Should all art be conservation framed to lessen deterioration? We don't think so. In our many years of making picture frames and picture framing experience, by far the vast majority of prints, posters and allied art brought in by Customers for picture framing consists of inexpensive, ephemeral, decorative, mass-produced, tourism-related, commercial, mechanical reproductions. Most of these are cosmetic, decor items and, as such, likely to be discarded by Customers when these become unfashionable in as little as a few years. Most of this kind or art can be inexpensively framed with cheap Ready-Made poster frames ... by the Customers themselves at about one-third the cost of custom picture frames.
We've all seen the unwanted Sara Moon, Leaping Dolphins or Breaching Whales framed posters being flogged for a few dollars at the local, week-end bazaar, market or church fete. It's therefore both unwise and inadvisable for customers to pay double or triple normal, custom framing prices by adding Ultra-Violet protection glass or Museum Quality mount boards to their work.
This applies for much if not all of the commercial, picture framing requested by customers. Note however that these comments do not apply to artwork having any kind or degree of financial, cultural, economic, historical, emotional value or significance. Nowadays, with the age of the internet, most customers, are expecting picture frames and picture framing cheaper and quicker.
Customers will shop around and will wonder and ask why on earth they should pay a few hundred dollars to "over-frame" a print that cost the $20, $30 or even $40. Picture framers who try to overframe everyday prints and poster will only end up doing themselves a disservice as customers find other, more scrupulous and cheaper framers. These customers will also remember the incident and assiduously avoid returning to the original, "expensive" framer. Thank you for reading this post "All prints, photos and art should be conservation framed to lessen deterioration".
I’d have to agree with that. I’ve been going the the picture framer who’s been doing picture frames for our family for years and he always gave us good advice. Last year he sold the business to a young money-hungry couple who kept insisting that my $35 US holiday poster had to be conservation framed. Needless to say I stopped going there and went to another framer who said that cheap tourist poster really don’t need that kind of money spent on them. So instead of wasting $480 on conservation framing I made do with $110. I’m also marrying soon and my wife-to-be has different tastes from me so she mighn’t want to see my posters around the home anyway.