Matting & Framing recomendations

There are several options to showcase your photographs.

In ARTsolutely we provide various alternatives, and we always recommend to frame the artworks, either with us or not, to increase their durability, as placing a glass before the artwork increases by 2 the colour permanence, and by 4 when the glass has a UV filter (to remove UV lights).

The different options when purchasing an artwork or photograph here are:

To acquire just the artwork, printed on paper, unframed.

This way you will be able to frame it how and where you want.

Depending on the size of your image, you will receive it either flat or rolled up into a tube (photographs in sizes larger than A2 are sent in a tube to minimize shipping costs, although under request we can send any photograph flat, regardless of its size).

Advantages:

• Lower shipping cost.
• Increased confidence when choosing the frame that you like, seeing it in person in the frame store.

Disadvantage:

• Requires your time to take it to the framing workshop.
• Rolled-up artworks are not so easy to handle and we recommend that you open them in the frame workshop to minimize the risk of abrasion on the paper.

To acquire the artwork printed on paper and mounted on a backing board (unframed):

If you want we can mount your artwork on a backing board. This way you will not get it rolled up, but flat, and you can take it yourself to a framing workshop (please note that the museum edition and larger sizes do not fit into an utility vehicle). Alternatively, if you do not want to frame them, you can hang them directly using the backing board.

We use two types of backing boards:

1. Polyurethane Carton Plume Foam board: highest quality, solid and lightweight boards. It is made up of a polyurethane based material, covered with a layer of matte paper on each side. It is perfectly flat and dimensionally stable. With a neutral-pH adhesive, it does not yellow over time. Its high density provides a much appreciated rigidity. The only disadvantage that we find is its maximum dimension: 100×140 cm.
2. Polystyren Carton Mousse foamboard: made of expanded polystyren. It is CFC-free and it does not yellow over time. It is reinforced with alum, and they use a neutral pH adhesive. 5 or 10 mm thickness. Although it is a good material regarding long-lasting properties, it is not robust, and it needs to be handled very carefully.

To acquire a framed artwork, with or without passe-partout (mat).

If you want to optimize your time, you can ask us for framing your artwork. We have a great selection of frames.

If the artwork measures less than 100×150 cm, you can choose with passe-partout or without.

To protect the long-lasting properties of the artworks, we use a pH-neutral backing board.

And to protect the front side of the artwork, you can choose between several acrylic glass qualities, with UF filter or without.

The main distinctions between the acrylic glasses are: how matte they are (their light reflection percentage), the UV protection (their UV absortion percentage), their clarity (their light transmission percentage), their antistatic properties (which minimizes dust attraction) and their abrasion resistance properties (anti-scratch).

With us you can select an acrylic glass of any specification.

One of the most quoted brand is “Optium Museum”, whose properties are:

• Anti-reflective (they reflect less tan 1.6% of light)
• UV protection UV (99%).
• High light transmission (98.5%)
• Antistatic
• Abrasion resistant
• Neither oxidizes nor degrades over time

Please send us an email if you want us to frame your artwork. We will send you all the information for you to decide.