Framing and matting are important. Everything from protecting your photos of your children, which will most likely become their children’s old photos to your artwork will be their artwork.
We have had artwork come into our frame shop which had been framed from various prestigious frame shops in the Atlanta area and the client ask us to change the glass or matte and when we took the artwork apart we found that the framed artwork had been put together with materials which would irreversibly damage the artwork.
Some of these framed pieces of art the artist spent in other frame shops in the neighborhood of $600.00 to $1000.00 for a 12’X16” in 1995!
Which Products Will Damage My Artwork or Photo?
If any product used contains acid whether it is touching the art or not, the gases from the inferior products will live in the contained area between the backing board and the glass and start to eat everything that is within the frame package.
When we think about this, we ask a few questions of ourselves, and you should too.
All mattes used must say “Museum Quality” on the back of the matte sample.
All mattes must say they are 100% lignin free, rag mattes 100% cotton, or alpha mattes.
All mattes must say they these things for all three layers of the matt. The backing of the matt, the inside core and the matt surface (100% acid free not buffered). PH Neutral is NOT acid free, those papers, matts have acid causing Lignin still inside the product. Gaterboard is not. archival it is full of urea Formaldehyde.
What are the 3 ways to spot a Non-Acid Free Matte?
Acid free (archival) mattes are the same color all the way through.
Acid free (archival) mattes are a bright white core that never discolors (yellows), you can see this at the matte window opening where the matte has been cut.
If it is not bright white or the same color as the matte, it is not archival and it is ruining the art work/ photograph.
Introduced in 2002 or 2003 museum mattes have come out with a black core, if you have a black core, you must remember was it framed prior to those years. You must ask for the entire package to be archival!
What Else Do You Need to Consider?
TAPE: Tapes used for mounting. Of course, there are only a few tapes, which do not have acid in them:
Specialty Tape called Framers 2,
Rice paste,
Acid free linen tape
BACKING: And the backing board must be 100% acid free (we use Art Care by Bainbridge), which can cost $14.00to $28.00 a sheet, while non-archival cardboard can run pennies a sheet.
SEALING: The frame must be sealed with either polyurethane or frame sealing tape.
The wood has acid in it and will destroy whatever it touches.
Fillets must have frame-sealing tape on the wood to prevent it from touching the artwork.
GLASS: Glass starts at 50% UV and available to 100% UV free. We recommend more, naturally - protect your artwork.
make sure your art work never, never touches the glass. FrameSpace Spacers is a plastic gap. hidden along the edge of the frame, which separates the glass from the art work where mold could develop.
IMPORTANT NOTE: When looking at the backing paper, it should be blue-gray only! Brown backing paper is the worst acid filled. And photographs + pastels can never touch the glass (mold can form), you must use frame space, which places a distance from the glass and the artwork.
We hope this helps you and protects your precious art and photos!