Everything you need to know about custom framing services

Picture frame is a piece of object in your house or office that should be built in such a way that it looks good and is pleasing to see day in day out. To attain this level of quality and perfection custom frame is the way to go.

Custom made frames are best used to preserve family heirloom or irreplaceable artwork and provides the flexibility to choose high quality acid free materials that can preserve the artwork for decades. 

Custom picture framing normally comes in two materials, following consideration needs to be taken when going for custom frames.

Frame material: Frames are generally made of glass or plastic screens with composite material as their base. But the best quality frames are made of metal or of wood. Both metal and wood are popular option and it really boils down to personal preference. Given below are brief on wood frame and metal frame material which are most common material used:

Variety of frames

• Custom Wood Frames: Wooden frame can be designed and cut in various design and they have the option of built to buyers’ specification easily. Wooden frames can bring old age feeling and sophistication to your photograph
• Custom Metal Frames: Benefit that metal frames enjoy over wooden frame is that they are more durable and will not warp with time. Metal frame are easy to make when compared to wood and are also less costly than wooden frames.

Mounting Board: This holds the picture against the mat. This is often the first step in framing process. Normally cardboards are used as mounting board material but framers normally advice against using them. Cardboards are acidic in nature, and this may be detrimental for the artwork over the years. Mounting board with polystyrene core are generally good as they are acid free, have smooth surface , warps less and can be cut smoothly.

Matting: This is probably the most complicated part of buying a frame. Mats can be made of cardboard or other materials and serves as a frame within a frame. Mat separates Picture from direct contact with the glass and creates a small air space between photographs. Glass also prevents moisture build up. A mat can be decorated as per photograph’s specification- coloured, decorated or pure white.

Selecting the Grade of Mat: This refers to the material of the mat and how well it can preserve the artwork. The more acidic the mat material quicker the artwork is bound to deteriorate. Normally mats made of cotton are great for preserving art work.

Number of Mats: Normally a single mat works just as fine but framers may prefer more than one mat to layer their project to create a substantial visual border.

Backing: This is made of stiff cardboard and is placed at the back of mounting board

Glazing: Glazing is equipment in frame that protects everything in a frame. This again is optional but is highly recommended if artwork is exposed to varied temperature and humidity changes. There are basically two types of glazing available in market

• Anti-Glare- Reduces glare from bulbs or ambient light.
• Glazing with ultra violet reduction- This stops UV light entering the glass and preserved your artwork.

Glazing Glass

Thus custom frames gives the option to choose your material and since every part of custom made frame need to be built from scratch the time and cost required to make a custom frame is more . However the finish and quality you get with custom frames are unbeatable. After following the above steps you can be ensured to build a beautiful long lasting frame that will preserve your picture for days to come.

Amazing tips that can help you when framing a painting

Picture framing is like a science, custom picture framing takes some really good skills and a lots and lots of patience. Picture framing is also very vital to the art collector and to the artist in maintaining the value of art. According to a research, it is said that mostly everyone has had something framed once: a piece of art, a degree, a football jersey, you name it and you can get that framed.

Custom photo framing can be the best comrade or the worst foe of the art.  Imagine your best artwork not framed properly, and the damage it can do. Here are some tips for professional framers so they can avoid some very serious mistakes.

• Use Good quality materials:

This is one of the most important aspect of framing. If you are using low quality materials then beware, they will affect the art in more than one ways in addition they will also reduce the value of your art. When using mat boards or papers in framing then care should be taken that acid free materials are used.

• Select the glass:

Use UV protected glass always and suggest your customers to go for UV glasses. Ultra violet rays harm your art work, even if you have used UV glass then also try to avoid exposing the painting to direct sunlight. There are also options available in glass like the museum quality glass which is heavy.

There are also alternatives for the glass like the Plexiglass(Acrylic) which has got some good benefits over regular glass and picture framers are suggesting the use of plexiglass as it is safe and light weight.

• Selecting the proper mats:

Selection of proper matting should be done, you should match the mat with the frame or according to the picture type and texture. Make it look good not weird. Matt are supposed to keep the distance between the art and the glass. There needs to be some space between the art and the glass so that the art does not stick on the glass.

• Don't use tapes:

Using a tape is a big no. Don’t use the regular brown tape that you use around the house to fix things on the painting or the photograph they might damage the painting after a long run. When you will try to remove the tape from the painting then you can see the large amount of damage that has been done by the tape on the artwork.

Museum quality custom framing shops should avoid using tapes and if you want to then go for the framing specialty tapes. Don't damage some precious museum quality art.

These tips can be kept in mind to avoid turning your artwork into a disaster. The custom framers keep these things in mind and always try to make your artwork more beautiful, But as we can say that precaution is better than cure.

Custom Picture Mats Framing

Photo frames are years long obsession for photo lovers who need to preserve their precious art works, paintings and photos. Initially, photo lovers used photo frames to preserve their memories without affecting its looks but now a days frames have got wide area of applications. Frames are used to preserve anything that is memorable in human life ranging from children scrap books to set of metal cutting tools!

Custom picture mats and Modern frames are available in wide range of materials, shapes, sizes and types. But among this enormous crowd of frames, most well known frames are photo frames and picture frames. Well, both of these are different things as photo frames have a coating or cover of acrylic or glass over photo to prevent it from external damages like scratches and spills.

By structure type, frames are available in four different variations like float frames, shadow box frames, clip frames, Fabric frames and digital frames. Here is a short and digestive intro to each of them.
1. Float Frames
Float frames are special types of picture frames which seperates inside edges of frame from the picture borders. That is why it gives appearance as if the picture is floating inside the frame and it is called float frame.2. ShadowBox Frames
They protrude from wall when mounted as they are sort of deep boxes covered on front with glass or acrylic, so it is not ideal choice for every space. Shadowbox frames are generally used to showcase embossed objects like college scrap books and embossed picture works.
3. Digital Photo Frames
These are forms of display devices that are used to display pictures without need of supporting devices like computer or printers. You just add some photos manually in it using storage devices like pen drive or hard disk and it will store and display the slideshow of all selected photos. It is not as much decorative as the original wooden, metal and plastic photo frames but still it's choosable for displaying multiple pictures at single place. picture framing
4. Fabric Frames
Fabric frames are usually shabby looking frames covered with fabrics on its edges. These types of frames are used for creating a vintage classy appeal so most common fabric frame colors are white, teal, pink, blue etc.5. Clip frames
One of the most easy and unconventional form of photo frame is clip frame. This is inherently not a frame at all. In this kind of structure, a picture is embedded between two slices of glass or other transparent materials which are joined together using holding clips on all four corners of it. Being quite delicate it is preferable to be used lesser and with only particular styles of interiors where children or pet could not reach easily and destroy it.

5 Most Common Questions about Custom Framing

Picture Framing is an art that develops over years of experience. You have to fit almost nine different elements properly with each other for museum quality picture framing. Expert framers like PaintBoxSoho have a great blend of skilled artists and years long framing experience with which they provide top notch framing services.

 On customers' side, it is quite tough to maintain framed pictures in its ideal condition. Even before buying a ready made frame or getting some kind of custom framing it is wise decision to have some expert advice. Anyone with a good taste can choose the most suitable picture frame according to the picture colors and shades but still picture framing experts are more preferable as they also have sound knowledge of material quality and suitability. Because only looks is not enough. Framing material, color, mats, glasses, everything has to be chosen wisely so that a wall piece look good and last long without even a minor injury.

Here is a brief guide answering to common customer confusions.

 Q.1- What is Custom Framing?

Custom Framing means getting your artwork framed by professional framers according to your choices. In custom framing you give some abstract idea of what kind of frame material, color, shape and looks you want your framed pictures to have. Experts scrutinize your expectations and taste and accordingly offer you most suitable solutions. Then you finalize your choice and get it framed.

 Q.2- Why should I opt for it?

Custom Framing is procedure of customizing your picture frames. So it allows you to show off your style and add more accent to your room space. By custom framing you can make the art work more attractive and compelling. Though it may cost a little more than normal framing, if you do not like to compromise your choices and have clear idea of what you need then you should go for custom framing.

Q.3- Which kind of frame is best for my art work?

 This question is not too much tough to answer. Established framers like PaintBox Soho may offer lots of frame styles to choose from and you may get confused in choosing the most suitable frame. There may be too many factors you can consider for example you can consider your wall color, room aesthetics, or overall home style.But most preferably you can choose the frame according to your art work style. If it is a classic photo of some historical moment, you should choose classic framing like gold leaf frame or wooden frame made of Mahogany or Walnut woods. If it is a modern art work for example, a photo of rock star singing on stage, then it should be framed with some peppy, uncommon elements like brushed metal frame and wine red mat. Or if it is some thing in-between classic and modern style, you can go for framing styles which are blend of modern and vintage elements.

 Q.4- Why should I spend more bucks when I could get it framed with ready made frame myself?

 Art work is a precious thing and once spoiled, it is quite tough to retain it in to its original condition, or may be impossible. When you get a ready made frame, all elements will not fit with each other exactly. After a time, as a result, dust may gradually get inside the wall piece and your art work may diminish or may be atmospheric condensation could spoil its looks. If you get picture framing done by experts, all elements will be fitted properly and so external condensation and dust particles will not spoil it. Acid free Mats, proper fittings and technically sound equipment will keep it as it is even after years.

Q.5- What precautions to take for maintaining the wall piece in its good condition forever?

 Few basic precautions to maintain the wall piece in its healthier conditions for years are as follows, -Regularly clean the glass with glass cleaner liquid and old news paper or glass cleaning fabric.
-Check the back of wall piece weekly for condensation and injuries.
-While purchasing picture framing service, make sure that materials used are acid-free.
-Hang the art work on proper heights to make it look good and keep it out of reach of children.
-Whenever you transport it over distance, make sure it is packed with wraps of softer materials around it and packing is tight enough so that external shocks can not shake it too much and cause any breakage.
 Paintbox Soho Picture Framing services