Mounting old picture on acrylic with no mats

framer2001

Grumbler in Training
Joined
Jun 21, 2002
Posts
11
Loc
Oakdale, CA
A customer has come into the shop and wants to mount a photo on acrylic. The customer does not want any mats, as they want to see the wall in the background. I have never done this type of job before. What is the proper way to mount the photo on acrylic and what is the best type of fitting to use once the mounting is done?
 
Are you talking about back mounting a photo to plexi, or are you thinking static mounting? If you could tell us how you are going to be covering the surface of the image once it is "mounted on acrylic" then we may be able to answer.

Thanks
d
 
As a small aside, I've never understood the fascination with "seeing the wall in the background." If the wall is so darned attractive, why put anything on it at all?

Can anyone explain why this is requested so often? Is this something Martha recommended on a show?
 
Ron,

I have several customers who are into what I term "minimalistic framing". Both are limited edition print collectors and would prefer that they could hang the print unframed and still have it protected. Money is not the issue with both these customers. The beaty of the print and the paper is's printed on are what they want seen.

Unfortunatly there is no method I know of to conservation frame a print without floating on some kind of backing that is an acceptable practice as reinforced by my previous thread related to this issue and with discussions with many framers and tech lines at Larson Juhl and other manufacturers.

Dave Makielski

"You can't change the direction of the wind, but you can adjust your sails".
 
I do lots of glass floats even though I use non glare acrylic sheeting on the back because it hides the dust that forms on the back of the framed picture, it blurs the wall and doesn't condense as much as glass.

I like the look because sometimes finding a mat board, even fabric that looks good with the object or art just can't be done and the blurred wall is the matting. The floating is dramatic and eye catching.

I used to always have a sample in the shop and with the art and mats floated in an acrylic box. The mats had inside and outside bevels, each one was spaced up with foam board and they didn't touch the art at all. Very dramatic look. I sold a lot of the framed samples and took orders for others.

When I wanted a frame I found that using a metal frame (Nielsen of course) for the moulding in glass floats worked because I didn't have to finish the back. Corner ornaments really make them look nice from the front and the back.

Each framer finds a style they like and can sometimes get in a rut, Trying something a little different encourages our customers to also try something different.

On my website I have some instructions on how to do a glass float. Look under framing papers, glass float. It's a PDF and can be downloaded and printed out.

I know some people don't like glass floats, but I make a lot of money with them and sure see nothing wrong with that,
 
Originally posted by dns ynko:
Are you talking about back mounting a photo to plexi, or are you thinking static mounting? If you could tell us how you are going to be covering the surface of the image once it is "mounted on acrylic" then we may be able to answer.

Thanks
d
 
Thanks to all who responsed to my request. The customer wants the print mounted on a foam core substrate. Then the foam core substrate is adhered to the clear acrylic backing leaving 2 inches on all sides. Glazing is used in the fitted package.

I am going to heat mount the print to black foam core, then use 3M 90 spray adhesive to adhere the foam core to the acrylic. I am going to use a spacer between the glazing and the mounted print. I plan on using framer glaze points to fix the acrylic to the back of the frame. Does anyone see a problem with this method?
 
framer 2001, go to Nona's web site and see how she holds glass floats in the frame. You'll be glad you did.
 
Framer2001,

Please update your profile and place your business name in the space labeled "Business Name" instead of the one labeled "Homepage."

The format of the profile page has changed since you registered and makes this update necessary to prevent other Grumblers from hitting a dead-end when they click on the Homepage button at the top of your posts.

Thanks.
 
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