A frame is protection, not ornament
A work on paper hung without glazing collects dust, humidity and light. None of the three shows damage in the first year; all three are irreversible by the time it shows.
The mat is not optional
The mat — the board with a window cut in it — does two things. Visually it gives the image room and separates it from the frame. Physically, and this matters more, it holds the paper off the glass. Paper and glass in contact, through a few humidity cycles, stick together: at that point the work is gone.
Ask for a mat in acid-free, conservation-grade board. Ordinary card yellows and transfers that yellowing to the work, starting at the window edge.
Glass or acrylic
- Standard glass: cheap, heavy, reflects a lot.
- Anti-reflective glass: costs more, and in a room with windows opposite it is the difference between seeing the work and seeing the room.
- UV-filtering glass or acrylic: blocks the part of the light that fades pigment. If the work lives in a bright room, this is the money best spent.
- Acrylic (plexi): light and unbreakable, useful for large formats or homes with children, but scratches easily.
The mounting must be reversible
The work is held with Japanese-paper hinges or corners, never glued to the backing and never fixed with ordinary tape. The rule conservators follow is simple: anything done to a work must be undoable without a trace. Ordinary adhesive tape leaves a brown stain that never comes out.
The frame itself, last
It is the least technical and most personal choice. Two practical notes: a thin, neutral frame ages better than a showy one, and photographic work carries black and pale wood better than gold. If you have several works in one room, consistent framing creates more order than any alignment will.
Put it in the budget
Proper framing, with a conservation mat and UV glazing, can cost as much as an entry-level work. That is not a markup: it is the reason the work will still exist in twenty years.