Where to get cheap 11"X17" poster frames?

January 31, 2005 10:05 AM

Where can I get cheap 11"x17" poster frames? This size is really hard to find in shops, despite being a standard size for concert/theatre posters. The cheapest I've found in Toronto is CA$17 a piece, for a standard 2-inch pine bordered frame. Any reputable & cheap online stores? I'm looking to buy 10 frames.
posted by krunk to Shopping (12 answers total)

framesusa.com has them when I looked a minute ago, for ~USD8.

pfile.com had them for ~USD12

Whether they'll ship to Canada I dunno.

If you're having trouble finding them locally, you might also consider getting whatever the next size up is, or an appropriate size up, and some matboards and cutting 11x17 openings in the mats. It's not difficult, and it'll probably look neater and cleaner than just a picture in a frame.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 10:27 AM on January 31, 2005

have you tried IKEA? They often have decent looking cheap frames in their decorating section.
posted by ambrosia at 10:49 AM on January 31, 2005

Yeah, Ikea is the way to go if you have one nearby. Huge selection and very cheap. But FYI, after about three years, I just had to throw out one of their large poster frames - it warped. Then again, it probably cost about $8.
posted by CunningLinguist at 11:02 AM on January 31, 2005

Opus does.
posted by five fresh fish at 12:59 PM on January 31, 2005

Our Ikea's frames are all in metric sizes -- which is a pity, because they are nice and cheap. So if your Ikea is like ours (and isn't the point that they're all alike?) you probably won't find anything there in a round number of inches.
posted by nebulawindphone at 2:04 PM on January 31, 2005

Response by poster: Opus is quite expensive, and doesn't appear to have 11x17.
Ikea is out of my way, and their search engine is a bit crap -- searching for 'frame' returns a squillion hits. Maybe $17 isn't too bad after all.

I've thought about getting bigger ones, but none of them are in the same aspect ratio as 11x17, so I'd have an oddly shapped matboard.
posted by krunk at 3:22 PM on January 31, 2005

krunk, this may be where you're talking about, but just in case... there's a place on Queen West - I forget what it's called, but it's on the north side, probably a bit west of Bathurst - they sell hella cheap frames, which are fine as long as you don't plan to switch the art out of them frequently (they have those crap flexible metal tabs in the back holding the board in).
posted by stonerose at 3:44 PM on January 31, 2005 [1 favorite]

Will clip-frames work in your decor? They're hella cheap -- even 16x20's are like USD5 -- and it would be very easy to have 11x17 panes made, or to buy 16x20 ready-made clip frames and have the glass cut down, or just buy 16x20 clip-frames and put the posters in the middle.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 4:18 PM on January 31, 2005

Response by poster: stonerose -- that's the $17 place! since I need to buy 10, I'm having trouble bringing myself to drop $170 + tax... it sounds as though that's as cheap as it gets though, barring a trip out to Ikea.
posted by krunk at 4:40 PM on January 31, 2005

dickblick.com should have them too...and i wouldn't rule out target or kmart or walmart or anything like that either.
posted by amberglow at 7:50 PM on January 31, 2005

Maybe see if there's an Imaginus poster sale happening at U of T, York, or Ryerson? I know they sell frames pretty cheap at these events, though I couldn't say for sure whether they have that particular size or not.
posted by greatgefilte at 7:51 PM on January 31, 2005

Opus is actually pretty inexpensive if you can get a student to purchase them for you and if you want a high-quality frame (ie. they're inexpensive for the quality). They'll custom-make 'em in any size.

It also occurs to me that Michaels craftsy crap store has frames galore.
posted by five fresh fish at 8:48 PM on January 31, 2005