Buying prints and framing

mark43 · 28 Jun 2017 at 21:14

Sorry not sure if this is really the right section to ask but wondered if anyone had any experience with this.

I've got lots of walls that could really use some nice pictures and have found some I really like on redbubble, but its rather expensive if I buy them already framed. So I was thinking of buying just the art prints and framing myself, I found a place that seems to do fairly reasonably priced frames.

If I make sure the frames and mount are the right size is it pretty simple to do myself? Also the 'art prints' seem to come with a really large border depending on the image, so not sure if I'm better off with the photographic prints which are an exact size, but I don't know if they'll look as good, I don't really get what the difference is or if there will be much difference in the image.

Any advice from anyone who has done this? I'm fairly clueless as you can see.

Street · 28 Jun 2017 at 21:39

I've bought loads of frames to frame my own photos. It's pretty straight forward really, you just need to make sure you get the measurements right. There is a border on the prints because you need a slight overlap with the mount so it sits below.

I've used frames.co.uk loads in the past as the prices are reasonable and the customer service is good. I've bugged them loads for help with measurements and they've always been helpful.

mark43 · 28 Jun 2017 at 21:48

Street said:
I've bought loads of frames to frame my own photos. It's pretty straight forward really, you just need to make sure you get the measurements right. There is a border on the prints because you need a slight overlap with the mount so it sits below.

I've used frames.co.uk loads in the past as the prices are reasonable and the customer service is good. I've bugged them loads for help with measurements and they've always been helpful.

Thanks, it was frames.co.uk I had been looking at for frames, so good to hear you've been happy with them.

With regards to the border I mentioned, I get that you need a slight overlap but in this case I'm not sure its just that, its more that for their art prints they only have specific dimensions. So one of the picture I'm looking at for example is this one, its a very wide image. If I go for the photgraphic print I can have dimensions such as 457mm x214mm or 610mm x 286mm, but for their art prints they are all a standard size such as 500mm x 400mm or 600mm x 450mm. So it will be printed in the middle of that leaving a rather large border at the top and bottom. I guess I can just cut that off, but I figured the photographic prints will be easier if they will look pretty much as good.

Street · 29 Jun 2017 at 11:49

That guy does some cool prints! Personally I'd go for the art print as I think it would look a lot better framed. I'd order the prints first then measure the actual image in the middle and go from there with the sizes. You'd probably need to measure the internal image size then add 4mm to each side to account for the overlap and it should then fit the mount perfectly.

SPG · 29 Jun 2017 at 13:09

I use a local framer,

mark43 · 29 Jun 2017 at 14:04

Street said:
That guy does some cool prints! Personally I'd go for the art print as I think it would look a lot better framed. I'd order the prints first then measure the actual image in the middle and go from there with the sizes. You'd probably need to measure the internal image size then add 4mm to each side to account for the overlap and it should then fit the mount perfectly.

Thanks, I'll do that.

Psycho Sonny · 29 Jun 2017 at 17:08

custom frames are very expensive. They do make the art look better but it depends on how much your willing to spend.

I have bought custom frames I think it was 4 of them for around £400 of varying sizes and then I've bought frames from Ikea for buttons which do a pretty good job but everyone knows they are from Ikea.

Depends on the value of the print tbh. If its a £100+ print then go custom. If it's a <£50 print then buy from Ikea.

mark43 · 29 Jun 2017 at 21:33

Psycho Sonny said:
custom frames are very expensive. They do make the art look better but it depends on how much your willing to spend.

I have bought custom frames I think it was 4 of them for around £400 of varying sizes and then I've bought frames from Ikea for buttons which do a pretty good job but everyone knows they are from Ikea.

Depends on the value of the print tbh. If its a £100+ print then go custom. If it's a <£50 print then buy from Ikea.

Thanks, I didn't think the custom frames were to bad and I think I'd find it easier having them the right size. If I was going for 457x214 for example it was £26.30, or £32.25 for 610mm x 286mm. Okay probably a lot more than Ikea but still much less than buying it already framed.

Martynt74 · 29 Jun 2017 at 23:05

SPG said:
I use a local framer,

Same here, to be honest what my local shop charge isn't really any different than the Frames.co.uk website listed above as from the above comments i thought i'd save money using them but i imagine when shipping is factored in it's probably more expensive and you know you there's no issue of miss-measuring.

This thread reminds me i have 4 gig posters i still need framing. Room is quickly becoming an issue!