To frame or not to frame

Displaying, protecting or presenting your art and memories can be done in various different ways. Choosing the correct approach is very important as this not only has esthetic value but also affects the quality and value of your finished product.


There are several factors to take into account when deciding what to frame and what not to frame. The following are a few to consider:

- Cost is always a factor, particularly when working within a budget.
- What is the purpose of wanting to protect or present your memory or art?
- Do you want a stylish look or simply a short term solution for hanging the item?
- Does your item have collectors value or antique value?
- Is the item replaceable or not?

What are the options?
- framing
- block mounting
- unframed stretching – canvas
- laminating

Framing
If it has value or cannot be replaced, it should be framed, but this is not at all limiting. You can frame any of your memories, whether it be a photo, certificate, a painting, drawing, embroidery, posters and even things like christening dresses, shirts, baby shoes, medals, school memories, and just about anything you can think of.

Framing can vary from very inexpensive to very expensive depending on what you want to frame and how you want to frame it. Something like a certificate or photo could be framed with a very plain type of frame which does not cost a lot of money. Adding a mount board around your photo or certificate will give it a quality finish and will add slightly to the cost of your frame.

You would look at a better quality and more stylish frames for your artwork. It is advisable to choose frames that will compliment your artwork and not your furniture or curtains. You would want your artwork to look good even when you change your curtains or repaint the walls in a few years time. Art is timeless and increase in value over time and it therefore worth spending a little more on a good frame.

Embroideries need to be framed with care as you have spent many hours completing your masterpiece. Make sure your framer knows how to frame embroideries and how to stretch it. Embroideries should never come into contact with any kind of adhesive. Take time to choose the perfect frame. Something worth spending so much time to complete is worth being framed with the same type of care. The same amount of care should be taken with framing signed shirts or any type of clothing. Framing these items, if done right normally involves hand processes and will take longer than the normal photo or certificate to frame and it can therefore be expected to cost a little more.

Try and avoid fashion frames. Framing is already costly; you definitely don’t need to do the exercise again in two or three years’ time.

Block mounting
Block mounting is a very popular way of displaying general photographs and posters and is more cost effective than framing in most cases. This is the perfect way to display your children’s’ and teenagers’ posters until they grow out of the look and re-design their room’s interior with a new fashion.

Block mounting is simply a process by which photographs or posters are pasted down onto a 12mm to 16mm wooden board and vacuum pressed to extract any air bubble that might be trapped between the board and poster or photo. Many framers will seal the finished product with a shrink wrap and attach the string for hanging (or any other hanging method used) on the outside of the plastic. If at all possible, do not remove the plastic before hanging as this will protect your poster or photo for a reasonable period.

Do not block mount any signed posters or any posters that have collectors value. The glue process will immediately make your poster almost worthless.

Unframed Stretching
Many photographers today also print photographs on canvas. These can be stretched in the same manner as artist’s canvas and can be hung unframed for a modern uncluttered look.

The Canvas Scene stretches these types of canvasses over a backing in order to keep it firm and protect it from being damaged by sharp objects.

The current market offers two types of printing - inkjet printing and UV protected printing which is similar to litho printing processes. Inkjet printing is fairly new to the market and is not water resistant. Although your inkjet print can be protected by artist type varnishes which will not alter the colour, it still is not fully water resistant. The 2nd way of printing is more colour fast and water resistant and is often used in the advertising industry.

Again if it has value it could be framed and protected by glass.

Laminating
Laminating is an inexpensive way to preserve anything with no value. This will work well for posters in a child’s room and can easily be cleaned with a damp cloth. Laminating is not advisable for anything of value as the glue process and the heat of a hot laminating press could damage your art or memory. Most importantly do not laminate things like your pre-birth scans or any other x-rays as the laminating process could leave you with a blank film at the end.

If it has value or it is something you would want to keep for many years to come, rather frame it.

You are welcome to comment and share your knowledge with us or simply to tell us how you enjoyed this article.

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