We do not offer glass for many reasons, but primarily its shipping concerns. We want our customers to receive their frames safely and with no risk of broken glass chards in the container.
We offer clear acrylic (trade name Plexiglas) in lieu of glass.
Types of acrylic available:
- Regular clear acrylic. This is UV resistant; it will not yellow with time. It is not UV filtering, meaning it does not protect the artwork from UV rays. It does look very similar to regular glass.
- Non – glare acrylic. Has a slight matte finish which does not reflect direct lighting. This will work with picture frame mats, but any gap between the acrylic and artwork tends to distort the image a bit. Otherwise, this has the same properties as our regular clear acrylic.
- UV filtering museum grade acrylic. Filters UV rays from artwork. This material is clear with no matte finish. To learn the specific properties of this material do a search for OP3 acrylic. We do not have a source for both UV filtering and non – glare acrylic.
Acrylic covers are a durable and safe alternative to regular glazing and we’ve had good success over the years by it’s utilization.
Backing:
- Fome Core is the industry standard in picture framing. Most of this found in retail is not acid free.
- We are currently offering expanded PVC; trade names are Sintra or Komatex among others. This is common in the sign industry and works well for our purposes. It is durable, does not dent nearly as easy as Fome Core, and is acid free.
- Puzzles are made of cardboard and we suggest using simple tempered hardboard for this purpose. It holds sprayable adhesive and is typically comparable to the same material as your puzzle.
We realize that not everyone needs glass (acrylic) or a backing with their picture frame. many of our frames are utilized for stretched canvases, mirrors, stained glass, etc. This is why we only offer acrylic and backing as an option.
