I recently completed a piece of digital artwork that I really like. I want to print it, frame it, and hang it up. I want it to be quite large like a painting. However, the options online tend to run at over $100. I don't have that type of money. Anyone know any high quality cheap framing companies? Also, what can I do to ensure quality is preserved? I fear that it'll become really pixelated and blurry if I enlarge the image.
I believe the preservation is determined by the paper you use, but I'm sure having it framed professionally won't hurt. I know framing can be expensive, but I'd check into Michael's (craft stores) or Hobby Lobby if you're in the U.S., or if they are available where you are. You should be able to find coupons online or in the Sunday paper for both of those stores. There are free sites online that can calculate how large you can blow the picture up, based on pixels and orientation of the design, if any.
The cheapest route to get it framed would be to purchase some framing kits and supplies and assemble most of it yourself. Overall, you're going to need: - A matte board cut to fit your artwork. - An archival backing board, typically foamcore for extra stability. - Some archival mounting tape, or mounting corners (tape is a little more expensive, but works better) - Glass or plexi glass cut to the necessary dimensions for your work - Metal or Wooden frame kits. - Hanging wire (if not included in the kits) The metal or wooden frame kits can be purchased from places like Michael's or Pat Catan's and come in pairs of two pieces. So if the total dimensions of your matted artwork was 18" x 24", you would need to purchase an 18" kit and a 24" kit. The kits come with most if not all of the assembly parts needed to put the frames together. Personally I prefer the metal ones for instances like these, since the wooden ones sometimes don't fit together as seamlessly and you may see some tiny gaps at the corners. The metal frames usually come in silver or gold, but sometimes other colors such as black as well. You'll need to measure your artwork, and account for about a 1/4" overlap around the perimeter of your artwork, so it stays behind the mat properly. to determine the dimensions of the window you need cut in the mat board. Then decide on how wide of a mat you want around your image and round it up to the nearest inch, since the kits usually only come in one inch increments. Then you will need to determine the overall dimensions of your matted work. You can purchase the mat board and foam core as well as glass or plexi from your local craft store such as Michael's. As far as cutting them, I would highly recommend you just ask them to cut the board, foam core, and glass or plexi for you. They will often only charge a dollar or two per cut, so it's far less expensive than buying a decent mat cutter of your own and trying to do it yourself. Cheap mat cutters are worthless and will ruin your mat boards and foam core, not to mention they still cannot cut glass or plexi. If your overall dimensions end up being a common size, like 18 x 24, they may not need to even cut the glass for you since they might already have pieces pre cut that size. Then all you need to do is assemble everything. To mount the work to the foam core, place the artwork on to it then the mat board over everything and position as you like. Then gently lift off the mat board, holding the artwork in place. Create some t-hinges with the archival mounting tape and carefully place them behind the artwork to hold it in place. You could also make a hinge with the tape to attach the mat board to the foam core at the top, if you like. The benefit of using the archival tape in a t-hinge vs. those plastic mounting corners you can buy, is the artwork can hang naturally. With the corners, over time the art will tend to buckle at the bottom. Assemble three of the sides of the frame, then place the glass or plexi on top of your matted artwork and carefully slide it into the frame (for metal, otherwise just place it into the frame if you're using wood). Screw on the final pieces of the frame. Your kit should have also come with some pressure clips and some screw on wire holders to attach the hanging wire to. Carefully place the pressure clips in between the foam core and the frame to hold it in place around the perimeter of the work. Then screw in the wire holders and attach some hanging wire. You should look up online how to properly attach the hanging wire and secure it. Finally, you're frame kit probably came with some stick on felt pads or rubber bits, to help keep the artwork from tipping around on the wall, attach these to the bottom back corners of the frame.
