There are many options when it comes to framing. It can get a bit overwhelming especially if you find yourself on a professional framers website. I have 5 questions that I think about when I want to know what frame I should choose for my art print.
1. What do I want the material of the frame to be? Wood or metal? Wood frames are a great all rounder but they will be heavier. Metal frames are lighter and good for photos, prints and drawings. However, they don’t look so good with an original oil painting.
2. What colour do I want my frame to be? Black, white and neutral are the most common. You can get really colourful ones too if you want something a bit different. Another question to ask yourself is do you want the frame to stand out or blend in? Galleries often have white frames so everything blends in. Homes, however, often had white walls so black frames look good if you want the art to stand out. You should also take into account whether you have a mat or not and what colour that is. I personally like black frames with white mats as my walls are white. I also like the wood neutral coloured frames as they still stand out but the look is a bit softer.
3. Do I want a mat? A mat creates a frame within a frame. I personally like this but it depends on what you like. A mat is a great choice for protecting your art as it creates some space between the art and the glass. Mats are versatile too in that you can have them cut to any size. This is super handy for those odd shaped prints as then you can put them in a standard frame if you want to. Your local framer can cut your mat for you.
4. Do I want the edges of the print to show? Sometimes you would like the edges of the artwork to show as it has extra details. For example for a limited edition print number. In that case you could use a hinge float. Floating refers to the artwork sitting on top of the chosen matboard or backing using hidden hinges. A spacer is used so it doesn’t touch the glass. A raised float is similar but the artwork sits on a hidden platform underneath rather than directly on the matboard. This creates a drop shadow. This option is better for paper whereas a hinge float works for all sorts of artwork.
5. What size frame do I need? This will depend on some of the other choices you made earlier. If you have a mat then a good distance from the edge of paper to the frame is 2-3cm. Sometimes you might want more than this especially for those odd shape prints. I recommend having a look at some of the standard frames out there and seeing what size mats they have. You can also talk to you local framer, which is what you will need to do with the hinge floats or raised floats.
For the artwork I sell I use standard New Zealand sizes. I like to use mats but its completely up to you and your needs. I have used both glass and acrylic. The acrylic ones I got were the very cheap ones and scratched very easily so I wouldn’t recommend them. The acrylic used at a proper framing place will be much better. They can still scratch but if you clean them with a microfibre cloth you should be okay. This is a good option for really large prints that would otherwise be very heavy.
I hope this cleared up some questions you might have had one what frame you should use for your art prints. Happy framing!
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