float framing fine art photo (say that three times fast)

[emarie]

Greetings, Grumblers ...

Warning: I'm new to the group, and this might be a stupid question.

BUT, I'm in a quandry. I'm preparing a large (20 x 24) fine art photograph (C-print) for display in a juried exhibition. I'd like to float it in a black 28 x 32 frame above some kind of black backing board but I'm not sure what to use as the backing. The print is going to be mounted on either sintra, masonite or aluminum. I'm concerned standard 4-ply mat board won't be strong enough to hold the print and could warp. I thought of using 8-ply mat board, but seem to only be able to locate it by the package or case in full sheets (which is terrifyingly expensive :eek: ... if I had that kind of money I'd be paying a pro to handle the framing instead of wrestling with it myself!)

Does anybody have an archivally-sound suggestion? I very much appreciate your thoughts.

Thanks in advance,
E. Marie Robertson

[JPete]

You'll probably have to go to one of the pro-framers and pay their price for a sheet of 8 ply rag. If it's being exhibited doesn't it deserve professional attention?

[Ron Eggers]

if I had that kind of money I'd be paying a pro to handle the framing instead of wrestling with it myself!) You can probably expect a little "negative feedback" or perhaps not much feedback at all, since most of the participants on this forum are the pros you're refering to.

8-Ply black rag should be available by the sheet, but you're right - it is very expensive - especially at retail. There is a new product from Bainbridge that is thicker than 4-ply but not as thick as 8-ply. I suppose it's about 6-ply, though it is not a rag board. It is basically a thick Alphamat and a good quality material. The black is BTM8517 Ivory Black. It also comes in black-core if that matters. It is considerably less expensive than 8-ply rag.

Another product worth looking at is Bainbridge Artcare black fomecore. It may not be the black you're looking for, but check it out. It may be hard to find since it's pretty new.

[Kit]

Marie, I'm not quite clear about what you're doing but I'll jump in anyway.

You are planning to mount this photo - i.e. permanently glue it down to some form of rigid backing - right? Why not mount it to acid free black foam core? Then you can bevel the edges of the foam core back away from the margins of the photo and mount that in the center (or wherever) of the black background mat. Attach a second piece of foamcore or coroplast to the back of the matboard for strength.

This is my favorite way to float mount anything that is easily replaceable or of only decorative value.

And just to stir the pot - Elizabeth Dow's DoubleCross mat looks absolutely smashing behind black and white photographs.

Kit

[Jana]

Hi Kit, As I've said before, you have really good ideas!

On the bevelled foam core, do you see the bevels, or is it a reverse bevel kind of thing?

I'll have to check out that Elizabeth Dow mat. More suggestions for using the Dow mats would be appreciated.

[Kit]

Sorry, Jan. That wasn't very clear, was it?

It's a reverse bevel so that the piece really does look like it's floating in the frame.

Kit

[Frank Larson]

Originally posted by emarie:
I'm concerned standard 4-ply mat board won't be strong enough to hold the print and could warp.Mount the 4 ply to another board. Sintra would work fine.

[emarie]

Originally posted by Ron_Eggers:
You can probably expect a little "negative feedback" or perhaps not much feedback at all, since most of the participants on this forum are the pros you're refering to..I'm well-aware that these folks are the pros, and that's why I'm asking here, instead of somewhere like photo.net where you get the opinions of 900 boneheads who've never framed anything more complicated than an 8x10 in a Bainbridge precut mat. (Also, I don't see why anyone would offer negative feedback, since I didn't say anything bad about the pros and instead really wished I had the money to hire one!)

Thanks for the tips about the Bainbridge products; I'll have a look around for them.

Cheers,
Marie

[emarie]

Originally posted by JPete:
You'll probably have to go to one of the pro-framers and pay their price for a sheet of 8 ply rag. If it's being exhibited doesn't it deserve professional attention?I wish so much that I could hire a pro framer to take care of the whole thing ... but I would literally have to not pay the electric bill or something to make that happen, since both I and my husband seem to have been bypassed by the "economic recovery" I keep hearing about ...

Cheers,
Marie

[emarie]

Originally posted by Frank Larson:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by emarie:
I'm concerned standard 4-ply mat board won't be strong enough to hold the print and could warp.Mount the 4 ply to another board. Sintra would work fine.</font>[/QUOTE]Great thought, Frank. Thanks very much.

And thanks to everyone who took the time to offer me suggestions, I really appreciate it.

emr

[AnneL]

I just want to get what you are doing straight before I spout off again. ;) You will be mounting the photo first, then mounting that to a another backing that is black. You want the black to show. When we enter print competitions for the Professional Photographers of America, we do something similar with my husband's prints. We mount them to a board, trim the edges flush, blacken the edges with a sharpie marker so they aren't distracting. Then, we mount that to another larger board of the color we want for the base. Measure carefully so it isn't crooked. We've found that there is no black mat board or other board black enough for competition, the lights make them all look gray so we use regular board and mount a piece of black "flash" paper to it. (Flash paper is simply a piece of photographic paper exposed to the light then processed. It turns an intense, glossy black.) Will you be putting this in a frame afterwards?

[Ron Eggers]

Originally posted by emarie:
I don't see why anyone would offer negative feedback, since I didn't say anything bad about the pros and instead really wished I had the money to hire one!)I seems I have underestimated my fellow Grumblers. They normally are a civil and helpful bunch, as they have been here, but sometimes we all have the same, bad day.

[emarie]

Originally posted by AnneL:
You will be mounting the photo first, then mounting that to a another backing that is black. You want the black to showHi Anne,

Yes, you have it right. First the photograph will be mounted to something to keep it rigid and flat (aluminum, sintra and masonite are popular in the arts community here, although I'm not completely sure about their relative archival qualities). Then that flush-mounted piece will be "floated" in a frame with a deep rabbat, above some kind of black backing, the edges of which will show around the print.

Thanks for the comments about the relative blackness of mats and the idea to use "flash" paper. I hadn't thought of that, and can imagine the dynamic look that rich glossiness can create! I've also been thinking about covering whatever backing is used with archivally-stable bookcloth (I make my own with wheat starch paste and acid-free paper as backing) to create a flat but textured environment for the work.

Cheers,
Marie