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Having a little exhibition and am looking for recommendations for frames - eg 20x16", plain black, decent quality without being silly prices.

Currently using some from IKEA which are ok but would like some that are on the next rung of the quality ladder.

Oh and need to be able to order for delivery as I don't live particularly close to much in the way of retail !

thanks

Geoff

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When I was a student and needed to hang prints on a budget we'd use tenter hooks. Just sandwich the matted print between backing such as Museum Board and a glass or plexiglass plate. The holes are small and easy to fill when the show comes down.

 

http://kilianhardware.com/tenterhooks.html

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Most of my framing is undertaken by bespoke framers or the gallery hosting my work and therefore expensive. However, I have also used these people for odd things and they were fine: Ezeframe.co.uk for plain black stain, (looks better than painted black), decent quality and good service. Not the cheapest but the quality will show. My advice: bad idea to use cheap frames in an exhibition. Always shows and folks notice. Order online and they are delivered. Perspex not glass as they are delivered by courier. You will be able to use again and again if you are careful in hanging and packing. Hope that's a help.

 

Pete Davis

www.pete-davis-photography.com

http://peteslandscape.blogspot.co.uk

 

 

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Thanks Pete, does the perspex look ok ? I associate perspex with cheap and assumed that glass was one sign of quality in bigger frames.

edit : I think I've answered my own question - I'm thinking of styrene as used in cheapo frames.

 

 

Geoff 

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1 hour ago, geoff s said:

Thanks Pete, does the perspex look ok ? I associate perspex with cheap and assumed that glass was one sign of quality in bigger frames.

edit : I think I've answered my own question - I'm thinking of styrene as used in cheapo frames.

 

 

Geoff 

Yes, the perspex looks fine. Just be careful cleaning it. Soft cloth and antistatic solution works fine. I only use it in certain situations and prefer glass but it's fine for when you are not  in working with a top notch gallery who may be not be handling your work in a true professional manner. I avoid those dealing with those places but sometimes use the perspex when I'm asked to contribute to charity exhibitions etc. which may be organised and hung by volunteers. Not being snobby, happy to contribute to worthwhile causes, just realistic! 

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Just now, Dyn Llun said:

Yes, the perspex looks fine. Just be careful cleaning it. Soft cloth and antistatic solution works fine. I only use it in certain situations and prefer glass but it's fine for when you are not  in working with a top notch gallery who may be not be handling your work in a true professional manner. I avoid those dealing with those places but sometimes use the perspex when I'm asked to contribute to charity exhibitions etc. which may be organised and hung by volunteers. Not being snobby, happy to contribute to worthwhile causes, just realistic! 

Apologies for the terrible typos! Typed in a hurry!

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The Ikea 'Riba' ones do look good and appear good value but after they have been up for a few weeks I've noticed that they seem to be bowing a little ie all sides of the frame are now a little convexed, only slightly but enough to be infuriating ! 

Geoff

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On 8/7/2017 at 18:44, geoff s said:

Having a little exhibition and am looking for recommendations for frames - eg 20x16", plain black, decent quality without being silly prices.

Currently using some from IKEA which are ok but would like some that are on the next rung of the quality ladder.

Oh and need to be able to order for delivery as I don't live particularly close to much in the way of retail !

thanks

Geoff

Whereabouts are you in the country Geoff?

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5 hours ago, geoff s said:

.....the Peak District

Ok not a great amount of options, it depends on what you mean by cheap really, Ikea are generally rubbish and most of it is Chinese and if you plan on changing the image, or re-using the frame they won't last. Any decent frame company will send glass, as they usual proper carriers and packaging. Perspex is not good, you can't clean it properly so it won't last without your images looking rubbish, certainly not the 20 years spacecadet is talking about

Problem is everyone's opinion on quality is different, I used to work in the industry so I make my own.

 

How many frames are you after? and do you want mounts? Is it an important exhibition? Whats your budget? The Peak district is quite a big area, there are large framers in Manchester, Sheffield, Stoke, Nottingham along with a few national professional photgraphic framers, a lot of people use synthetic mouldings now, you can't tell they are, but they are cheaper, but like Ikea aren't really great if you plan on changing the image too much.

 

The best company I prefer does everything for you, you just order online, add your jpegs and they send it to you

 

Also, if you are sticking to standard sizes John Lewis actually do some pretty good ones, although I haven't checked if they deliver, but we have one near me. but like buying cameras, it's all to do with budget & perceived quality. 

 

Did I read you can't message direct any more?

Chris

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On 8/8/2017 at 11:34, Dyn Llun said:

Yes, the perspex looks fine. Just be careful cleaning it. Soft cloth and antistatic solution works fine. I only use it in certain situations and prefer glass but it's fine for when you are not  in working with a top notch gallery who may be not be handling your work in a true professional manner. I avoid those dealing with those places but sometimes use the perspex when I'm asked to contribute to charity exhibitions etc. which may be organised and hung by volunteers. Not being snobby, happy to contribute to worthwhile causes, just realistic! 

 

To take a leaf out of Dyn's book you could have them delivered to the venue and frame up there. The days of  professional photographic dealers delivering in their own vans appear to be long gone. Using plastic presumably just means they can use any old Tom, Dick or Harry to deliver it.

Not sure what volunteers have to do with it. If anything glass is easier to handle, certainly at 20x16.

Chris, no, Alamy turned off PMs last week for an easy life. Too bad.

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You haven't said how you are getting your pics printed but, unless you are doing them yourself, it may be worth considering getting a pro lab to do the whole job for you. By the time you buy frames, get mattes cut and so on, the difference in price may be absolutely minimal. For example, you can get a 20x16 light black frame with 16x12 print, non-reflective acrylic with matte all professionally finished for about £49 from One Vision labs (one of the major UK pro labs, based in Coventry but will deliver anywhere). Delivery by courier is about £10 for up to 30 kg.

 

The print quality is very good - they will do the colour management for you (if you are printing colour of course) or you can do it yourself with their downloadable profile. There are options for fine art papers as well as standard photographic paper etc.

 

I can highly recommend One Vision for quality, customer service and competitive prices but there are other companies of course that provide similar quality at reasonable prices.

 

Whatever you do make sure you get non-reflective acrylic (or glass if go that route).

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22 hours ago, MDM said:

You haven't said how you are getting your pics printed but, unless you are doing them yourself, it may be worth considering getting a pro lab to do the whole job for you. By the time you buy frames, get mattes cut and so on, the difference in price may be absolutely minimal. For example, you can get a 20x16 light black frame with 16x12 print, non-reflective acrylic with matte all professionally finished for about £49 from One Vision labs (one of the major UK pro labs, based in Coventry but will deliver anywhere). Delivery by courier is about £10 for up to 30 kg.

 

The print quality is very good - they will do the colour management for you (if you are printing colour of course) or you can do it yourself with their downloadable profile. There are options for fine art papers as well as standard photographic paper etc.

 

I can highly recommend One Vision for quality, customer service and competitive prices but there are other companies of course that provide similar quality at reasonable prices.

 

Whatever you do make sure you get non-reflective acrylic (or glass if go that route).

One Vision are one of the National companies I was talking about, but they don't do glass, so shouldn't be used non-reflective acrylic like non-reflective glass is a waste of time, unless your image is poor and you don't want people to see the quality and should never ever be used with a mount.

 

As I said it's all about the following: -

What quality you are after?

Do you know about quality and the differences in quality?

How many you want? 

What price are you thinking? 

 

It's pretty similar to cameras, some people especially those new to the forum think they can but a cheap camera and make a load of money and think the photo they have taken and put on Facebook is great quality.

 

Framing has similar boundaries, even a local framer can give you a good quality frame at a price point, especially if you want a few, a big one on the High Street won't but on an industrial estate, working out of a big garage or purpose built unit also, but you need to shop around and see the quality and what you get for the price, like any purchase really

 

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Thanks for replies, I have now taken the plunge and ordered some from The Frame Company - will report back on quality but prices are ok - £13 - £14 for a plain black 20"x16", plenty of mount options as well.

 

Geoff

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2 hours ago, Thyrsis said:

If Wakefield isn't too far for you, contact Vicky at Whitlam Framing. 01924 822332

 

Yeah Vicky is really nice & typical of the type of framer that will do photography options or help you out, rather than just a High Street framer, but not as cheap as The Frame Company, better quality though

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