Framing - care of your print

http://www.frickers.co.uk/care.html

Care of your new and existing art work

The mystery of paintings Why paintings? You have a good picture and you want to frame, to "get it right"?

The following will be very helpful. Few things make a home or offices look more stylish than very good paintings. The rooms give uplift to people without their even looking at the paintings. They convey authority and integrity to the rooms in a way which no other furnishings can, challenging the imagination of all who see them. Fine paintings will arouse conversations and give pleasure and value every time you see them.

 

Even inferior paintings and prints can be an improvement. Superior paintings and prints way out class the best photographs and other forms of interior decoration for sound technical reasons which are not part of this discourse.

 

(To discover the rich secrets of this site go to How to get the best out of this site)

 

This text will help you care for your new and existing art work to maximise its value and your enjoyment. We can supply finished prints, framed or unframed, to most destinations usually for very reasonable prices. Carriage costs do vary even within the British Isles and some people like to organise the framing, here is a guide.

Your / our new print/painting is our baby too so we would like to provide the following recommendations. Treating your / our print/painting with care will help provide many years of pleasure and protect it as an investment.

Usually a better quality frame is worth the money. Cheap frames cheapen your presentation. Our view is that it should not overwhelm the picture, but look unobtrusive and sophisticated. More on how to choose follows further below.

 

Please note, our top of range prestige prints (see Print Gallery) are on a special cotton canvas so look and feel like the real thing, examples being:

"Roaring Forties", Sir Robin Knox-Johnston
""Roaring Forties", Sir Robin Knox-Johnston"		 "Trafalgar Dawn"
""Trafalgar Dawn""
"Waterwitch" off Gribben Head, Cornwall
""Waterwitch" off Gribben Head, Cornwall"		 H.M. Schooner "Pickle", carrying the news of the Battle of Trafalgar
"H.M. Schooner "Pickle", carrying the news of the Battle of Trafalgar"

These are a development of the renowned Giclee printing process. We recommend they are dry mounted before framing. We use a museum approved system guaranteed not to bubble or blister and it is reversible.

Investment

With quality art consistently out performing the stock market, some people order 2 copies, one to show, the other as an investment to keep in store. You only need one or two art works in your collection to become sought after to pay for all and much, much more, be a winner: enjoy and good luck!

Choosing a picture frame

We recommend you consider the frame is sympathetic to the picture, the owner's temperament and the room it should be hung in. What does that mean?

Some guidelines include:

  1. The latest fashions are for quite clean mouldings with the detail in the colour and texture of the moulding. These suit almost all periods of room from ultra modern to Georgian and older.
  2. The frame should help the picture look important so again, steer well clear of very narrow or highly original frames.
  3. Big ornate frames still have a place particularly in formal settings like offices were other pictures have been framed in that style.
  4. Avoid frames that are very narrow or very dark, they generally look and are miserly.
  5. 2.5" ( 62mm) works well for pictures up to about 20" x 32" (508 x 810 mm) then add on about 1 " (25mm) per foot (300mm).
  6. For a modern person and modern home, even a traditional picture (see "Trafalgar Dawn") will take a relatively clean uncluttered moulding and very pale mounting card. Whereas the same picture in a Victorian or older setting would take a much more ornate frame quite comfortably.
  7. Unfortunately some picture framers are more interested in the frame than the picture, a natural mistake, watch out for this though as it will devalue your picture.

Card mounting.

  1. If there is to be a card mount, it should echo the main theme colours of the picture and often but not always be of a significantly softer tone and saturation.
  2. The latest fashions are for white or near white card mounts.
  3. We now use Artscreen in place of glass. It has many advantages including in transit and claimed better UV light resistance.

Confused? If we can help in any other way don't hesitate to Contact Us.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION about the Mounting and framing of any and especially our fine art print(s)

Never frame directly on glass. Consult an experienced picture framer for advice before framing your print. Ask for conservation quality framing, cheap frames devalue your and your collection.

Please discuss with your framer the various conservation methods of framing which can assist in maintaining the life span of your print. Be sure to have the picture framer explain their methods to you.

Prints should never be permanently secured to the mounting board. Only two methods of attaching the artwork to the mounting board are acceptable:

  1. The use of quality hinges attached to the print borders and mounting board.
  2. The use of Mylar or similar print pockets that are attached to the mounting board. The print is then slipped into these pockets. No adhesive of any kind touches the print and the paper is allowed to expand and contract without any adverse effects.
  3. A museum quality acid free masking tape along the top edge.

Improper mounting is responsible for much of the damage to art on paper. Deterioration and discoloration are caused by the use of common mat board. Only use acid free 100% museum quality art board to be safe, including for the backboard. The smallest amount of unprocessed inferior mounting board or adhesive will contain acid that "bums" paper and could cause it to turn brown. It may eventually become brittle and even disintegrate when it is removed from the frame.

Store prints, unless they have been separated by acid-free tissue never without overmounts directly one on top of the other. Never store or leave prints flat on a floor - elevate them so that air can circulate underneath and around them.

Humidity is a major enemy to paper and prints. The chief danger in humidity is mould. Mould grows in excess of 70% relative to humidity. According to museum curators, 50% humidity is ideally suited for keeping fine works of art on paper. Always maintain proper humidity levels wherever prints are being stored or hung. If there are signs of mould consult a reputable picture framer.

Handling our print, always have clean hands and use two hands to lift the paper so there is no risk of creasing and the edges do not get crimped. Never touch or drag anything across the image area, if you leave a thumb- print or scratch the surface, you will leave a permanent mark that cannot be repaired. Never use pressure sensitive tapes on the paper.

Never hang or store prints over or next to a radiator, heater or fire, the combination of heat, soot and smoke can do extensive damage over a short period of time. Make sure you check there is no dampness on any wall where you are hanging our print.

Light fades all works of art on paper; even ours that are produced from start to finish with the best materials. Once framed, our print should be hung in an area away from direct sunlight or fluorescent lighting. Over time sunlight or fluorescent light will adversely affect your print. Fading is not reversible. It is irreversible damage. How much light is the optimum? The measurement in terms of lighting is called foot-candles, and according to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the optimum is five foot-candles, which is roughly the equivalent of a 150-watt bulb, approximately four-to-five feet away from the piece that is being lit. Genuine picture glass, ultra violet protective Plexiglas, Conservation Clear or a similar conservation glass will reduce the possibility of light damage but any strong direct light source should be avoided.

GSAF 26.06.05, updated 08.10.06

The NEW fine art web site www.frickers.co.uk became public on Google, March 2005.

We would like your impressions and input, thank you.

Copyright © 2006 Gordon Frickers. All Rights Reserved.

This document "Care of Your Print" is downloadable for free in three formats:

Provided it is not altered in any way it may be printed in any quantity for any purpose.
No other use is permitted without the written permission of Gordon Frickers.