framing dilemma!!!!!!!!

jemmy · Jul 2, 2006

Hi guys..... Last week while vacuuming my mums house, i knocked a photo frame off a coffee table...(OOPS!)... of course the glass broke into a million pieces and the frame chipped but i thought i could salvage the photo?!

...but maybe not.... the photo was stuck to the glass and had to be peeled off, leaving bits of the photo still stuck to the glass! Anyway, was a picture of my little girl that can be replaced easily - so that wasn't the issue but got me thinking a lot - I am really hoping to get into portraiture photography and have been hit up by several friends to do so... some who have already said they want their's framed....I was going to talk to a local framer to get some samples but i think i would die:x if this happened to their prints which i had sold framed...... Do only cheap frames/glass cause prints to stick????? Do gloss prints stick more than matte??????????? Any thoughts, experience or advice appreciated muchlyxxxxxx

Torus34 · Jul 2, 2006

You can finesse your way around the whole sticking problem. Double-matte the print. This will permit a nice reveal in a contrasting shade and will also keep the print from touching the glass.

markc · Jul 2, 2006

Even a single matte can do the trick, depending on the size. I think a matte adds a much more professional look.

http://thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=52361

Mr. Krinkle · Jul 2, 2006

what is that matte thing? or doubble matte. it is not just the type of paper?

markc · Jul 2, 2006

This should give you some good info: http://www.nedcc.org/plam3/tleaf410.htm

A double matte is just a second matte over the first with the window cut a little bigger.

LaFoto · Jul 3, 2006

I find that ALL of my photos that were framed in those simple glass frames are lost by now: by the time I would want to remove them from the frame, I would no longer be able to pry them off the glass other than in tiny bits and pieces. I learned the hard way that photo paper gets sticky behind glass.

So when I should change prints in frames once again, I'll make sure I put them behind a matte (we call it "passepartout" here, which is French, but I guess it is the same as a matte), or even, like Mark is suggesting here, a double matte. Or an extra thick one.

jemmy · Jul 3, 2006

Thanks guys,, looks like matting is the only way to stop them sticking! Thanks for your advice and hopefully this thread might make people check their special framed pics before its too late. xxx

Torus34 · Jul 3, 2006

If you are going to frame a lot of prints, you might want to cut your own mattes. A simple diagonal matte cutter isn't very expensive and the sheets of matte board are cheap. You will have to rig up some sort of straightedge board. You can't cut mattes freehand. Any artist supply store will have the stuff needed.

Once you cut your own mattes, you've gained another tool -- cropping. You can cut your matte opening to any ratio or to any dimensions you wish.