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so is anyone into collection prints/posters also?


coldober
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it's so expensive to frame.

Is it?... I'm new to prints (I haven't even purchased my first one yet), so I'm sorry if this seems silly to ask but is there something I'm missing? The first one I plan on purchasing is going to be about 18 x 24 / 24 x 32 (not sure how big I want to get it yet) so I went and did some window shopping for frames at WalMart. You can find frames there for $10-$15... they're not super amazing high quality frames, but they do the job. Right?

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Is it?... I'm new to prints (I haven't even purchased my first one yet), so I'm sorry if this seems silly to ask but is there something I'm missing? The first one I plan on purchasing is going to be about 18 x 24 / 24 x 32 (not sure how big I want to get it yet) so I went and did some window shopping for frames at WalMart. You can find frames there for $10-$15... they're not super amazing high quality frames, but they do the job. Right?

Sure, if you want to ruin your prints much faster. To preserve them, need uv glass, space, acid free material and more. A normal frame from Walmart or whatever will not provide and protection for your print, and the cardboard back will just make it worse faster.

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Sure, if you want to ruin your prints much faster. To preserve them, need uv glass, space, acid free material and more. A normal frame from Walmart or whatever will not provide and protection for your print, and the cardboard back will just make it worse faster.

And that's why it's so expensive lol

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There is no lowest really. Make sure the frame is archive quality, meaning acid free backing, uv-glass/plexi, and be sure to use spacer and/or an acid free mat (mat is recommended more than spacers).

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I don't use spaces or acid free mats. I haven't seen any wear on any of my prints (i've had most out the frames over the last month) All the frames have UV glass or plexi though.

Might invest in some acid free backing for them, but i honestly don't see the point. I get custom frames online for about £20-£80 depending on size. 

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Buy a premade decent UV Frame.

Have a mat made to fit said frame. Buy the backing from the mat shop as well. It saves you lots of money if you have the mat cut to a fit inside common frame size. That way you don't need to pay to have a custom size frame made.

This is great if your print is also a standard size.....uneven matting is aesthetically revolting to me though.

You would think that framing technicians and owners of shops would be ballin with how much custom framing a piece costs....truth is legitimate materials are expensive.

Retail and Wholesale margins are pretty slim in the framing world

The end results of a well assembled custom framing job should last longer than its owner

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I don't use spaces or acid free mats. I haven't seen any wear on any of my prints (i've had most out the frames over the last month) All the frames have UV glass or plexi though.

Might invest in some acid free backing for them, but i honestly don't see the point. I get custom frames online for about £20-£80 depending on size.

Acid burn doesn't happen immediately, it's a slow process....it's also very real...and it's 100% irreversible. I've seen photographs dissentigrate while trying to remit and frame them. I've seen hand-signed and numbered prints fall apart and customers cry about losing the irreplaceable piece. I've seen it so bad that the print became so brittle inside the frame that print crumbled and the print slipped because of it.

Using non-archival backing (ESPECIALLY CARDBOARD) is the second quickest way to ruin a print. First being using non-UV protective glass and having your print in direct sunlight.

If you're paying any kind of real money for these prints or originals for that matter (non-painted originals), and you want to enjoy the piece for more than 5-10 years you really need UV protective glass and an acid free backing....and ideally acid free matting as well.

Just so it's out there, no glass should ever go on an original painting, and there needs to be holes punched in the back dust covering as well so the painting can breathe....if there's no air flow on the front and back the painting will mold.

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Acid burn doesn't happen immediately, it's a slow process....it's also very real...and it's 100% irreversible. I've seen photographs dissentigrate while trying to remit and frame them. I've seen hand-signed and numbered prints fall apart and customers cry about losing the irreplaceable piece. I've seen it so bad that the print became so brittle inside the frame that print crumbled and the print slipped because of it.

Using non-archival backing (ESPECIALLY CARDBOARD) is the second quickest way to ruin a print. First being using non-UV protective glass and having your print in direct sunlight.

If you're paying any kind of real money for these prints or originals for that matter (non-painted originals), and you want to enjoy the piece for more than 5-10 years you really need UV protective glass and an acid free backing....and ideally acid free matting as well.

Just so it's out there, no glass should ever go on an original painting, and there needs to be holes punched in the back dust covering as well so the painting can breathe....if there's no air flow on the front and back the painting will mold.

 

 

Got it, good to know. I didn't realise it could be so serious. Looks like i'll be going to a frame shop and getting acid free matts for all my prints this week haha.

 

I take it that its the same if the print is touching a mount & the same kind of thing can occur? 

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I take it that its the same if the print is touching a mount & the same kind of thing can occur?

Absolutely can. They make several different acid-free mounts and mounting tapes (linen tape, filmoplast, acid-free corner mounts, ect.) and any decent frame shop should carry some form of acid-free mounting materials.

If nothing else, avoid masking tape at all costs....the glue is highly acidic and it eventually becomes brittle and falls apart, the majority of the tragedies mentioned above also used masking tape that accelerated the acid burning process

Framing is so boring and tedious

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Absolutely can. They make several different acid-free mounts and mounting tapes (linen tape, filmoplast, acid-free corner mounts, ect.) and any decent frame shop should carry some form of acid-free mounting materials.

If nothing else, avoid masking tape at all costs....the glue is highly acidic and it eventually becomes brittle and falls apart, the majority of the tragedies mentioned above also used masking tape that accelerated the acid burning process

Framing is so boring and tedious

 

Yeah, I haven't taped any of my prints. Looks like this could be an expensive upgrade for me. I'll check first if any of my mounts are acid free and if not i'll get some spacers. I'm pretty certain the backing boards aren't so I'm gunna have to drop some ££

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How much are these prints we're talking about valued at? I can see taking such precautions with original art, but I'm not sure about prints. Hell I love the ones I have, but it sure sounds cheaper to let it disintegrate in 10 years and buy another one than it is to protect them to the extent you're speaking of.

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How much are these prints we're talking about valued at? I can see taking such precautions with original art, but I'm not sure about prints. Hell I love the ones I have, but it sure sounds cheaper to let it disintegrate in 10 years and buy another one than it is to protect them to the extent you're speaking of.

 

My most of my prints would be impossible to replace, or cost 10 times what I bought them for on the secondary market. It's a worthwhile investment if you care about your art at all.

 

I have a bunch of signed posters and prints. Never spent more than $200 framing any of them (it's usually around $100 total).

Some have been framed for 10 yrears+ and not seeing any I'll effects yet. Not saying it doesn't happen, but it takes a long time.

 

My parents have had my siblings and I's senior pictures on their walls since we all graduated (11 years ago for), and they have faded like crazy due to sunlight. I'm willing to bet if you held up a copy of it when it was new vs now, you'd see the difference. Acid affects can be quick, or take forever. 

 

It's your guys money, do what you want with your prints.

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I'm not telling anybody how to spend their money either....I'm just preaching what I know....my family has owned retail frame shops for 40ish years now, had a whole-sale framing business for 25 years as well....I grew up in and around frames and frame shops...I suppose I might end up running the business at some point.

Obviously, if it's just cheap giclee print that you have up on your wall like a poster, do what you please....but if it's a real print and all hand signed and numbered or a hand-pulled screen print of something you wish to have hanging around for a decade+ investing in legitimate framing might be something to look into

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