Guide for choosing correct frame and mount size

[ianmarsh]

I've been home printing for a while, usually A4 and A3, bunging prints in off the shelf frames. These work perfectly well in the main. But After a few recent trips I have some non-standard sized prints (panos, odd crops etc) that will need custom framing. I've tried two local framers but they are not cheap and neither looked very inspiring, so I am thinking of using an on-line framing service. Problem with these is that I have to specify all dimensions such as the frame thickness and mount borders and I am not sure what works best, especially with respect to the mount borders. I wondered if anyone knows of a guide to choosing frame/mount sizes I can work from. For example, I have a pano I will print at 32 inches by 14 inches - what size mount "looks good" with such a print? I know this is pretty subjective, but my tastes are simple and I like the classic gallery look of black frame so a framer's benchmark or rule of thumb would probably be fine.

 

[StewartR]

Why not mock it up yourself in Photoshop? Add a wide border around the image to represent the mount, and another border around that to represent the frame, and then play with the dimensions and colours until you like what you see.

 

[ianmarsh]

Thanks Stewart but it isn't quite the same, seeing it on a smallish screen and seeing it in real life. The framer I am likely to use lets you do a mock up on line but I struggled to visualise the final look.

By coincidence I came across a YouTube video of a guy framing a pano not a million miles away from mine and he quotes the dimensions of his mount, saying they were his default sizes. It looked fine (again, on a small screen) so I might just go with those.

 

[viewfromthenorth]

I've used frames.co.uk for framing in the past, and while the quality of the frames has been somewhat variable, they do have a useful frame simulator on their website which you enter your artwork size into and it puts a frame and mount round it, which I think is dimensioned. I think you can even upload a picture to it as well? Might be worth a look?

 

[shreds]

Cut your own mounts:

http://www.longridge.co.uk/information.aspx

Generally leave a little more along the base of the picture to allow for it 'hanging' so that it deceives the eye as you view it on the wall.

You decide on the border of each mount....different pics suit different amounts.

Then have the finished product framed, unless you want to have a go at that yourself too.

 

[mho]

Not all prints need to be weighted on the bottom edge,
different colour frames and widths and mount widths and colours can have a dramatic effect on how the image,
and finished piece looks, different thickness's mounts and multiple layered mounts are also woth looking at.
At trip to a local framer will give you more ideas and also their opinion as well.