Framing your collectibles - what to remember on a budget
most of the cost of framing is in the frame itself. This is due to the material (usually wood) and the different types of wood, types of detail or finish. Each frame shop orders frame moulding by the 12ft length, each stick of moulding has to be made to match the others so a completed frame looks consistent, hence the cost. Think of framing like furniture for your walls, you pay more for quality materials, but framing will last you decades longer than a couch.
Often galleries/frame shops have a good quality line of frames that they purchase in bulk, so they can lower the price. They might also have frames they make in standard sizes out of leftover stock, which reduces the price. You could always get a wider, more detailed frame for your work at a later date when you have more funds, but the important thing is having your artwork safely conserved and heck, you can hang it up and enjoy it!
what is most important when framing anything of value, from your children’s art to a signed autograph is the conservation quality. You need UV glass to keep the artwork from fading, the glass could be regular or reflection control, but the UV is essential, do not skip on this, particularly with anything with a signature, even with ‘permanent marker’ it isn’t permanent!
the next element is what is behind your artwork, it has to be acid-free, so no cardboard, fiberboard, anything with paper pulp. Acid burn is the yellowing, browning and spotting you see on old prints, paper materials, etc. and it’s caused by the backing. so if you have any pictures in your home with cardboard on the back, go to the craft store and by a sheet of acid free foam core and replace everything
How is your artwork attached to the backing? NEVER USE GLUE, this destroys any value of your collectible. (also why you should not laminate) a process called ‘dry mounting’ is gluing your work to a surface with a heat press. Artwork should be ‘hinged’ with acid-free tape, or use acid-free corners.
think about what is ontop of your artwork, in this case, any mats must be acid free. You don’t want glass to be sitting ontop of your art, if you don’t have mats, there should be a spacer underneath the lip or rabbit of the frame (that holds everything in) to keep the glass off, as artwork, signatures, can adhere to the glass, given enough time.
Make sure that you have a piece of paper (often butcher/brown paper) on the back of your artwork, this keeps the inside clean and dust free. It’s easy to replace if it is torn by patching, or removing all of the old paper and applying new with double stick tape. (this never touches the art, so it’s not a problem if it’s regular ol paper)
Oh, FYI, never use sawtooth hangers! The little nail on comb looking thing, it can easily be torn off, tipped off the wall, and lends to some bowing at the top of the frame. Always have a wire hangar on the back, screwed into the frame.
If you ever need to ship your artwork, take out the glass, make certain the corners of the frame are reinforced when packing. If glass breaks in shipping, it often scratches whatever is underneath. Stack frames front to front or back to back, to prevent hardware from scratching glass.
Storing artwork - whenever you can have it lying flat, Do Not Store In Cardboard, or put acid free paper around the artwork so it’s not touching the cardboard. When storing artwork in tubes, find the largest width strongest tube possible, as this places less stress on paper fibers (and it’s easier to get in and out)