Frames
We can certainly organise framing for you. All the prices quoted on the website are for unframed photographs. If you have placed an order for an unframed photograph and would like to discuss framing, get in touch with us and we can take you through the options.If you are buying an unframed photograph on the online shop on the website, then please do complete your order first and we can discuss framing once that order is 'in the works'. If you then decide to use framers local to where you live, then that's no problem for us, and we can simply supply you with an unframed piece. If you have a specific requirement in mind, it is often easier to get it sorted locally - but we are happy to help wherever we can.
Standard black frames
Our standard 'house' style is a black stained wood frame with visible grain and a rounded edge, with a white acid free archival mount, with conservation glass (which has excellent uv filters). We can also supply work in museum glass, which has anti reflective properties, and enhanced uv filters. Our framers usually turn round orders for standard frames in 2 weeks.
For UK mainland customers, because of the risk of glass breaking in transit, we use a dedicated UK art courier if you are unable to collect your framed purchase from the gallery. If you need us to deliver framed work, there is a delivery charge based on size / location.
For customers outside the UK mainland, we always recommend that we send you an unframed piece, and that you arrange framing locally. This avoids the risk of glass breaking in transit, and also avoids the enhanced shipping costs. These can be significant because a special bespoke shipping case has to be made by a dedicated international art shipper. Often the cost of shipping is as much as the cost of the frame itself, and this is why the vast majority of our non UK customers prefer to arrange local framing. Of course, if you do want us to send a framed piece overseas, we can of certainly do it, but it is important for you to understand the cost implications.
Perspex reverse mounting
For some photographers work in larger sizes, we are offering a new form of perspex framing which does ship very well internationally, using our regular commercial shipper, Fedex. It is called perspex reverse mounting. This is a new kind of 'frameless' frame that we offer for some photographers' work. It is a very clean and modern presentation, and works best with large size colour photographs, as it seems to enhance colours and really makes them 'pop'.
Typically we only use it for 30 x 40 inch ( 75 x 100cm ) paper sizes and larger. Photographers whose work we present in this way include Lawrence Watson, Michael Spencer Jones, and Art Kane. It is optional rather than compulsory - simply an alternative to a regular wood frame/white mount/glass.
The process starts with a regular unframed photograph, ie with an image surrounded by a white border. All white borders are first trimmed away, and the pure image area of the photograph is then bonded, using a special adhesive gel, between two sheets of 5mm perspex (clear on the front, black on the reverse). A metal subframe is attached to the reverse, and this enables the photograph to be hung on the wall, where it appears to float. In effect it is a sandwich - and although it will look good enough to eat, we don't recommend you do it unless you are a cartoon character with a throat that expands to 30 inches wide.
Practical points to bear in mind when considering perspex mounting:
1. It is not reversible, so once it is in the sandwich, it stays in. Having said that, it would certainly be possible to box frame a perspex mounted photograph if some years down the line, you decided that you wanted a regular frame on it.
2. It takes up less space than a regular frame on a photograph the same size. This is because with a regular frame, the starting point is the image size, and the mount board and frame will add another 5 inches all round the image area. So a photograph with a 32 x 32 inch image size will end up at around 42 x 42 inches overall size in a regular frame. With perspex reverse mounting, because there is no mount or wood frame, the framed size is the same as the image size: 32x32 inches. This is important if space is an issue.
3. Our advice is that it really doesn't work with small sizes, because they end up looking too small. We have tried it with a 16 x 16 inch image size, and it just looks too tiny. For smaller sizes like this, the presence of the mountboard and frame provided by a regular wood frame gives the photograph the required presence. The minimum size we would recommend for perspex is a 32 x 32 inch / 80x 80cm image size. That's our recommendation. You , however, are the boss. If you want it on something small, we will do it for you.
4. A photographer will often sign a photograph on the front in the white border under the image. Because borders are trimmed away in the perspex mounting process, there is no visible signature on the front of the work. Instead, the photographers we work with who recommend this perspex method will supply a separate signed certificate, which can either be held on file or, preferably, attached to the reverse of the perspex frame ( we recommend you do the latter as then you can't lose it).
5. Perspex reverse mounting takes 3 weeks as opposed to 2 weeks for a standard frame.
Get in touch and we will run through any questions you may have on framing, and give you all the price information you need.