Advice on Framing/Mounting Photos

abulense

With all this talk about the upcoming People's Photography expo I was wondering how you would display your photos for something like this??
Is there a shop/website anyone could recommend for frames/mounts and all that?

elven

I wouldn't go to the bother/expense of framing, unless you have predetermined homes for them after the show - don't count on selling, really, it isn't what it's all about.

Mounts are good. I'd really love to think that I might get my hands on one of those mount cutters like that fancy bugger Rymus has, but the shopping list for this year is already too long. See if you can get a framer to do you a deal on a few mounts, or something - you won't really find them in the shops to suit what you're after.

Then, get some of those plastic pockets that Rymus mentioned in the PP thread, and you're sorted.

For displaying, I used clip frames last year because it actually worked out cheaper than buying mounts - so I used little clips to hang them on plastic chicken wire type stuff that I attached to the fence. Other people, rather more successfully, used string and pegs with their less heavy mounted prints. Meh.

P.S. Print as big as you can afford. It looks so much better - A4 doesn't quite do the job.

311

Just to let people know ,warehouse express seem to stock all sorts of stuff needed for framing and displaying.
Might give some ideas for stuff available in your local stationary shop.

trooney

You know, you'll pick up a mount board cutter for about 25 squids. And mount board for about four euro per. After that it’s just a case of getting in and doing it. Admittedly the 'doing it' part can take a while. But the learning curve is part of the fun. And its much more rewarding, not to mention cheaper, to do yourself rather than paying somebody to do it. Be prepared to waste some board though. And you will also need some kind of light board for backing and some paper masking tape I find is the best for sticking it all together.

elven

Is that the hand held type thingy you'll get in eason's?

If it all goes pear shaped for the 45 degree angled mountboards cuts, can you use it as a normal paper trimmer with a straight up'n'down blade afterwards?

rymus

for 25 quid, it will be a freehand cutter. Never have I used such an infuriating device. If youre going to go the cheap route, at least make sure you get a cutter that fits onto a sliding rule of some sort. That way you stand a passing chance of not screwing up every cut.

Sometimes I use a fairly normal stanley knife to finish off some dodgy cuts, but tbh if the bevel cutter has a sharp blade and the card you're cutting on (not the mountboard, the layer of card protecting the table) isn't in a poor state, you will get a decent cut.

If you want to go the DIY route and not buy pre-cut mounts, get thyself to ebay and get a reasonably good deal on a mount cutter. I got mine on there from some very helpful seller in the UK. It's not as hard as it looks and in the long run, you'll save a packet over buying pre-cut mounts.

Hugh_C

rymus wrote:

and the card you're cutting on (not the mountboard, the layer of card protecting the table)

So you're not doing it on the bonnet of your brand new Porsche then? Mounting, that is?

rymus wrote:

buying pre-cut mounts.

Any recommendations for the lazy-boy way? My time is limited and my kids are legion.

hc

GristlyEnd

rymus - what cutter did you end up getting? I'm looking at ebay and see they range from €20 to €150 for a logan cutter.

peter1892

hughchal wrote:

Any recommendations for the lazy-boy way? My time is limited and my kids are legion.

hc

There's a shop called 'Off the wall' on Lord Edward street (the corner opposite Christchurch) that sell various mounts, I've gotten a few in there as well as some frames. Bring your prints in & see what they can do for you.

abulense

hughchal wrote:

Any recommendations for the lazy-boy way?

Has anyone gone through an online store that sells mounts or frames??

rymus

DarrenG wrote:

rymus - what cutter did you end up getting? I'm looking at ebay and see they range from €20 to €150 for a logan cutter.

Mines a Logan 301-S

JMcL

I'd really recommend Cor Art Supplies. They have a huge range of stock, cheap next day shipping (I ordered a load of mount boards before Christmas, it cost €8.50 to ship, and arrived the next morning - this for something I had to strain to lift!)

As to what you need, a cutter (I actually bought mine in the shop, and on the advice of the sales assistant bought the cutter and rule separately, exactly the same as what's there, but worked out about €10 cheaper - it's not listed on the site, but it might be worth giving them a shout). Then mountboards (change size to A1 to get good range of colours). And backing, foam core, to be fancy, but as I'm cheap, I usually use grey board, though this may not be ph neutral, I'm not sure.

If you want to start doing your own framing, this guy will have everything you need, and some things you never even imagined!

rymus

hmm.. now I'm awfully tempted to start making my own frames aswell..

311

Is there much call for metal or steel picture frames ,maybe A4 size or bigger.
I was thinking of making up frames myself and welding some kind of design together.
I've been looking for an excuse to get the welder out to be honest and making frames up would be cool I think.

Bad idea?

rymus

not really bad idea... you'd just want to be sure your wall is strong enough to hold the frame

I'd be interested in seeing a metal frame alright though.

311

I will move on it so ,should have something made by end of febuary.
Hardest part for me is finding metal/steel thick enough to weld and light enough to work with.
As soon as I get somewhere with it ,I'll stick the pictures of it up on the forum.
I should be able to weld on catches at the back for holding everything in, but this is something I'll have to design myself .

Laters.

rymus

magic, will look forward to that one

JMcL

rymus wrote:

hmm.. now I'm awfully tempted to start making my own frames aswell..

It was great for sorting out loads of Christmas presents!

mikeanywhere

I was having a discussion about this last night, when is it etc, are there any url's for further info??

Ta muchly

sosgal

Framco frames in Kilkenny have good value frames delivered to your door and cheap mounts too

056 7755190

Ruu_Old

Sorry to hijackeh the thread, I am entering a best in show photo competition in my town shortly and they want me to mount the photos on a foam core mount. The two photos I have are 8x10 and the minimum size of foam core mount is 11x14, so do I just cut the foam core a bit to let the corners of the picture sit into it or something else? Thanks in advance.

JMcL

Ruu wrote:

Sorry to hijackeh the thread, I am entering a best in show photo competition in my town shortly and they want me to mount the photos on a foam core mount. The two photos I have are 8x10 and the minimum size of foam core mount is 11x14, so do I just cut the foam core a bit to let the corners of the picture sit into it or something else? Thanks in advance.

I'd preume they want the photos mounted behind a mat/mount board, on a foam core back, so 11x14 sounds about right. The mat board will have a bevelled aperture cut into it just smaller than the phot dimensions. 8x10 you should be able to pick one up pre-cut, if you don't want to invest in a cutting tool. What I'd do is stick the photo to the back of the mount board, then stick the whole lot onto the foam core. I find this works best for me anyway.

Mounting photos properly adds immensely to their impact

Ruu_Old

Brilliant, cheers for the advice.