Picture Frame Mounting Techniques

Picture Frame Mounting Techniques Mounting is the technique used to secure a photograph to a mount or display board. There are several different methods and materials to choose from when mounting a photograph. Selection is based on several factors such as cost, convenience, equipment availability, and conservation. Conservation True conservation framing dictates that the mounted photo must be cleanly removable from the mount board. Museums must adhere to conservation guidelines, even though all acid free materials are used in these frames. Acids and other pollutants will eventually penetrate the frame from the air and walls and contaminate the frame, at which time the artwork must be removed and reframed with fresh materials. For most of us, such extreme conservation rules are unnecessary, although care should be taken to ensure general household items such as rubber cement are not used for mounting. These items may contain chemicals that will harm your artwork immediately. There are several inexpensive mounting products available today that are safe for your artwork. Some products such as photo corners, mounting corners, and hinging tapes and tissues are all safe products for mounting your artwork. Photo Corners and Archival Hinging Tissue One of the main reasons that pictures buckle after being framed is that the image, mat, and mount board all expand and contract at different rates with changes in temperature. For this reason it is important to leave the image as free as possible to move within the picture frame. The two primary ways of achieving this are mounting with photo corners & hinging tissue. A key component of conservative framing is that the image can be completely removed from the photo frame with no change to the image. To allow the image to freely expand and contract beneath the mat, it should only be hinged at a couple of points along the top edge of the photograph as shown in the diagram. Larger images may require 3 points. How conservative the hinging method is depends on the type of adhesive used in the hinge. For true conservation, there is a special Japanese paper that is used with a water-soluble wheat or rice starch adhesive. Picture mounting – hinging photograph to mat One way to mount your photograph is to use acid free hinging tape or tissue such as Lineco Self Adhesive Hinging Tissue to attach the image directly to the mat. The advantage of this method is that the image will stay centered under the picture mat opening so you do not need to hinge the mat to the mount board. The disadvantage of this method is that is depending on the hinging product used, it may be difficult to change the mat. Note: If you are selling your image matted but unframed, it is recommended that you do not use this method. An easy mounting technique: Lay your image down on a table with the top of the image hanging off the edge of the table about 1 or 2 inches. Lay your mat on top of the image and center it. Apply two pieces of hinging tissue or acid free tape to the photograph and mat from the bottom as shown in photographs. Lift the mat up with the image hanging down, place the mount board or frame backing board behind it, lay your glazing (the glass or acrylic) on top and insert into the picture frame. Want to learn more, clich Here for Sierra Frameworks. They will answer all your questions.

Custom Picture Framing Using Wood

The Types of Wood Used in Making Picture Frames
Picture frames come from a variety of different trees

The picture framing industry has long sought to provide its customers good value as well as a range of high quality mouldings. To do so, it has sourced wood harvested from a wide variety of trees. Broadly speaking, however, picture frame mouldings can be gathered under two headings: hardwood frames and softwood frames. But as you are about to find out, it’s a little more complicated than that.

Hardwood frames and softwood frames. Hmm, this would seem to speak to the fact that one is made of a harder, more difficult to work wood, and the other is more soft and yielding. Well, um… not quite. In fact, the designations don’t always have to do with how hard or dense the wood is. For example, balsa wood – wait for it – is a hard wood, as is basswood, one of the most common woods used in making picture frames.

The one thing that all hardwood trees have in common is that their seeds have a covering, like an apple, acorn or walnut. Softwood trees by comparison drop cover-less seeds, like pine trees. Hardwood trees are typically deciduous trees which means they lose their leaves in the winter time. Softwood trees are more commonly evergreens.

While we can say that not all hardwoods are hard and dense, we can also say that the hardest and densest of woods are indeed hardwoods, and this is where the confusion comes in. In picture framing the terms are often used to refer to the workability of the wood rather than the strict designation. So basswood frames are often referred to as softwood frames, as opposed to oak and maple, which are universally acknowledged to be hardwood due to their density and stability.

To confuse matters further, many commercial frame mouldings are made of basswood or ramin – both soft hardwoods – but have a veneer meant to mimic an even harder wood like cherry, walnut or maple. In purchasing a picture frame you will want to stay alert to words like "finish", as in "walnut finish frames". This probably means a ramin frame with a walnut finish.

Hardwoods are generally tough, hard-wearing woods that resist dents and scratches. One way to tell a hardwood moulding from a softwood moulding is to scratch it with your fingernail. If it doesn’t scratch easily, it’s likely a hardwood.

Hardwoods are thought to be more attractive than softwoods as they have well-defined grain patterns. But truly dense hardwoods like oak, maple, hickory and teak can be a struggle to saw, sand and nail. Softwoods, on the other hand, are much easier to work but are more prone to warping and can ooze sap.

In recent years most commercial picture frame mouldings have been made from soft hardwoods imported from Southeast Asia, specifically Indonesia, where cheap, easy-to-work ramin and basswood are the lumbers of choice. Even when the mouldings are sourced through China, the Chinese are often getting the moulding from Southeast Asia. This is an issue as the Indonesians do not practice sustainability and deforestation is a growing problem in Indonesia.

Recently the furniture and picture framing industries have begun looking to hybrid poplar, grown in North America, made from black cottonwood and eastern cottonwood, for its better sustainability. But this has not yet ramped up.

The most common soft hardwoods used in picture framing are basswood, ramin, obeche and mahogany. The most common dense hardwoods are oak, walnut, cherry and ash. The most common truly soft softwoods are pine, redwood and cedar.

Whichever moulding you choose, remember that the picture framing industry has always endeavored to provide a low cost, easy to work wood that has the beauty and character to enhance fine works of art. In this they have largely succeeded.

Want to learn more about picture framing, click HERE for Sierra Frameworks