will add some prices for each I have mentioned tomorrow when i get back into the office

**ADD OF PRICES**

Sorry about the delay.
Prices for UV glass below based on 60 x 80cm

Conservation Clear UV £17.95
Waterclear UV (museum) £89.95
UV Acrylic £30.00

It was only a matter of time before you managed to step out from behind Gary's shadow.

I'm going to think of questions...but otherwise. Great Thread.
And smart avatar.

Soon for you fella.

Dont worry mate. I may have lost the dog collar but the leash is still there lol ;D
Im sure you`ll be more than happy when your framed prints arrive. 1st drink on you

Hi Rich,

Dale is back on his lead so... ;D

Looking at around £140-£160 depending on what you have done!

We have a van in Leeds early next week and every other week after, so you could post or we could collect!

Thanks

Thankyou for the compliment ;D and also for the question..

Floatmounting is a very tricky framing technique. Whereas when a print is standard bevel mounted, which not only holds the print tight and flat in the frame but it also covers the 2 hinges that are used to affix the print to the backing board. Floatmounting is reasonably similar, just that to hold the print to the backing card the hinges need to be hidden and obviously there needs to be a few more of them depending on the prints size and weight. As long as the weight of the print is taken into consideration and all hinges are done using fully reversable acid free hinges there will be no damage done to the artwork. Upon removing the tags on any method of framing, be it floatmounted or just bevel mounted, it is a tricky process. My best suggestion is to return it to the framer that carried out the framing, (for a small charge, if any) as they will be fully aware of the technique and method they used.

As for UV glass, I cannot emphasis enough how damaging UV light of any type is to prints. UV glass is a must on all of my own personnel framing, be it a print of value or just a photograph. Damage from UV light starts the moment your framed art is hung. You may not notice any difference for a couple of years, but everyday that passes the pigmentation in the colours of the print are fading.
A little test you can do is to take a photo of non importance and cover half of it with a piece of card. Place in your window and after 2-3 weeks you will see a significant difference between the two halves. Although no artwork should be hung in direct light this small test will show just how much damage UV light can, and will do. And although UV glass will not totaly protect your artwork from UV light it does drastically reduce the damage done. So please, for the small additional cost, I emphatically advise the use of UV protective glass.

I hope this is of help to you Martin

where are you based mr frameman
are you in london

Dale...

Thoughts on cottonrag?? Standard on all art work of 'value'??

Thanks

I have been wanting to get a frame sprayed a different colour but have been advised its not the best thing to do as the paint may effect the print.

is this something that you have done before?

is there a specific type of paint that wont harm the print?

thanks for any help!

Cheers for the speedy reply Dale, i kinda knew all the above but was curious what you thought about it

It's a minefield out there, with so many different products and each company using different 'key words' to describe the product. I was at a wholesalers a few days ago and he was speaking about some new musuem grade from Germany, that apparently beats everything on the market in terms of u.v blocking quality and appearance.

It was great to see cheap prints in frames, with different brands of glass built into panels, i was shocked to see what damage can be done in a short space of time!!!

Thanks again, expect more of the same

Dale - your knowledge gives me tremendous confidence that my prints (which hopefully have arrived) are in very knowledgeable and safe hands. The fact you take so much care and time in answering these questions is a credit to you.

what a fantastic reply

thanks very much thats exactly what I wanted to know, shame any other framer I have spoken to doesnt seem to have a clue!

thanks again

Hi Dale,

I recently acquired a pair of prints on canvas. (On the off chance you may have framed some identical pieces and are familiar, they are the Lucy McLauchlan red, black and white pieces, "Televisual Mundanes" and "Uncertainly Unsure")

I cannot decide whether to have them framed as if they were on paper, or to have them streched and pinned first - they do have a white border surrounding the actual print of perhaps an inch or so in thickness. I understand that the latter option will cause some damage to the canvas and probably affect their future resale value, were I ever to tire of them.

What would you recommend? And would the difference in appearance be very significant in terms of both the image itself and also the physical depth of the finished article?

Thanks

Hello, sorry as to the delay

I have personally not framed either of the aforementioned pieces but have checked them out and may I say very nice.
I see they are of a very low edition and understand your concerns over future sales of them if you have them stretched, but as canvas`s they are designed to be stretched. But if they are totaly flat I can see no reason why you couldn`t keep them in the condition they are in and frame them as if they where prints.
Obviously if your were to have them stretched I would strongly recommend using adjustable stretcher bars, as the material will sag after a period of time as they will stretch slightly over time, thus I would also suggest having them framed in a canvas tray frame leaving a gap between the stretched image and edge of the frame so that after time you can remove them and tap the corner wedges (restretching it slightly) and then place it back into the tray frame. This will save you having to take it back to your framer and repaying for a new frame .
If you decide to frame them as `print images` your options will be greater as you will be able to mount them and use a standard frame which comes in many, many more options than canvas tray frames. I would go for a triple mount consisting of a neutral bottom and top mount with a slim middle mount in red. This would draw the eye to the red of the image making the overall image stand out.

They are very nice pieces and without actually having them in front of me I would not like to make the decision on which option you would choose. My preference would be to stretch canvas`s as like I said they are designed to be stretched and will add depth to the overall piece.
Good luck with your decision and once you have had them framed drop my a picture as I would like to see the finished product, alternatively you could use our service and I could get a first hand idea on them ;D

Sorry I cannot be of more help but it really is of personal preference