In praise of the the humble staple

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For picture framers and in picture framing, staples are usually those small, steel,  'U' shaped loops or fasteners that are generally driven into the back of picture frames  to hold the glass, artwork and backing inside the frames so that these don't fall out.  Pretty much every  picture frame has  a couple dozens of these devices which have been used on and in picture frames for hundreds of years. Yet, we don't ever remember reading anything much about them anywhere or at any time, so, here we go.  The staple, as a fastening device, dates from antiquity.  Some of the oldest known were iron dovetail staples found embedded and tying  stones together in several temples and tombs in Pasargadae,  the ancient  capital of the Achaemenid Empire founded by Cyrus the Great (559–530 BCE). Our modern English word "staple" derives from an Old English word "stapol" dating from nearly a thousand years ago.

First of all, staples are incredibly useful.  They do an excellent job of holding the art work sandwich ( this being the glass, art, mat, back, etc )  all together and in place inside the frames' rebates.

Nowadays most picture framers use pneumatic or electrical staplers to drive the staples into the back of the frames. Prior to the invention of these tools, small nails and brads were used, driven into rebates one at a time, obviously this being a much more  slower and laborious fitting up.

The fundamental shape and construction of these staples is that all are 'U' shaped. The width of the loop, or the 'crown' and the sides or 'legs' can vary in both nomenclature and size.  Thus a staple's crown and generic trade denomination may be 'narrow', 'medium' or 'wide' , broadly exemplified and as shown below:

 

So far as the picture framing trade is concerned, the 97 Series is the denomination that picture framers seem to use most. These staples are driven at the back of picture frames when fitting up.

The staples are not often seen by Customers because the a picture frame's rebates are usually taped over with picture framing tape to make the back of the framer appear neater and tidier.  A pneumatic staple gun, such as the one below is required for picture framing staples.

The wider crowns such as the 71 and 80 Series are most often used when stretching textiles because the wider crown's widths grips cloth and fabric better than a narrow crown. The illustration below shows a person stretching a canvas using canvas pliers and a wide crown hand stapler.

It is to be noted that the illustration above shows a hand stapler or hand tacker, rather than a mechanical or pneumatic stapler. Tackers are fine for personal projects such as the odd  do-your-own stretching but professional picture framers eschew them as these are not really work-safe, practical or economical for long-tern use.

Mechanical staplers can be electric or air-driven.  While some picture framers do use electric staplers, the majority prefers air-driven, or pneumatic guns to drive staples, rather than hand staplers or hand tackers.  Aside from the obvious advantage of speed and quicker work, consistently using hand tools over long periods of time, or even years, may tend to prematurely wear out and damage one's wrists, hands and joints.

Pneumatic, or air-driven  tools, require air compressors to generate compressed air.  These machines, and the ancillary fittings, such as air filers, regulators and air distribution lines need to be regularly maintained for efficient functioning.

Professional picture framers generally invest in this equipment because they cut or chop wood picture framing mouldings with air-driven chopper or guillotines, such as the ubiquitous Morso picture framing guillotine. Therefore adding an additional air line for an air stapler is relatively quick and easy.

Many air staplers, particularly the German-made BeAs, are quite tough and durable. We have had, and still have, some working daily for more than 20 years. It must be borne in mind though that for air tools to last that long,  proper and regular air supply and maintenance must be maintained.

Seals need periodic lubrication, water needs regular draining from the air lines, regulators, and air tanks, and so on. We find that the better the maintenance, the longer and smoother the equipment lasts and runs.

As stated earlier,  narrow crown staples are generally used in 'fitting up' , that is securing the glass, window mat ( if any ) artwork and backing board inside the frame so that the assembly won't fall out of  the frame or move around.

How most picture framer tend to do do this is generally as follows.

The glass is buffed clean, the artwork and assembly is checked for dirt and dust and sealed ready for insertion at the back of the frame.  The picture frame is placed face down on a work bench and the assembly is then gently lowered inside at the back of the frame.  The air stapler tool is then held roughly at a 20-30 degrees angle and rested against the one of the edge of the backing with the tip touching the frame's rebate, as shown below:

 

Once the air trigger is pressed, a staple is fired into the back of the rebate.   After checking that the first few staples were driven in correctly and without chipping either the glass, or any of the components, the remainder or the 4 sides of the frame can be stapled in,  with a staple driven in every 5 or 10 centimetres or so, to ensure that the entire  surface is secured inside the frame without it being loose, or rattling.

Some picture framers, often younger or inexperienced ones, at times complain that air stapling is not ideal because this reasonably violent mechanic action, tends to shock and rattle a typical MDF backing board with dust and other particles being dislodged and migrating to the inside of the frame, often necessitating time-consuming and unnecessary disassembly, cleaning and re-fitting re-work.

Older and more experience picture framers forestall this problem by sealing the frame assembly, or 'sandwich' with something as simple as stationery tape.  We have been using this quick sealing method for years which we pretty much guarantee as being foolproof and dust-proof.

There a few other uses for air staplers, both of the narrow and wide crown ranges.  The former is to staple in or fasten the string, or cord really,  at the back of the frame. The latter is to  staple in the commonly  seen and used corrugated cardboard corner protectors see

With regard to the stapling of cord to the back of the moulding and as shown above, this method is somewhat frowned upon by many custom picture framers. Some tend to see this a sub-standard, cheap and quick way to string a picture frame. However, we use it for most of our inexpensive commercial or contract poster framing work and have had absolutely no complaints from Customers about it, otherwise we would not be using it.

Nor is this method unsafe, when adopted by an experienced framer who is skilled with nailing, fastening and different species wood supplier provide.   We actually use it on our very popular A0 Raw Oak Poster Frames below, which weigh about 9kgs each and we have never had even one cord failure.

That being said,  custom picture frames are usually fitted not with stapled cords but with 'proper' wire and D-Ring hangers or similar steel hangers.  This is not so much because the latter method is safer, or stronger, but largely because it is perceived by Customers to be so.

Perhaps a last word in stapling picture frames is that it is not used in imported ready-made picture frames such as our  12''x18" Black Ready Made Poster frames below:

The main reason for this that these off-the-shelf picture frames are generally fitted with flexible tabs at the rear so as to allow end-user Customers, rather than picture framers, to put their pictures inside, thus negating the need for permanent or semi-permanent stapling.

In conclusion, while picture framing staples are not absolutely indispensable to picture framers in constructing picture frames, they're pretty much essential to common, everyday,  commercial picture framing. Than you for viewing our post about picture framing staples.