UKH

I would like to print some of my climbing photographs in 30 x 20 or 45 x 30 cm and hang them around the house.

The last time I did this I just used cheap clip frames for a few pounds each. The result looked a bit cheap and, worse, the photos went crinkly between the glass and the back of the frame after not very many years.

I have now tried to find out with the help of Google how I can do this better. However, I couldn't find any instructions for someone at my level - competent hobby photographer who doesn't mind a bit of work but doesn't want to do his own printing or make his own frames. There were a bunch of pages aimed at total beginners (typically with titles like "How to frame your family photographs") which don't cover how to frame a photograph at all.  The next step up after this was a big one, to pages aimed at keen amateur photographers who own a 19" photo printer and don't mind shelling out for expensive tools for dry mounting (a new term to me which I learnt on my researches).

The other alternative which I have found is online printing and framing services. I might try these out for a few of my best photos, but at around a hundred pounds a pop I certainly shan't be doing very many this way.

Essentially what I want is a frame which is a step up from what ever you can get at Jessops for £5.99, with a mat, and a means of mounting the photo in it so that it looks good not only now but also in five or ten years' time.

Who has already done this and can offer some advice?

I use https://picturegalleryuk.com/print-and-frame and find them superb in ease of use, quality and service.

It’s been a few years since I last framed photos, but my choice then was to separate out the different parts of the process.

Photo printing as a separate job to the standard you want. After that, for one batch I chose ready made frames from a high street retailer that I liked and then went to a local small framer business who cut the mounts and backing to fit the frames I had bought. For another batch, I used the same small business to do everything from making the frames in my choice of material/colours/glass type etc as well as the mounting card and backing.

The advantage of the later is there is actual a huge range of options possible and it helps to decide what you really need or want. For example no point in having top quality glass and mounting board for archival standard if the photo is positioned where direct light does not hit it and/or the photo is not of sufficient value to need to protect to a high degree (ie you have the digital file and could re print if necessary.

It was a few years ago, but over about 12 photos the cost average, ignoring printing part, was around £40 which I thought was good value esp given the advice part. Some aspects of cutting are really a specialist job that I was not prepared to learn and undertake as a diy job.

If you have a local framer then a visit to them may be worthwhile to see if it is better for you to do similar or not to the way I chose.

In true UKC style, I'm going to answer a totally different question to the one you asked.

I've had quite a few photos printed behind on acrylic blocks. They've kept their colour well (12 years) and I like the no-frame look. Might not be to everyone's taste. 40x30cm would cost £31 inc delivery, so not the cheapest option. This is just one company, most of the big brands do them.

https://www.photobox.co.uk/shop/wall-decor/acrylic-prints

My approach has been to get them printed professionally (better than I can do) and then I stick them* onto 5mm foamboard. Trim both together with a sharp scalpel, stick two strips of foamboard to the back (about 1/3 of the way in. That way the board hang 5mm out from the wall and parallel to it. I don't like glass in front of print and I like the clean frameless floating look. If you are going to do this it's worth getting a decent cutting board, scalpel and long steel ruler.

* 3M print mounting spay glue onto the foamboard then roll the print onto it getting no bubbles.

I'd definitely recommend trying this. The board can be ordered online cut to size and the rest bought from (eg) Hobbycraft

Thanks very much to everyone for the replies.

Acrylic boards and foamboard - interesting. I hadn't thought of either of those.

https://picturegalleryuk.com/print-and-frame - thanks for the tip and the positive review.

Local framing business - I think that this is going to be my next step.

I buy frames from normal high street places and card for mats from hobby craft. Prints from a decent print shop on good quality paper (loxley colour are good). Soft proof or the image won’t print how you want it to look. Make sure you crop the image more loosely than you want it to appear in the frame - you need the print to be overlapped by the mat. Also make sure you print at a reasonable size for your intended frame - the visible part of the image wants to be about 2/3 to 3/4 of the width of the frame, the rest will be mat (obviously adjust to taste). This sounds like a huge border, but it isn’t. I cut the outside of the mat to fit the frame using a Stanley knife and cut the aperture in the mat using a mat cutter (I’ve got a Logan one, it was about £25 a few years back, they’re a bit more expensive now I think). A decent steel ruler, a cutting mat with a grid on it and fresh, sharp blades make things much easier. Once cut, I put a small bit of tape (I use acid free tape, no idea if it makes any difference) at each corner of the back of the print, then put the print face up on the table. Then I lower the mat onto the print, line it up how I want it and gently stick the two together. If it doesn’t go right you can peel the tape and start again. Once it’s to your liking and tacked in place at the corners, flip the print and mat over and tape it in place properly from the back, making sure that the tape is behind the mat and doesn’t overlap the aperture. The print and mat go in the frame with no backing, straight against the back of the frame. Clean both sides of the glass first using window cleaner and don’t get fingerprints on the inside of the glass. It’s all pretty kitchen table amateurish, and a professional framer would definitely do it better, but I’m pretty happy with the prints I’ve framed like this. The oldest ones and are well over ten years old now and show no sign of going wavy/wrinkly. 

Hope that helps.

I'd second Marek's comment. 15 years ago I used the same technique with cheap and cheerful prints on black foam core. I saw the photos just last week at the client's office: just as good as day one.

I've also mounted photos using a matt cutter, acid free tape and the like - also good results. The cutter was from Maped and came attached to a metal ruler - easy to use, though not cheap even then, 1990s. Cutter still used today.

Going the foam core route makes it easier to group the photos on the wall in the fashion of a magazine spread, which can look very striking. Vary the size of your prints.

Have fun with it !