Is this a good deal for a frame and print?

July 15, 2008 1:45 AM

Is this a good deal for a frame & print? I would like to have this photo framed and printed. Flickr's partnered up with ImageKind and they seem to offer pretty good deals...

...as framing seems to be universally ridiculous.

Here's the pricing breakdown for the options I selected:

Finished size: 33.3" x 25.3"
Print on Hahnemuhle Photo Rag 308: 24.0" x 16.0" $31.99
Frame: Gallery Black, 1.63" width, ID: 601 $42.85
Top Mat: Matte White, ID: 1058, Width: 2.5", conservation $17.08
Middle Mat: Jet Black, ID: 1001, conservation $17.08
Bottom Mat: Matte White, ID: 1058, conservation $17.08
Glazing: Non-glare Acrylic, ID: 5 $44.80
Fitting and assembly $21.08

My Total: $191.96

So I'm looking at about $205 out the door, once it's shipped.

The other places I've looked at briefly don't have as nice of tools and seem to charge even more... I'm not really looking to roll my own, so is this about as good as I'll find?

Also, is there anything else I should consider with this? I'm alternating Matte White, Jet Black, Matte White for a three-matte option, because I think they're neutral and draw the eye to the piece, but criticism is welcome.

Also, I touched this up from this original... I really liked the potential the photo had, but thought it needed to pop a bit more. Thoughts?

posted by disillusioned to media & arts (3 comments total)

That's a better price than your would get in most frame shops.
posted by kimdog at 6:10 AM on July 15, 2008

Here in Vancouver, BC I shop at a local framing store, and purchase their Metal Exhibition Frame for $32.50, they also do custom mats, which cost me around $25. I print my photos at a great local printer, on Kodak Endura Metallic paper (Great for landscapes and HDR's etc), that costs me ~$20 or so.

So you can do it yourself, if you have good local art supplies stores and photo printers, for less than half of what Imagekind charges. But you need to do the work yourself. Good luck with it.
posted by chromatist at 7:10 AM on July 15, 2008

I would also consider going local. If your print is a standard size than you can buy an off the rack frame. That price sounds pretty good though.
posted by xammerboy at 11:40 AM on July 15, 2008