Mounting Photographs

S

Squiddy

Guest
I've had a couple of orders for photographs so I want to try and get it right this time, as last time I tried the photos kept warping.

I'm currently having the photos printed at Jessops who use a high gloss printing paper (something I'm going to change as I much prefer matt because you can still see the photo when the light shines on it...) and these frames:

Wholesale Picture Frames Packs of 6 - Job Lot, Bulk Buy | eBay

They are a black plastic frame with MDF backing, each frame comes with a very thing sheet of paper to use as backing for the photo, all of which are warped and still inside the airtight plastic wrapping that each frame comes in.

There is very little room to play with within the frame but I am planning on mounting the photos onto 5mm foam core and then inserting into the frame. Previously I just put the photo straight into the frame, which after researching I have found to be a bad idea...! Is this going to stop my photos from warping within the frame?

I'm not trying to compete with those selling their framed photos for hundreds of pounds, I'm trying to create something that is affordable and still looks good. I'd really appreciate any advice to help stop the warping and any suggestions on how I may approach this in a more successful way that doesn't cost a small fortune.

Thanks in advance.
 
You shouldn't get any warping as long as the photo paper is decent quality and over 150gsm, say, and the picture is kept out of direct sunlight.

I would recommend you get some kind of mount to go over the photo, which would keep it away from the "glass".
Those cheap frames are most likely plastic and not glass, which may warp itself. You can get ready-cut mounts from places like Great Art or Jacksons. Do you have a Wilkos near you? They have decent, affordable frames, but check that it is glass and not plastic.
 
Unfortunately there isn't any room with these frames for a mount over the photo as the edge of the photo meets the edges of the frame, would there be any point in having at most a 1cm mount over the top of the photo? I can't really cover up the sides of the photo.

I think I'm going to mount future photos on foam core and sell through my current stock of frames and then purchase my next batch from either wilkos or jacksons - can you recommend any other online retailers that sell frames?

As for the printing, I'm willing to spend a little more to rectify the warping. I had a recent 18x12 from Jessops for £3.50. They used Fujicolour Crystal Archive Paper Supreme for my last one, is this not a good paper? (it warped whilst in the frame after a week or two). Do you know of any good value online printers?

Thanks for your help Wardy :)
 
I agree, a 1cm mount would not look good. You need a good 5-6cm mount to give a professional look, so get some bigger frames next time. Careful that your foam board isn't too thick it makes it difficult to put in the frames.

I use Wilkos for photo frames and my local framing shop for the print stuff, which might not be as expensive as you think, especially if you are using them a lot. Think about forking out on a decent printer if you're going to be doing a lot of printing, which is what I did. I don't print on photo paper much, though.
 
I'm getting some 3mm foam core, I tested different widths of paper stacked on top to see how much the frame will take. 3mm should just about fit, hopefully it doesn't put too much pressure on the frame.

I may have to go and pay my local framers a visit. Thanks for the help :)
 
Yeah I guess. Seems odd though, that such a big name would use inferior products that warp after such a short time? Surely if that was the case too many people would complain and they'd do something about it? That's really the only reason I didn't blame the print. I've decided I want matt printing now for my photographs anyway, glossy prints just don't look right in a frame.
 
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