Wow. Once again I discover that the fine-art/photo framing industry is as closed as a medieval guild, or any wealthy cult you could name.
Does anyone know of a source for high-end framing materials - glass, frame, mat - in more or less end-user quantities, that will sell at reasonable prices to someone who doesn’t have the secret tattoo on their ass? I specify high-end because I know any Aaron Brothers or equivalent will sell me cardboard, sticks and window glass.
Mostly, I’d like to buy some Tru-Vue glass - one large piece of Museum Glass, and four pieces of either MG or Conservation Clear. A price on Optium Museum acrylic for the large piece would be good, too.
I think I’d have an easier time calling around for some plutonium.
You can get mats of any quality you want on-line, either pre-cut or not. The same is mostly true for the frames. Shipping can be pricey. The biggest problem with the glass is that no one wants to ship it. I’m assuming that you don’t want to just go into your local framing store and buy the glass because of the markup?
You can use lumber from Home Depot for framing. Their 2x4s are as good as any, but try not to use the dry ones. Just be sure to use No. 1 for structural members-- beams and posts.
I am actually seeking to make frames, from square lumber, for a couple of works that have been in storage and/or badly framed. Framing-quality glass is nearly impossible to buy except (1) as part of a “custom framing job” with markups in the multiple 100%'s, or (2) as a piece from a custom framing shop with markups in the several-100%'s.
Good selection of truly archival/conservation-grade matting is almost as difficult.
This isn’t cheap stuff and I’m not looking to get it cheap. I am just opposed to the massive/insane markup levels of the framing industry.
For glass, your best bet might be to find a friend or an artist/photographer who buys the stuff in bulk and is willing to sell you some. Try your local artist cooperative, or try to set up a group buy. Although honestly, window glass works just fine.
I know. I’m willing to drive quite a ways (50-60 miles) for what I want, though.
That’s part of the problem. I can find Tru-Vue in cut sizes up to about that, rather pricey and with concurrently pricey shipping, but the two pieces I am seeking to frame are 24x48 and 10x13… that’s 13 feet. (It will use 4 polish-butted pieces of glass.)
That’s a thought, although I don’t know/of many pros in my neck of the woods (as that’s not a euphemism).
Maybe for family snapshots and Nieman prints.
Museum glass is beautiful stuff - nearly zero reflection, almost 100% transparent/colorless, and 99+% UV-opaque. Unless you look for strong light reflections at at angle, it’s invisible and protects the work from UV damage, without distorting its presentation at all. Well worth the cost.
That’s what I would suggest. I sometimes work for a picture framer, who orders from a main supplier but browses ebay for odds and sods he might need and get cheaper.
Pretty much everything online is cut sizes for standard frames up to maybe 16x20. Over that, the very few sites and listings get into premium pricing of both size/cost and shipping - into framing-shop territory.
I’ll find what I’m looking for, eventually. I am mostly reminded/amazed at just how close the ranks are in this industry of enormous markups.
Ten by thirteen feet? Forget framing and think architectural as you’re firmly in the territory of grocery store windows. Even then, a sheet that big will probably be a special order.
I’d be terrified to be anywhere near 130 square feet of vertical non-tempered glass. One bump or just the right vibration along those butted edges will shower the room with huge razor-sharp daggers.
Have you looked at non-glare mylar? That can be had in huge sizes and won’t cut your arm off.
I thought that might get misinterpreted. No, ten inches by thirteen feet, to be done in either three or four sections.
Assuming we’re back to the sizes I actually meant - non-glare acrylic is fine but only for snapshots and posters. It does not have true transparency, distorts both color and detail (more color) and is not UV-blocking. (Tru-Vue Optium is an acrylic with the same characteristics of Musem Glass, but the resilience and strength of plastic as well.)
For the record, I am seeking to frame a large work valued well into five figures, and I want to hang it in a room that has more indirect sunlight than is really good for such things. Thus the 99+% UV blocking of Tru-Vue is not optional. (The other work is of nowhere near the value, but has great sentimental and historical value, so I want it to be framed nonglare and with good UV protection as well.)
No, a double quote means seconds and a single quote means minutes. Every astronomer and coast guardie knows that.
I didn’t think my original sentence was unclear, but I can see where reading it quickly would give the wrong impression. Framing materials are rarely expressed in more than low single-digit feet, for one thing; any larger number is readily assumed to be inches. (I also wasn’t placing an order for glass, but going for a mildly humorous shock factor on the odd dimensions. And I’d bet a number of readers know exactly what I want to frame, there.)
I highly doubt your pieces are of such great monetary and/or historical value. If they were, you would want to protect your investment by having properly framed by someone who actually knows what they’re doing.
Waitaminute, you have something valued at over $10,000 and you’re trying to save, what, a few hundred dollars by framing it yourself? This clearly seems like a job for the pros (people are certified in picture framing) unless you’ve framed works like this in the past. I’d suggest you continue to call around and get prices on having it framed. Besides, you don’t want some expensive piece to have a hack job frame. That reminds me of my finished basement. It looks great except the homeowner clearly said ‘don’t worry about that window, I can frame it’. Mismatched wood, joints don’t line up, wrong nails (that split the wood), no sill.
A year or so ago I bought a canvas and need it stretched. I called the normal places, Micheal’s and another big framing place in the area and it was expensive enough that I considered not buying it. I tried one more place. A small outfit. They quoted me at something like $130. I said ‘do you know what the other places quoted me?’, she said ‘I used to work at one of them, let me guess, $400’. Nope, one was 450, the other was $500. Her response was ‘we’re not in the business of ripping people off, we just do good work’. She gave me some tips on buying the piece, I brought it in, they stretched it and it looks great.
Don’t get me wrong, if this is something you’ve done before, have at it, but if you’re just trying to save a few dollars, I’d spend the money and let them do it. Let them rip it when they break the glass and tear it. Even if they don’t tear it, at least they can pay for the new materials if they break the glass or cut a mat wrong or don’t set the hooks exactly level.
But, like I said, keep making calls, and try the smaller places, I found a place that was literally a quarter of the price and did great work. I suppose even if I wanted materials, I’d go there, they can bring them in with their next order (from their regular supplier) and save me the shipping cost. I suppose something else you could try is contacting a small museum. Not the big art museum in your area, but some small one or even an art gallery that might have some connections. They’ll have suppliers that can, again, probably get it to their building without the shipping cost if you can wait until their next order.
Oh, and when I mentioned that I happened to see DIY stretcher bars (not that I was going to do it myself), she said ‘don’t do it yourself, you’ll never get it right without any practice. It’ll be crooked or the corners will be wrinkled or it’ll sag in a few years, whatever happens you won’t be happy’.
If this was something that cost $50 and you didn’t want to pay $400 to have framed, I could understand, but I wouldn’t risk $10,000+ attempting it myself. FTR, the place I called, for a nominal fee, would even come out to my house and hang it for me.
As an amateur artist I’ve been following this thread out of curiosity. But I’ve just gotta ask, why the big mystery? Why not just say in plain English what you have and what you are hoping to accomplish. Kind of reminds of the ‘I’ve got a video that’s going to make me rich but I can’t tell you what’s on it’ thread.
Also, I don’t understand why you would use three glass pieces. You see almost fanatical in your insistence that the illuminati glass be in invisible but you are ok with 2 joints right in the middle of the frame?
