mat and frame, but without glass

My photos are black and white, and I've been showing them matted, framed, and under glass. I'm using a set of six carts ranging from 100% carbon ink in one cart, the remaining five being various dilutions. The paper has a mat surface. The print ends up being mat, not even semi-glossy. Viewing the print under glass takes away some of the richness of the carbon print, and some folks are showing such prints without glass. I'd rather not use glare-free glass, the prints are a bit soft. I do spray the print with Premier Art Print Shield, for protection - the spray is not glossy.

 

I'd like to hear some pros and cons of displaying the print without glass. I suppose one con might be the accumulation of dust.

 

At any rate... let's hear some opinions!

 

TIA,

 

Paul

Edited September 24, 2018 by PaulWhiting

Most of my "glassless" mountings have become that way through breakage.:rolleyes:

I find a certain "richness" in "naked" display of matte-printed B&W

It depends a lot on the environment where you show them--my first show many years ago was in an unsupervised space when I was in college, and every print (flush mounted and attached to the wall with pushpins) was fingerprinted when I took it down after 3 weeks. The average gallery goer can be somewhat like a two year old (has to touch everything) if they are allowed. Anything I have shown since has been behind glass or plexiglass. There is antireflection glass that doesn't diminish sharpness and will finesse the glare issues of regular window glass but it's quite expensive.

Thanks to you both. Actually you represent two points of view quite well... it's up to me to make the decision, I guess!

 

Paul

In my opinion, displaying a print made with premier ink makes little sense if placed under glass, since ordinary glass takes away close to 40% of the rich contrast of the print in my view. Your protective spray should resist most fingerprints unless the person was eating fries dipped in ketchup.

 

Proper lighting is extremely critical if the print is displayed under glass. There should be subdued ambient light with accent lighting of the right color temperature focused over the prints. Otherwise, most prints look like newspaper photos in my experience.

Very helpful, Supriyo, especially your affirming my use of the protective spray. In fact I'll take a work print, spray it, and deliberately try and smudge it. I won't try ketchup and fries, though :)

 

As for lighting... our local art museum has recently "upgraded" their lighting, converting to LED lighting. It is such a cold light, it must register high on the K scale. Artists are not happy with it. You're right, lighting is extremely critical.

 

Paul