How to Frame a Picture

In a previous article, I told you how to take better pictures. Now that you've taken some great photos, you need to display them. This article will tell you, step-by-step, how to mat and frame your prints. I also suggest tools you may want to buy and use if you are doing this on a regular basis. Otherwise, you can buy whatever you don't want to make yourself.

Step 1 to Frame a Picture: Select frame and glazing

You need to buy or make a frame to fit your matted print. Unless there is some protective coating on the print, you will probably need some sort of glazing. The cheapest is acrylic; the most expensive is conservation-grade, non-glare glass. As the frame size increases the difference between these extremes can be huge, so choose wisely! You need to consider scratch-resistance, glare, clarity, and color purity. Another consideration is whether the print will be exposed to direct sunlight. If so, you may want to consider adding UV protection, to keep your print from fading.

The rest of the framing process below assumes you are using a wooden frame. If instead, you are using metal or some other material, you will have to use the appropriate means to hold your matted print in the frame and to mount the frame to the wall.

Step 2 to Frame a Picture: Create or buy mat

If you are framing a small picture (8x10 or smaller), you may not want a mat. But for larger pictures, the mat can enhance the appearance by "bringing out" secondary colors in the picture or just by making the overall framed picture larger. If you are framing just a few pictures or don't want to learn how to make your own mats, you will want to buy your mats and should probably stick with standard sizes. A few popular frame and picture sizes (in inches) are given below. Mats are readily available for these combinations.

Frame Picture

8x10 5x7

11x14 8x10

16x20 11x14

20x24 16x20

If you do decide to make your own mats, the most popular mat cutters are made by Logan. I use a model 301-s compact mat cutter, which is a good compromise between cost and convenience (and is their most popular model). After watching their short instructional video and spending some time practicing, you will be making professional quality mats! Once you have a mat cutter, you will need to buy matboard. A number of different materials and companies are available and a good place to start is Crescent matboards. Mats are normally cut with a ¼ inch overlap, meaning the opening is a total of ½ inch narrower than the print dimension. This provides enough margin to allow for variations in actual print and mat dimensions.

Step 3 to Frame a Picture: Attach print to mat

The method I am going to explain is called "conservation framing" (as opposed to conversation framing, which is what I accidentally wrote first!). The object of this type of framing is twofold: to make the print last as long as possible and to allow the print to be re-framed or re-matted, if desired. To accomplish these goals, you must use acid-free materials (adhesives, matboard, foamboard, etc.). In addition, you need to attach the print so that it hangs inside the mounting. Thus, I don't discuss attaching the print permanently to a backing foamboard, but instead use a T-hinge of adhesive tape to attach the top of the print to the matboard.

A T-hinge is made by taping the print to the matboard with two pieces of tape near each top corner. The first piece of tape goes across the print onto the matboard; the second piece is at right angles to the first piece and goes across the first piece where it is attached to the matboard. This provides a strong mechanical attachment, but is easy to remove if needed. By not attaching the print anywhere else, the print is free to expand or contract independently of the rest of the framing materials. Without this feature, the tape can become loosened or the print buckled by the stress of temperature variations over time. You don't want your print to "sag" after it has been hung for a while!

Step 4 to Frame a Picture: Attach mat to foamboard

After the print has been attached to the mat, it is time to attach the mat to a piece of foamboard. The foamboard (usually 3/16 inch thick) will protect the back of the print and provide a professional finish to the back of the frame. You can also buy this material precut in popular sizes or you can buy it in larger sheets and cut yourself. Since the cutting won't show in the finished product, precision is not necessary and I would suggest you consider cutting your own foamboard.

To attach the mat to the foamboard, use double-backed tape around the border of the mat. Then align the mat and foamboard and press the two together. You now have "captured" the print in a protective shell composed of the mat on the front and the foamboard behind. If you want to sell your prints (as I do), you may want to offer this matted print as an option for people who want to frame it themselves. You can buy clear plastic bags to put your matted prints in and have a nice package for people to browse through your prints without worrying about harming the print. And when people buy this, they only need to buy a frame and complete the process below.

Step 5 to Frame a Picture: Assemble matted print into frame

Now lay your frame face down on a convenient work surface. Place the glazing into the frame and make sure the glazing is clean on the inside before laying your matted print face down in the frame. You don't want to have to disassemble your frame later because you missed a piece of sawdust that got on the glass! Now, notice how much of the frame goes past the top of the foamboard; this will determine your options for fastening the print to the frame. The depth of the rear frame opening is called the rabbet.

If there is sufficient gap left in the rabbet, then you can use framer's points to hold the print in the frame. These are inserted right above the foamboard using a tool similar to a staple gun. Some purchased frames already have framer's points embedded in the frame. With these frames, you will bend the points straight up to allow the print to be inserted. After the print is inserted, just bend the points back, to hold it firmly in the frame.

If the rabbet of your frame is shallow or you used extra mats and/or foamboard layers, you may find that there is little or no gap left for framer points. In this case, you may want to use turn buttons. These screw into the frame and pivot over the back of the foamboard to hold the print in the frame. If you plan to use turn buttons, I recommend you attach them to the frame before you place the print into the frame. This allows you to clean any wood shavings that result from adding the turn buttons. Just trying to keep you from disassembling the frame once you think you are done!

Step 6 to Frame a Picture: Add picture mounting hardware

The final step in completing your frame is to add means to hang it on the wall. The professionals normally use D-rings and picture wire for this purpose. This provides the most flexibility in mounting and leveling the picture once it's on the wall and I highly recommend you use this method. The D-rings should be attached on the sides about 1/3 from the top of the frame. The picture wire should be looped through one D-ring and then twisted around the crossing wire 5-6 times before crossing back through the loop. Pull to tighten. Now cut the wire with enough extra to do the same thing on the other D-ring. Again, pull to tighten and test the strength of the support. Make sure the wire doesn't have too much slack. Trim any extra picture wire.

Step 7 to Frame a Picture: Hang your newly framed print

Before you stop to rest, let's complete the job and get this new picture added to your gallery! If you haven't already done so, decide where it would look the best. If your walls are as full as mine, this may involve re-arranging a wall (or more), to get the best presentation for this new piece. Once you have decided where to hang it, get the desired picture hanging hardware: a nail, a hook, etc. If the frame is more than 20 inches wide, consider using two supports located about 1/2 of the frame width apart. This will provide a more solid support and will be easier to level and maintain level.

Now relax and enjoy your new gallery addition. Or, if you sold it to someone else, then maybe you can visit its new location and see that it has a nice home!

References:

http://www.framedestination.com/picture_frame_info.html#dimensions

http://www.logangraphic.com/

http://www.crescentcardboard.com/

http://www.dickblick.com/categories/foamboard/