Print and frame artwork in one order: framed art prints take the framing decision off your hands. Your artwork is printed on 250 gsm uncoated archival paper and sent with a wooden frame that has a clear plexiglass front. The print is fitted into the frame before it is sent, so it arrives ready to hang. There are two sizes, A3 and A2, and two frame colours, black or natural wood. Those are the only sizes this paper is made up in this frame, which is why A4 and the larger centimetre sizes are not offered framed.
Print and frame artwork: black frame or natural wood
Black draws a firm line round the picture and suits strong contrast, dark backgrounds and night scenes. Natural wood is lighter and sits more quietly beside warm colours, pale walls and wooden furniture. If you are unsure, hold the artwork up against something black and something pale in the room where it will hang; the one you notice less is usually the better frame.
A3 or A2 on the wall
The printed area is A3 (29.7 x 42 cm) or A2 (42 x 59.4 cm), and the frame adds to that. A3 suits a desk, a shelf or a narrow wall between doors. A2 holds its own above a sofa or a sideboard and gives a busy scene room to breathe. Cut a sheet of paper or mark the size with masking tape, step back to where you will usually see it, and decide from there.
Framed art prints of a painted figure
A single painted miniature makes a strong framed portrait. Photograph it against a plain background, fill the frame with the figure, and crop close enough that the face and the best of the freehand work read from across a room. Fine detail rewards a closer look, so a small framed print suits a spot you pass close by. Our guide to photographing a miniature covers the light and the angle.
Framed or unframed?
Choose a framed print when you want the frame sorted in the same order, or when it is a gift and the frame is part of the present. Choose an unframed print when you already own a frame, want a size other than A3 or A2, or plan to have it mounted by a local framer. The paper is the same either way, so the print itself does not change. Starting from a photograph? Photograph printing and framing compares the sizes, surfaces and frame finishes.
Glazing and paper
The front is clear plexiglass, not glass. Behind it sits the same uncoated off-white paper used for our unframed art prints, so a framed and an unframed piece in the same room match in tone. The tracking link comes by email as soon as the frame and print are posted. Timings are on delivery and returns.
