FAQ ~ framing prints

Some folks are wondering how the archival paper prints work, with margins and such, and how best to frame them.

I thought it would be nice to share the answer with everyone!

Here is the answer to a question about margins on the archival art prints:

Lit From Within 8x10 print by Katie m. Berggren

Lit From Within ~ rectangular image on an 8×10″ print

First off, I do not crop (or EVER stretch!) any of my images, thus, images that you see that are squares, are always squares. Images that are rectangular are always rectangular.

 

Partial To Butterflies 12x12 print by Katie m. Berggren

Partial To Butterflies 12×12 print ~ square image on a 12×12″ print

 

The 8×10″ and 12×12″ paper prints have a white margin to act as a faux mat ~ thus, the pieces can be put directly into a standard sized (8×10 or 12×12) off-the-shelf frame, without the need to have a mat cut, this also prevents the need to crop images.

The white margins (faux mat) are set up to be equal on the left and right side and on the top and bottom ~ however, all margins may not be the same on all four sides (always centered, though) as a square image on an 8×10″ print has a thicker top and bottom margin vs the left and right. A rectangular painting on a 12×12″ print has thicker margins on the left and right vs the top and bottom.

 

sss-8x10Spirit, Soul & Sweetness ~ square image on an 8×10″ print

SusanHindsa client-submitted image of a variety of square and rectangular 8×10″ prints, framed (great job Susan!)
 
 

With the 13×19″ archival prints, my goal is to give you the largest image I can fit on the page (without cropping or stretching ~ thus, square images remain square and rectangular images remain rectangular) ~ and although you can buy off-the-shelf 13×19″ frames, I do not set up the 13×19″ prints to have faux mats ~ the margins are not centered, and very small to give you the most bang for your buck!

 

Here is how to frame your 13×19″ print: purchase an off-the-shelf standard frame in an 18×24″ (or larger) size, then take the print to the framing counter and have them measure your print image and cut a window mat that fits the dimensions of your frame on the outside and the dimensions of your print on the inside of the window. At home, put the print inside the mat (connecting it at the top edge only with archival tape on the back of the print) and the mat inside the frame (don’t forget to clean both sides of the glass!) and voila! A beautifully framed piece without the custom framing price. Of course, you can always choose to have your piece custom framed.

 

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With the canvas prints, they are sized with a format to match the format of the original painting that the print is taken from ~ thus, rectangular images are offered in rectangular canvas prints and the same with squares. As you can see above with Crush (below), the canvas prints are image all the way to the edge with a lovely dark complementary color on the edges. No margins or white on the canvas prints.

Crush-StretchedCanvasPrint
KatiewithHere&Now24x20-2
Katie with a 24×20″ stretched canvas print of Here & Now

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to let me know!

See many photos of how my collectors frame, mat and lovingly display their prints and original paintings here!

 

Love & Sincerely, Katie

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Related Images:

[See image gallery at www.paintingmotherhood.com]
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