Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with framing

How to choose a frame for a Rothko print?

pines — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:55:04 -0800

What kind of frame should I use for a print of this Mark Rothko? So I just got a high quality print of Mark Rothko, "Untitled (no. 16) 1950" from the Tate Modern, measuring about 5 x 2.5 feet (or 150 x 75 cm if you prefer). It's to go into a pretty bland office space, mainly to add some colour.

I'm hoping to go to a framer and give him some ideas as to how I'd like it framed. But - here's the rub - I don't know how it should be framed and I'd like (for once) not to say "Do what you think is best." So: colours, materials, width of frame ... what should I aim for?

Modern art framing

jayder — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 17:15:23 -0800

Art museum painting framing question. A common style of framing in art museums --- especially with abstract paintings such as Cy Twombly and Mark Rothko's works --- involves a thin strip of wood around the edge of a painting, perhaps with a few-millimeter gap between the edge of the canvas and the inner edge of the wood. The strip of wood is usually flush with the face of the painting. That's all there is to it. I would like to replicate this effect with some paintings I have. Any idea how best to accomplish this effect? I am hoping to do it myself, using some basic hand tools, but I am not sure how best to fasten the frame to the painting, nor am I sure what is holding the frame together. The wood strips are very thin, perhaps a quarter of an inch wide, no more than half an inch.

Is this a good deal for a frame and print?

disillusioned — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 01:45:39 -0800

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?

That smarts

Christ, what an asshole — Tue, 27 May 2008 12:14:07 -0800

What are some good parameters to use when judging someone's intelligence on the fly? I tend to go by someone's mastery of context, like how quickly they pick up on jokes, extended use of metaphors, the phrasing of questions they ask, their ability to reframe something new they just picked up on, etc.

What are some other things to look for?

Where to embiggen?

Constant Reader — Wed, 07 May 2008 10:43:36 -0800

Seeking reliable internet service to enlarge an image to poster size. I would like to enlarge one of my boyfriend's favorite images so that it's poster-sized or at least hang-up-on-the-wall-sized. I used an online company a few years ago that I found via magazine (either Real Simple or Bust). The site was easy to use, not so expensive and quick on delivery. I, of course, cannot remember the name of the company. I'm looking for recommendations of a reliable online service to enlarge an image. Thanks.

It's Not a Gold Record, But I Wanna Treat It Like One

sjuhawk31 — Tue, 06 May 2008 08:39:00 -0800

FramingFilter: How can I frame autographed CDs and liner notes without overpaying? My own research has turned up a bunch of online vendors (like this one), but those options are too expensive. Do you know of a place I can get a frame and mat for less than $25 per unit? My neighborhood hobby shop sells frames for cheap, but I haven't seen that size in my most recent trip there a few months ago.

I live in the Philly 'burbs, for what it's worth, and I'm not sure I have the skills to go the DIY route.

I am looking to frame some of my digital artworks but I don't know anything about the procedure, nor any tips for selling my artwork via the net really, any info is greatly appreciated!

bostonhill — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 20:36:14 -0800

I am looking to frame some of my digital artworks but I don't know anything about the procedure, nor any tips for selling my artwork via the net really, any info is greatly appreciated! Hello all,

I am looking to frame some of my digital artworks but I don't know anything about the procedure, nor any tips for selling my artwork via the net really, any info is greatly appreciated!

For years, I've created digital artwork that I've used for posters, promo material for bands/indie filmmakers and etc. Few of them have suggested that since I have a lot of artwork in a digital work, I should print them out, frame them and sell it via the web.

Almost all of my work is in digital graphic format 300DPI, mainly 8.5 x 11 prints. I'd like to hear some tips on what to do next. How much do frames for that size cost? I've tried to look it up in my area in Boston but none of them have the prices listed. Does anyone have any experience with this? How expensive is art framing and what are the best ways for a young artist out of college to go about doing this so I don't end up living in a box.

Much thanks!

How can I frame my check?

stewiethegreat — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 22:07:23 -0800

I just got a check from one of my personal heroes. Not a huge enough hero that I won't cash the check but how can I frame the photocopy I made? I checked Target and my local (cheap) framing gallery, but no dice. I'm both poor and cheap, so I'd prefer not to get a custom frame just to frame a photocopy of a check. Really, I'd like something that is small enough that I can put it up behind my desk without looking stupid (so please don't suggest I get a big ol' frame and use mat board to frame it.

Any ideas? Or other ways that you've preserved/displayed special check-size thingers?

Does art.com suck?

jeb — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 15:48:59 -0800

What is the deal with sites like allposters.com, art.com, etc.? Have you ever bought anything from allposters.com or art.com? It seems like there's a slew of these sites and they sell basically the same things for the same prices and have the same pretty budget web design. Sets off my scam alarm, like a magazine subscription on eBay. There's a 'print' I want to buy [1] from them but its like $250 on all the sites, plus framing is another $250. $250 seems like a hell of a lot of money for anything from a site called "All Posters Dot Com", certainly for a poster. Also, $250 sounds like a lot of money for a frame, but I vaguely remember hearing from people who have lived lives that have included the need to frame things that "holy crap, framing is way more expensive than you'd think."

What's the story with the product quality? $250 for a actual nice print of something seems cheap. $250 for some crappy poorly-registered cmyk-process on normal glossy poster paper sounds like I don't want to buy that poster any more. Any advice or experience would be appreciated.

[1] Note: I do not know the definiton of this word in this context. Aren't all posters 'prints'? I do not believe there's a huge warehouse in Mountain View where the allposters.com staff meticulously hand-screens your order when it spits out of the shopping cart software. But how cool would that be?

Did I get ripped off on this poster framing?

quadog — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 00:28:15 -0800

Help me to set my expectations as to the quality of professional framing I received on a vintage poster. I've started to purchase Art (with a capital "A") and my most recent acquisition is a moderately sized vintage poster that measures about 2' x 3'. I brought it to a professional framer to be taken care of. It was expensive.

A few days after the piece gets delivered I note that the poster is not resting flat inside the frame. At certain times of day, when the light hits it from the side, I can actually see slight waves or ripples running across the height of the poster. There was nothing defective about the piece - it was perfectly flat when I bought it.

So before I potentially make an ass of myself by calling the framer and demanding that the poster be reframed I need to know if this is something that happens to all posters or if it should, in fact, be lying perfectly flat inside the frame.

DC picture framing?

raf — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 12:03:24 -0800

Good art framing places in Washington DC? I just moved to Washington and need to get some art framed. Any recommendations for framing places? Things I care about: (1) selection of frames and materials; (2) high quality and care, such that they won't damage my pieces; (3) being in DC or close, as opposed to way out in the suburbs. Price is less of an issue.

How to frame lots of large photos cheaply?

DaShiv — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 22:37:40 -0800

Framing over a dozen 11x14 photos on the cheap? I have 14 photos to frame -- all printed at 11x14 -- and would like them to be framed with precut matting to that size (so the actual frames would be larger). The exact size, material, and appearance of the frames don't matter to me too much, so long as the design is simple and not garish to the point of detracting from the photos. The prices at some places I've looked at all tend to multiply alarmingly fast for this many frames, so I'm just looking for something as cheap as possible. Plastic is just fine!

Either online or brick-and-mortar works fine for me. I'm in the SF Bay Area if anyone has local suggestions.

(If the matting proves to be the hobgoblin driving up the price exorbitantly, I may considering doing without but to me photos often look tacky or just not "right" when framed without some matting. The photos in question are a mix of color and b&w.)

Carpentry -- making the perfect window cutout

antipasta_explosion — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 19:41:37 -0800

Carpentry puzzle: Imagine that you have a wood-framed window opening (example). Exterior sheathing completely covers the frame. How exactly do you cut through the sheathing? This has long vexed me as one of the more complicated carpentry problems I've run across.

I'm guessing that instead of trying to cut from the inside that it's better to cut from outside. I would go inside, drill a hole in the 4 corners of the window frame through the sheathing, go outside, draw lines connecting all the holes, and cut along this exterior line.

OK, but here's the proble: how do you start the cut? A circular saw sounds like a bad idea, especially since you'd have to hold the blade guard open. Any kickback and you'd be toast. You can't start a jigsaw into solid wood either. So what tool is needed here?

I'm guessing to do the line cuts, I'd want a jigsaw. Circular saws are dangerous IMHO on vertical planes.

Then, how would you clean up the sheathing edges to conform to the frame? I'm thinking an electric planer would do the job.

Commands and any alternative ideas to this problem would be appreciated.

where can I find the right frames for these large pictures?

krautland — Tue, 01 May 2007 13:17:52 -0800

where can I find the right frames for these large pictures? I have a few rather large prints (1,2,3) that I just can't seem to find the right frames for.

I like simple dark ones, like the center one in this picture (not the silver ones). dark wood frames with a couple inches separating the actual print from the border. the only shop who had the right frames wanted around $150 per frame, which I didn't think was appropriate for these.

I am in chicago but am willing to order online, if necessary.

the prints are 22"x28" and 26" wide by 33.1" high.

What does my cat think I am?

WCityMike — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 14:57:52 -0800

What does my cat think I am? In other words, in his brain, what has he classified me as? I've had my cat, Charlie, since he was 10 weeks old. I'm curious as to how he classifies and labels me in his mind, although I do understand that of course he doesn't think in words.

For example, does he understand that I am a species distinct from himself, or does he see me as a giant, furless cat?

Does he see me as he would his father, mother, or a littermate — a familial relation? (I presume not his father, since I don't think cat fathers stick around.) Or does he see me as a non-family person who lives in the same domicile he does?

I of course understand that cat thought is not as fully sentient as human thought, but obviously, there's more than a small degree of intelligence in their brains.

I'm just curious as to whether there's any scientific thought or studies that have figured out how they label us internally in those little kitty brains.

Any other studies or information about how cats frame their world would be interesting as well, although I'm primarily interested in this question.

And ... this question's a great setup for humorous responses, but serious answers only, please. :)

Framing Papercuts?

prettyboyfloyd — Sun, 14 Jan 2007 08:43:44 -0800

DIY Framing - Double Sided w/ Chinese Paper Cuts? Hello, I bought some Chinese Papercuts as gifts in Foshan, China over the holiday and would like to try to frame them myself. They are fantastic - but so far unframed.

In the past I've seen two sided glass frames where the glass is sandwiched together by what looks like solder. I have never soldered before but I was thinking of buying a soldering gun and some frame glass and trying to put these frames together myself. Has anyone done anything like this before? Will the solder keep biggish sheets of glass together? Or is this just a massive laceration waiting to happen? Should I stick/clamp the glass together with something else to more firmly keep it together?

Thanks for any help and/or DIY tutorials you can direct me to. I'm in the bay area if there are any local resources/shops you know of.

(P.S. If you are ever in Foshan the city is famous for it's handicrafts. There's a great pottery district with a kiln that's been going for several hundred years. There's also a cool folk art center where they make the paper cuts right near the gift shop. The folk art center also makes paper lanterns and big parade dragons.)

How Do I Hang These Fuckin' Things?

interrobang — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 15:40:37 -0800

In about 48 hours, I need to hang the originals of these and these (polyoramas) at a local place. What is the best way to do this? Each drawing is about 2" x 4", and between the two sets, there are about 30 of them.

I had thought it might be interesting to mount them on black foamcore—with no borders—butt them up against each other, and just go in there and move them around every couple of days. I'd tack them to the wall with poster-stick or something. Without glass, that's not so nice looking, though.

Frames present a problem, too: the border separates each image to the point where it may not be clear that the drawings are rearrangeable. I can put a couple together in several different frames, and make some sort of diagram explaining it, but that seems unsatisfying.

What is a good and classy way to hang these things, making it clear that they're modular, moveable, and individually for sale? I am open to spending money, as long as I can get the materials and put everything together fairly quickly (i.e., in 48 hours). Thanks!

How to restore faded signatures on a ceremonial document?

ericbop — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 13:29:04 -0800

The ink with which we signed our ketubah (a Jewish marriage contract, in this case a beautifully illuminated one) has almost completely faded in less than three years! What should we do? Please, no jokes about bad omens...we're (still) quite happily married, thank you. This document obviously has great sentimental value, and we'd like to honor the original moment of signing by preserving the original signatures in some way, before they are completely gone (which, at the current rate of fading, figures to be within the year).

We used a purple fine Sharpie pen, and the ketubah is on high-quality paper, and has been professionally framed.

What are some options for restoring, darkening, or redoing the signatures, and what type of pen/frame/backing should we use to prevent this from happening again?

How do I properly frame a 19th C. albumen print?

AthenaPolias — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 07:37:45 -0800

What is the proper way to protect a 19th-century albumen photograph in a frame? I've just bought a beautiful 19th century albumen photograph that I'd like to give as a gift. I want to frame it, of course, but also want to make sure that the print is protected properly... and I know nothing at all about displaying antique images. Do I need anything very special - I'm thinking UV glass, etc. Ideally I would do this as cheaply as possible, but considering what a beautiful image this is, I'll do what I have to to keep it in good condition!

How to turn a map into wall art and a toy?

blueshammer — Fri, 04 Aug 2006 08:59:15 -0800

I have a 3-year-old and 1-year-old that just spent a week warming up to all of my cousins (of whom I'm the oldest, and the youngest is, I think, six). I got a 50" x 32" Rand McNally road map that I want to serve as both wall art and a hands-on toy, and I don't know how to do both. Unprotected, my youngest in particular would destroy it. I could laminate it and pin it to the wall or to a corkboard, which would be functional but not aesthetic; I could frame it, which would be aesthetic but not functional. I want to be able to draw on the map in a way that isn't easily wiped off, but also *can* be modified if someone moves, etc. -- stickies behind glass or plexiglass, or something like that. I'd also entertain out-of-the-box suggestions, such as slicing it into squares and laminating the pieces.

Finding the right frame of mind

scallion — Tue, 11 Jul 2006 12:24:23 -0800

Good inexpensive framing shops in or around Los Angeles? I know picture/print framing is a not inexpensive prospect at best, but any leads would be greatly appreciated. Not an absolute bargain basement custom frame shop, per se, but a reputable place that doesn't gouge you silly. I'd tackle the projects myself, but I have a couple of nice prints that I'd rather get done professionally.

picture framing

KneeDeep — Wed, 05 Jul 2006 09:47:29 -0800

Art/picture framing training - recommendations? Seeking your recommendations for training in picture framing in the Portland/Seattle area. Thank you.

Framing Disaster

adamkempa — Wed, 05 Jul 2006 07:16:02 -0800

I got a few posters and prints framed via a chain craft store's framing department instead of the frame shop I've used in the past. Yesterday I removed them from their brown paper wrapping to hang them and each of the three pieces now appears to be 'curling' or 'crinkling' up inside their frames. The effect is different from one piece to the next. The largest one (Full poster size) is the most obvious, primarily at the corners. The print no longer sits flat against the frame, but is rippled. The smaller ones look like the problem is just beginning (The edges and / or corners are starting to curl).

They have not been exposed to any extreme climate conditions, just leaning against the wall in our living room waiting to be hung (Nowhere near any vents of any kind).

This has never happened with anything done by the local frame shop. I'm wondering if this could be a result of the framing job, or if anyone else has seen this happen. If I get them deframed, is there any chance of returning the prints to their previous condition?

Where I can get framed in Toronto?

orange swan — Mon, 12 Jun 2006 08:20:52 -0800

Can anyone recommend a good framing shop in Toronto? I bought three etchings while on a trip to Tobermory this past weekend. I've read the various past threads on frames and framing, and have decided that I would like to either find a shop that can frame really cheaply, or alternatively a shop that sells the components so I can assemble it myself. I don't want to make my own frames or cut my own glass, but I'd be open to cutting my own mats and mounting and such. In either case I'll need a good selection of supplies, reasonable pricing, and some help from knowledgeable staff.

I've seen this thread on shops in Mississauga, but there's just one Toronto store recommended in it. There are some Michaels' Arts and Craft stores in Mississauga, but it would be a loooong trip out there on the bus.

How to attach prints using archival tape when DIY print framing?

zenorbital — Wed, 15 Mar 2006 17:08:53 -0800

Framing Tape Filter: I've started to frame my own prints/posters, and have a frame that's slightly larger than the print. The print slips, I need to keep it in place... When using archival, water-soluble, acid-free tape while framing prints, does one attach the print to the matte or to the backing? Is one piece of tape sufficient enough to hold the print in place? Do I need to create a "hinge" with the tape?

I bought some Filmoplast P-90 tape for this purpose. What's the best conventional way of using tape like this while DIY framing?

Alternatively, are there other methods I could use to keep my smaller-size print from eventually slipping inside my larger-size frame while it's hanging on the wall? This is in cases, for example, where I hang a 8"x10" print in a 10"x12" frame, having a matteboard cut with an opening of 7"x9".

I use foamcore board for backing, standard matte boards that I bevel cut myself, metal frame pieces (purchased in packs of 2 pieces each), and plexiglass.