This Month: How to Present Artwork For Sale Without Framing It

Dilemma

Dear Framing4Yourself:

I am going to begin selling my prints to the public. What is the best way to go about this? I don't want to go to a lot of expense but I realize I need to make a professional presentation. What do you suggest?

Gordon Bellow

St. George, UT

Answer

Dear Andie:

Many commercial photographers and artists are looking for the proper way to present artwork for sale without going to the time and expense of framing it. Naturally, the product must be handsomely presented in a way likely to attract customers, but not in a way that requires budget biting outlays of cash. Not only that, but framing in advance of a sale assumes that your tastes will match that of your customer and fit his decor, a proposition that limits your prospects. Yet a retail presentation must give the customer the sense of a finished look and communicate care and stewardship of the art.

For this reason, most commercial artists and photographers prefer to present their artwork in a simple single or double mat and within a clear, shape-conforming plastic bag. The mat provides a rigid, stable environment and the bag protects the artwork from handling while providing ease in opening and accessing the art. The board on which the art is mounted should be a second mat, cut to the same overall size as the window mat but without a window cut in it, what is often called a "mat blank". The two mats should be hinged together with self-adhesive mounting tape and the artwork or print should be held to the mounting board with self-adhesive framer's corners.

To begin the project, purchase the following items: one sheet of regular matboard in white; a second sheet of matboard of a different color if you choose to double mat the artwork; crystal clear plastic bags in a size conforming to the size of your matted artwork; a box of Lineco Self-Adhesive Framer's Mounting Corners, white cotton gloves and a roll of Self-Adhesvie Linen Mounting Tape.

Cut the mats to an overall size appropriate for the display of your artwork. For example, if you were presenting 8"x10" prints, you would want to cut the mats to an overall size of 11"x14". Next, in one of the mats cut a window size of 7-1/2" x 9-1/2" with borders of 2-1/4" top and bottom and 1-3/4" on the sides. For more information on measuring and proportion for matting purchase the book Mat, Mount and Frame it Yourself by David Logan.

The question of whether the mats should be regular matboard or pricier acid free, ligning free rag matboard can be resolved by recognizing that even regular matboard is acid neutralized, providing a good level of protection against the threat of acid contamination, and since your presentation is only temporary, in all likelihood to be replaced the customer's own framing after purchase, it is probably unneccesary to invest additional money in pricier matboard.

Place the artwork on the mat blank and place the window mat over it, arranging the artwork so it appears properly in the window when the perimeter edges of the two mats are aligned. Then remove the window mat. The artwork is now properly positioned on the mat blank. Wearing white cotton gloves to prevent fingerprints, hold down the artwork and gently lift one corner. Fit a self-adhesive Framer's Mounting Corner over the corner of the artwork and press it down so the corner adheres to the mat blank. Remember that no adhesive contacts the artwork. Sure, the corner itself is adhered to the mat blank but the corner holds the artwork without adhesive in much the same way as the photo corners in your grandmother's photo album. This is particularly important since your customer will want to be able to remove the artwork from the mat blank and can do so easily by this method. Repeat the procedure for the remaining three corners of the artwork.

Next, lay the window mat face down next to the mat blank so they are touching along the top edge. About 3 inches in from the top left corner of the mat blank apply a tab of Self-Adhesive Linen Mounting Tape vertically so that half the tape is on the window mat and half the tape is on the mat blank. Repeat the procedure with a second tab of tape coming in about 3 inches from the top right corner. Then place a third tab of tape horizontally, crossing the first tab of tape right near the top edge of the mat blank. This creates a hinge. Repeat the procedure for the opposite tab of tape and you have two hinges on which you can close the mat over the mounted artwork.

Take the matted, mounted artwork and slip it into the form fitting plastic bag. The Crystal Clear Plastic Bags we offer at Framing4Yourself include a flap which you can close over the top of the bag. Your artwork is ready for sale.

Sincerely,

Framing4Yourself.com

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