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You are here:Hampton Photo Arts arrow Framing Information arrow Matting Frames and Looking After Your Artwork
Matting Frames and Looking After Your Artwork
Matting Frames and Looking After Your ArtworkPrint Conditions Ensuring that your print hangs in the best conditions possible will enable you to get the best out of your artwork over the longest period of time. Here are some quick and simple steps for ensuring your artwork will remain in good condition for as long as possible.

Lighting Artworks should not be hung in direct sunlight or on the same walls as windows. If you have a particularly bright home consider covering your art with fabric, taking it off the walls or drawing the curtains if you are going on vacation.

Prints are particularly vulnerable to light's adverse effects (UV rays). Too much direct light can lead to changes in print texture and discoloration, so it is important to strike a balance between the benefits of light for viewing your artwork and its potential dangers.

Humidity Prints on paper and photographic prints will be adversely affected by overly humid conditions and will be damaged by water, potentially causing an uneven print surface and discoloration. In view of this, bathrooms are not recommended for hanging prints. Also avoid places where accidental liquid spills are possible e.g. near a kitchen work surface.

Handling Always handle your print with care avoiding to touch the image area of the print as the moisture and oils from your skin can affect the print quality.Intense heat can affect both the colour and texture of artworks, so make sure your print is not displayed in close proximity to any heated surfaces such as radiators or placed in direct sunlight.

Glass UV resistant glass can be more expensive but will block out harmful light rays. Non-shatter glass will ensure that should a breakage occur, glass should not spear or scratch the artwork

Do not frame your print with the glass pressed directly onto the image surface - this can damage the surface of photographs and lead to humidity pockets gathering on the surface of the artwork. Instead, frame your print with a fillet or an air gap between the print surface and the glass.

Make sure the glass you use does not have a strong colour tint of its own - this will affect the original colour in your artwork.

Mount board / Matt board Paper and photographic prints are sensitive to acidity levels present in non-professional framing materials. This especially applies to mount board which should have low acidity levels or be acid free - never use corrugated cardboard as the back of a frame because of its high acid content.

Adhesives Never use standard sticky tape, blu tack or regular masking tape for holding your print in place. These will deteriorate with age, may leave sticky marks on your artwork or damage it when removed and have high levels of acidity, which will adversely affect the quality of your print in time.

Acid free framing tapes are available at Hampton Photo Arts and should be used when framing your print.

How to mount your print Cut 2 sheets of card to the size of the inside of the frame. Use a pencil to mark one to the dimensions needed for the cutout window to view the print. Consult the mat cutter instructions for how this needs to be marked. Prints are normally mounted with equal borders left and right, but a larger border below than above. For normal size prints a ratio around 6:5 is suitable. Follow the directions to cut out the bevelled mat. Check it fits the print. Place the cut mat face down and butt a second sheet of card to its top edge. Tape along the length of the join using a suitable acid-free tape to make a hinge. Fold the two sheets along the hinge so that the window is now on top. Slide the print into position and mark its corners with pencil. Attach two short lengths of acid-free tape to the back of the print at the top edge and extending about 3/4 inch from it. Put the print in place and tape two short pieces of tape over the two projecting lengths of tape to secure these to the lower sheet of card. The print should now be firmly fixed in position, although it can be lifted up. Check its postion is correct. The print can now be placed in a frame if required.

How to frame your print Once you have choosen the frame suitable for your print, place the frame face down onto a soft surface (i.e.: a table cloth), this will prevent any damage to the frame, and carefully place the mounted print face down onto the glass, checking first that the glass is free from dust and dirt. Place the backing board of the frame into place, making sure that the hangers are the correct way around, and seal shut the hinges or whatever was originally holding the frame together. Now using a wide tape, like masking tape, seal the gap between the edge of the backing board and the frame, this will stop any dirt getting into the frame over time.Prints for mounting should be archivally processed and have a border of reasonable width. For permanence, photographs should be mounted on either museum board or conservation board. Both are either white or off-white. For accurate cutting of mats you will need to use a mat cutter; most cheaper models use a blade in a holder that travels along a specially profiled ruler. Never use standard sticky tape, blu tack or regular masking tape for holding your print in place. These will deteriorate with age, may leave sticky marks on your artwork or damage it when removed and have high levels of acidity, which will adversely affect the quality of your print in time.

Your Print is now ready to hang on your wall and enjoy for years to come.

 
Canvas Printing

Printing on canvas is incredibly versatile and a great way to create a ready-to-hang image or artwork. Every canvas that we print  is protected with a UV coated acrylic finish to guard the print from dust, moisture and fading. Do you want your canvas stretched on bars or non-stretched? Framed or unframed? Customize the work to make it truly your own.

 
Art Prints – How are they made?

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Photography by Laurie Barone-Shafer
Nowadays just about anyone can take a good quality photographs with a digital camera. Or take a few hundred pictures and the chances are few will be good, and even one or two outstanding.

Here are a few tips, tricks and techniques on how to make art print poster ready photographs and print ready digital files. Don’t get overwhelmed, there is a lot of information here, but a lot of it is just intuitive. Well, a bit of patience will always help.

First thing – Photo Size

If you taking a digital photo of you family or friend the largest size you would print is usually 5 by 7 inches, maybe 8 by 10 at the most. Even small size digital photographs (2MB or less) are ‘good enough’ to create a decent print. But if you want to create prints that are 16 by 20, 20 by 24 inches or larger you need more pixels (in pixels 20 by 24 inches photo is actually about 40 times larger than 3 by 4 inches photo assuming they have the same resolution).

 
Learning to Paint Watercolors

Watercolor is an easy, fun medium for creating art.  Color theory, composition and design can be explored freely with watercolor paint, paper, and brushes.  Several techniques may be used with watercolors for varying effects including painting wet on wet, wet on dry, layering washes, and more.

Watercolor paper comes in cold press, hot press, and rough.  Rough paper has the most texture, and its hills and valleys can result in interesting effects when paint is added.  Hot press is the smoothest and has the finest texture.  Cold press has a moderate amount of texture and is the paper most commonly chosen by watercolor artists.

Watercolor paper comes in several weights ranging from 90 lb. to 300 lb. based on the pounds per ream of paper.  Most artists prefer to use at least 140 lb. paper.  Papers vary somewhat between manufacturers, so sampling different papers is advisable.  Paper can be purchased in pads, in blocks or in large sheets.  The large sheets are usually the most economical and can be torn into whatever size is desired.

 
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