Framing! What's the most affordable?

[jeff_bogle]

<p>Hello everyone. I have a problem that I hope you all may help with. I've got quite a few places of business around town that are willing to display my work and over the past couple weeks, I have been having a blast getting these prints printed, framed, and displayed all over town. Problem is much more are to be displayed and obviously framing doesn't come cheap! Is there anything you all could recommend? Maybe a specialty framing company online or by chance somewhere in my home state of NC? Or is it better just to start building the framing myself and if so where to start? I really appreciate any feedback. <br>

PS - The majority of my prints are "panos" with the average print size ranging from 30"- 40" </p>

[Spearhead]

<p>Do it yourself. Companies like <a href="http://www.americanframe.com/">American Frame</a> offer kits in both standard and custom sizes. </p>

[Matt Laur]

<p>Just buy parts/stock and frame them yourself. Unless you need especially elaborate frames, you should be able to use modular metal system frames (where you buy the sides as separate pieces, at any length you want), order pre-cut acrylic if you want glazing, and cut your own mat boards (buy a Logan mat cutter - you'll never go back to paying someone else to do it!). <br /><br />If nothing else, head off to someplace like AmericanFrame.com, or PictureFrames.com, where you can sort through all sorts of variations, upload your own image to see how things will look, and then have them ship the stuff to you, ready-to-go, for much less than paying a local frame shop.<br /><br />A local framer is appropriate when you've got an especially challenging project. But it sounds like you're doing fairly vanilla things to show off your prints, and it makes sense to keep some more of that money in your pocket.</p>

[jeff_bogle]

<p>Thanks Jeff! I appreciate the response.</p>

[jeff_bogle]

<p>Thanks Matt!</p>

[Brad_]

For easy and low-cost, check out Ikea (there's one in Charlotte).

 

For a wider selection, I like FrameFit.com. There you can buy completed frames, mitered sides, or frame

moulding in 8' lengths, depending on what you want to pay and how much work you want to do. Awhile

back I bought frame moulding, chopped it to length, pushed the sides through my saw with a homemade miter jig, clamped/glued,

and saved a ton of money.

 

FrameFit is also good for mats. Don't use anything less than Bainbridge Alphamat mat board if you care

about archivalness. In quantities of >25 you can save a substantial amount of money for mats cut to a single

size.

[stp]

<p>It may be too late now, but I talked with several photographers at a local art festival and they all remarked that canvas prints are hurting the sales of traditional matted & framed prints simply because canvas prints are cheaper to make. True, canvas has a very different look, but often price is an attribute that stands out prominently in the mind of a potential buyer. Otherwise, I've had very good dealings with American Frame, mentioned above.</p>

[dave_redmann]

<p>Get Mpix to makes the prints and choose the option to have them mounted on matboard or foamcore. Then buy frame kits from Dick Blick. Just remember that if you want an overmat, you need to send Mpix a picture with a border. E.g., for an 11x14 image in a 16x20 frame, send Mpix a file set up for, and order, a 16x20 print, mounted, which will have a central 11x14 image area and the border.</p>

 

[jeff_bogle]

<p>Thanks everyone again for your input. It's been a big help already.</p>

[wood]

<p>If you really want inexpensive, try looking for sales at Michaels.</p>

[robert_k1]

<p>My comments at this article are about why and how I started showing my work. I shared my experiences of arriving at a custom presentation while keeping the material expenses under control.</p>

<p>http://www.photo.net/learn/art-photo-galleries/three-tips-for-selling-showing-your-photos-in-a-gallery/</p>