There are many ways that a canvas print can be mounted, framed, or displayed. I believe the method I will describe here is the easiest to do for those with little or no framing experience but at the end I will provide a few alternatives as well. The most important factor to remember is to use archival supplies.
BUYING YOUR FRAMING SUPPLIES
The materials that you will need can be obtained from local retail art and craft dealers as well as many mass retailers such as Wal-Mart, K-Mart, or Target.
In addition the following may have a store near you. Check their websites for locations.
www.benfranklinstores.com Ben Franklin Craft and Art Supplies
www.joann.com Jo-Ann Fabrics and Crafts
Buying supplies to mount and frame a single print is likely to cost less when purchased from a local retailer but it’s also possible to obtain almost anything you would want over the internet. Here are a few sites you might wish to look at.
www.cheapjoes.com Cheap Joe’s Art Stuff
www.jerrysartarama.com Jerry’s Art Supplies
www.pictureframes.com Graphik Frames
YOU WILL NEED
Mat
A mat overlaps the edges of the print, provides a border between the image and the edge of the frame, and a gap between the print and the glazing panel. Mats can be custom cut for you at many art supply dealers but are also commonly available in pre-cut form. Unless it was otherwise requested, the image of your Avenue Art print was sized to fit within the art opening of a standard pre-cut mat.
You should always double check the image area of your print and allow a quarter inch of mat overlap on all sides. The following is a guide that can be applied to the majority of the prints purchased from Avenue Art.
Your 8.5x11” print will require a mat with an inside opening that measures at least 7.5x9.5” (generally referred to as an 8x10” art opening). An 8x10.5” will also work in most cases. The outside dimension of a custom cut mat could be anything but those most commonly available in pre-cut form are likely to be 11x14” and 12x16”.
The 11x17” print requires an inside opening measuring 10.5x13.5” (11x14” art). In most cases 10.5x14.5” and 10.5x16.5” will also work. Common outside dimensions are 16x20” and 20x24”.
The 17x22” print needs an inside opening of 15.5x19.5” (16x20” art), 14.5x21.5” and 16.5x21.5” may also work. Common outside dimensions are 20x24” and 24x30”.
The outside dimensions of the mat you chose will determine the size of the backing board, glazing panel, and frame needed. Mats are available in various colors and typically in 4-ply and 8-ply thickness. Colored mats will fade and need to be replaced at some point in time so either expect that or use a white or off white mat.
To double mat a print you use two mats of the same color or contrasting complementary colors. The first mat is sized to the proper art opening for the print, the inside opening of the second mat is cut larger to reveal the first mat.
The Backing Board
This could be mat board or foam board but what ever it is it should be acid free or have an acid free barrier between it and the print. Materials such as cardboard are not acid free. The size of the backing board should match the outside dimensions of your mat.
Adhesives
Do not use non-archival materials such as rubber cement or masking tape.
You can use a brushed on adhesive, a spray adhesive,
mounting film,
or mounting tape.
Whatever you select it should be acid free. Most of the adhesives are going to bond the print to the backing board permanently. If that concerns you then you may want to consider tapes, mounting film, or a heat activated adhesive such as Beva. There are also self-adhesive mounting boards such as Perfect Mount which allow you to position and reposition the print. The bond does not become permanent until activated by applying pressure.
Glazing
A glazing panel can be glass or acrylic, plain or UV protective. Glass is less expensive and easier to clean but more dangerous as it will shatter if dropped. Broken glass may damage the print or be hazardous to children and pets. Acrylic is shatter proof and lighter in weight but it has a higher cost, is easier to scratch, and will attract dust and lint more than glass. It is best to maintain a gap between the glazing panel and the print. This is done by either using a mat or frame spacers.
Frame
A frame helps protect the print and separates it from everything around it. Don’t over frame your print, in other words don’t chose a frame that is so busy that it draws your eye away from the image.
Frames are commonly made of wood, composite materials, metal, or plastic. Pre-made frames are produced in standard sizes that fit the artwork or mat. They are often sold packaged with a mat, backing, and glazing panel. There are also aluminum sectional frames that are easily put together from packaged section pairs that correspond to the length of the parallel sides of the mat or artwork that the frame will hold. Example: for an 11” x 14” mat you would buy a pair of 11” sections and a pair of 14” sections.
Note: A lot of inexpensive wooden frames come from overseas. I recommend that you inspect such frames carefully for worm holes. If any are seen I would not purchase that frame as you take the chance of introducing the little critters to the wood furniture in your home. There are reasonably priced American made wood frames produced by companies such as Frame U.S.A.
STEPS IN DOING THE JOB
First we subtract 8.5” from 11” which gives us a remainder of 2.5”. We divide that in half which provides a 1.25” margin on each side of print width. Along one of the 14” sides of the backing board measure 1.25” in from the edge and make a pencil mark.
Go further down the edge and repeat the measurement and make a second mark.
With a straight edge draw a line connecting the two marks.
Now subtract 11” from 14” leaving 3” which divided in half gives us 1.5”. Along the 11” side measure in 1.5”, mark and draw a second line that will intersect the first and form a corner.
Apply the adhesive you’ve selected to the backing board.
In this case a brush on adhesive has been selected.
Position your print over the backing board to the corner and along the pencil lines.
Lightly position the mat over the print to verify proper alignment.
Set the mat aside. Place a clean sheet of paper over the print and apply pressure with your hand to bond the print to the backing. Remove the paper and check to make sure that the print didn’t move off alignment. Allow the adhesive to set up.
With an anti-static cloth clean your gazing panel of any dust, lint, or finger prints.
Hold by the edges and place the glazing panel in the frame, then the mat, and mounted print.
Fasten the back in place with the clips that came with the frame.
This frame has a pre-attached bracket so it’s ready to hang.
Finished.
SOME ALTERNATIVE METHODS
FRAMING THE PRINT WITHOUT A MAT OR GLAZING
MOUNT THE CANVAS OVER WOODEN STRETCHERS
There are three styles of wrapping:
The “Standard Wrap” style is stretched so that the full image area will show. The canvas is stapled to the sides of the stretcher frame. Because the staples would be visible the standard wrapped print must be mounted within a decorative outer frame.
The second style is the “Museum Wrap”. With this style the full image is retained on the front but the canvas requires excess margin so that it can overlap the edges and be stapled to the back. Because the staples don’t show the Canvas can be hung with or without an outer frame.
The third style is called a “Gallery Wrap”. A gallery wrap is stretched the same as a museum wrap but the image extends over the edges of the stretcher frame. This style of wrapping is only suitable when it does not compromise the image.
This link gives instructions on stretching canvas www.cheapjoes.com/art-instruction/art-lessons/tip-007-how-to-stretch-canvas.asp
There are also videos on the internet that are helpful. You might want to look at this one on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkToBRa-O-U&feature=related It shows the basics involved in the procedure. I would recommend however that you place a protective cloth over your work surface. Sliding your print around face down on a bare table runs the risk of damaging it.
I don’t want to discourage you from stretcher framing your print but if you’ve never done this before you need to consider the following:
When you assemble your wood stretcher frame give it a light sanding and round over the tips of the mitered corners.
It is important that you lay the frame to align with the threads in the canvas so that it will not distort when stapled.
The canvas will expand and contract as the temperature and humidity in your home change. The wood of the stretcher frame is also expanding and contracting. This may cause the fabric to fatigue to some extent over time resulting in the need to re-stretch the print. However you do not want to over tighten a giclee print.
The canvas will expand and contract as the temperature and humidity in your home change. The wood of the stretcher frame is also expanding and contracting. This may cause the fabric to fatigue to some extent over time resulting in the need to re-stretch the print. However you do not want to over tighten a giclee print.
IMPORTANT
In order to stretch a print you will need to request that the image be down sized so as to provide the excess canvas needed to overlap the edges. The amount of excess needed will depend on the thickness of the bars you are using and the style of wrapping.
With the majority of commercial bars you need a minimum of 1.5” of excess canvas on all sides beyond the image area to do a museum wrap. To do that with an 8.5x11” canvas the frame could be no larger than 5.5x8”. To my knowledge no one manufactures pre-cut stretcher bars smaller than 8” making it impractical to stretcher mount an 8.5x11” canvas print.
You can adhere your canvas to ready made Art-Board and then hang it. For more information on this product visit www.art-boards.com The art board panels are coated with a heat activated adhesive. You place the board in an oven for a couple of minutes, remove it and apply your print. When it cools the print becomes bonded to the board, trim the excess overhang and it’s ready to hang.