Frames for my photos help

[Calson]

I have found the best value with the frames sold at Aaron Brothers that has periodic two for the price of one sales. I buy frames that can take a standard pre-cut mat and buy the mats online. Michael's is a source for pre-cut mat boards as well but there is no discount for buying the mats in bulk. But they have 16x20 mats precut with a 11x14 opening for example.

I work from the available frames and pre-cut mats in determining print sizes to create. I use White House Custom Color as they work with native PSD as well as TIFF files and they mat my prints. WHCC has a wide range of mat options so for larger prints I can have them mounted on Masonite or other stiff material. I have no need for a large dry mount press or the space for using one. Getting the prints already matted saves them from damage while putting them in a frame.

Matboardcenter.com provides bulk pricing so for a 20x24 with a 16x20 opening they sell a pack of 10 mats for $82 with free shipping. Buying mats pre-cut and having the prints mounted by the lab and then going with frames purchased on sale or buying metal frames you need to assemble yourself can save a good deal of money without requiring much of an investment in equipment or having a large space available.

 

[EricBowles]

Hi Bill. Yes, the opening is slightly less than 12x8. I've only mounted 3 photos so far, more to do. However, the procedure I'm doing is to place the photo on top of the mat opening and applying a small strip of acid free tape in each corner to secure the photo, making sure though that the photo is positioned correctly when looked at from the front. I guess even with this method the photo is still close to the glass and as mentioned previously by Eric maybe could end up sticking to the glass? time will tell.

The issue is the print actually touching the glass. If it's close but not touching, the issues are minor.

 

[bleirer]

Hi Bill. Yes, the opening is slightly less than 12x8. I've only mounted 3 photos so far, more to do. However, the procedure I'm doing is to place the photo on top of the mat opening and applying a small strip of acid free tape in each corner to secure the photo, making sure though that the photo is positioned correctly when looked at from the front. I guess even with this method the photo is still close to the glass and as mentioned previously by Eric maybe could end up sticking to the glass? time will tell.

As long as the mat is reasonably thick, at least what they call 4 ply which is about 1/16 inch or 8 ply which is 1/8 inch you should be fine and enough to let it breath. I position the art just so in the window from above then place a scrap paper and a weight, like a soup can would do, to hold it in position. Lift the window out of the way then apply the linen tape. You want to allow the art to expand and contract as it will with humidity, so you don't want it taped everywhere. I've had good luck with mounting at two points on the top, about an inch in from the edges. Adhere a strip of tape to the back so the adhesive is facing up extending a couple inches above the art, then using more pieces of tape at right angles to that one. This is a T-hinge. As long as the linen tape is archival (Lineco SA for example) then removing the art for reframing in the future is easy.

 

[bleirer]

Getting the prints drymounted by the printer or doing it with self adhesive artboard or spray adhesive is its own topic. I prefer to leave the art alone as much as possible. But If the dry mount is archival throughout then in theory it should stay flat for a long time without discoloring or showing airpockets, etc. But if problems do develop then it's a hell of a time to try to fix and also limits what you can do to reframe. You should still be able to replace the mat window if desired and put it in a new frame. But if a bubble has developed by the drymount partially releasing it could look bad. There is no exact right way, just depends on if you expect it to last 10 years or 100 years.

 

[Sanjay Gupta]

Going to take this to a different place. Try Benevolent Design Co. You will not find photo frames on their web site but they will make the frame to your specifications or they are available and not on the site. Have not tried yet, so why am I recommending them? Its a DoD site helping warfighters transition back to civilian life, have purchased a beautiful walnut serving board and will purchase a frame, probably some of that furniture. Just entered 3 prints in a contest with a 1/16" Mat. When the photos get back to me am going to get one framed, maybe all 3. Suggest you ask for and reference a gentleman named Pete Kern. Its here: https://www.benevolentdesignco.com/

 

[Dudnikk]

I’ve run into the same issue with non-standard photo sizes before. For my bird photos, I ended up going with frames slightly larger than the prints and adding custom mats to fill the space—it gave the photos a polished look without the hefty cost of full custom framing. You could look for 12x16-inch frames and get mats cut to fit your 12x8 photos. A lot of art stores offer affordable mat-cutting services, and it’s way cheaper than custom frames.

Have you considered something like a Nixplay digital frame (https://www.nixplay.com/)? I use one to rotate through all my favorite shots. It’s been a budget-friendly way to showcase my work without worrying about specific sizes or cropping.

Out of curiosity, what bird is your favorite to photograph?

 

[TheLRC]

I’ve run into the same issue with non-standard photo sizes before. For my bird photos, I ended up going with frames slightly larger than the prints and adding custom mats to fill the space—it gave the photos a polished look without the hefty cost of full custom framing. You could look for 12x16-inch frames and get mats cut to fit your 12x8 photos. A lot of art stores offer affordable mat-cutting services, and it’s way cheaper than custom frames.

Have you considered something like a Nixplay digital frame (https://www.nixplay.com/)? I use one to rotate through all my favorite shots. It’s been a budget-friendly way to showcase my work without worrying about specific sizes or cropping.

Out of curiosity, what bird is your favorite to photograph?

Just a quick note: this post is quite old, and the last reply before yours was written nearly two years ago. Perhaps you're already aware and simply wanted to give the post a fresh start for 2025.