Print,+Mat,+Frame

=What is the museum and gallery standard for matting and framing a print?=

While not specific to the IPF5000, this question from the discussion forum was **succintly answered by Kirk Thompson:**

The usual way to print, mat, & frame a fine-art print is first of all not to print close to the edge of the paper. Leave at least 3/4" of white paper so that when you're famous & your print is sold to a long series of collectors, the image area won't get banged up when they remove, re-mat, & re-frame it.

For exhibitions, mat board is not colored, it's archival white mat board; and there are no black or colored layers between the overmat & the image. (Colored mats disqualify you from exhibiting anyplace but the rural county fair.)

You normally use a 2-ply backing of archival mat board, called the 'undermat' - & a 4-ply 'overmat' (or8-ply if you have someone else cut them with a pro cutter). Westminster Bright White (for example, from Light Impressions) is the archival standard. The 'natural' white color is too yellow to match inkjet papers, except maybe Ultrasmooth. If the print is large, use 4-ply archival mat board for the undermat.

The foam board goes behind the mat in the frame & is not attached to the undermat. Acrylic/'plexi' has tended to replace glass as the preferred outer 'lens,' because of it's dropped, it doesn't cut the artwork. Plexi has to be thick enough so that it won't bow in the frame; larger frames need thicker acrylic.

Fit the mat to the image - not the image to a standard size pre-cut mat. The preferred format is a 'reveal' mat, cut to fit the print with a mat cutter (cheapest useful one is Logan Compact - see Light Impressions catalog, but you can probably get a better price elsewhere). A 'reveal' mat reveals about 3/8" of the white inkjet photo paper around the borders of the print (1/2" for large prints) & allows you to sign the print in the lower right-hand corner with the year the photograph was made & the year of the particular print, e.g. "animusman 2004/2007". This is preferable to signing the mat, because mats get changed over time as the print goes in different exhibits/collections; the 'provenance' of the print is established by the signature on the front (or backA) of the print. If you sign on the back, do not sign in the image area, sign in the border (another reason for wide borders). If you're making a limited edition of the image, the number goes on the lower left, e.g. "1/25". Fine-art prints don't usually have titles written on them.

The undermat & overmat are held together at the top with linen framer's tape, & nothing at all is attached to the print itself. You use mylar framing corners, so that the print can be slipped right out of the corners without any tape residue or damage. If it's a large print, you put mounting blocks - mylar strips with a 'step' that the print rests upon. This stuff is avilable in art stores or from Light Impressions.

The standard photo frame is a thin metal one, slightly rounded on the front, normally black - though some galleries use white, or blonde wood. If the print is going in a group show, black is normal.


 * Additional information from TVShooter:**

Great explanation and accurate info from Thompsonkirk. Keep in mind this is for gallery/museum quality hanging. For commercial sales there are many other variables regarding mat color, multiple mats, etc., that qualify for far more end results than just the county fair. Many folks are matching wall decor and often the total finished work needs to be considered as the artwork and not just the image or photograph. (I know the image is EVERYTHING, but if the lighthouse shot sells in a pretty frame with an ocean blue mat, then maybe the whole presentation is important too) A couple of the local art festivals will only accept and judge the "entire presentation" around my neck of the woods.

Here's a quick example of our method that takes in techniques from museum quality and salable framed prints: -as dcra4 wrote, let is breath. The print needs to outgas, especially if it is glossy and you can also help it along by laying some stardard printer paper on top of the print. I usually do it after 24 hours of air dry. In a day or so you'll notice it gets wavey. It absorbs some of the cooties that will fog your glass/acrylic cover later.

-I cut the back mat or undermat the size of the frame (not the opening size, the frame size) and place the photo on the back mat. I mark the edges, then build a linen tape hinge to the top of the photo and stick it back down over the marks. In other words, the photo is hinged to the undermat so that it floats except where it is attached at the top edge of the photo.

-the cover mat is then cut to size (I cut my own, ever since college, and there are inexpensive cutters available, practice is the key) You can cut to 'reveal' or cut to cover the edge of the image, both styles are nice. If double matting the covered edge is usually preferable. Either way the top mat will hold down the photo beneath it, and so, getting back to your original question, it is important to have an edge that the mat can hold down. The more the better as there will be less chance of the floating picture to warp and curl especially if the artwork is hung in a moist environment. I then use acidfree double sided tape to stick the backmat and the overmat together. Not on the picture but just holding the mats together like a sandwich. Once everything is layered in the frame it should do the same thing but backboards and foamcore can warp over time so the tape between the mats keeps the print flat but free to expand and contract between the mats.

-then it all goes into the frame. Backing up for a moment, be sure to put your mounting hardware on the frameback before putting your precious photograph in the frame, hammers and screwdrivers slip, this is speaking from experience of course.

Of all the images I have sold this way, the only one to be returned was for fogging of the glass a year later and a quick disassemble and windex took care of that one. Just another way of doing things, hope it is helpful.